OTTAWA — A proposal that would see a handful of Canadian military police officers train their Ukrainian counterparts is on hold because of the fighting taking place in the east of that embattled country.
The idea was floated late last year by former defence minister Rob Nicholson as the Harper government agreed to expand military co-operation with President Petro Poroshenko’s government.
Jason Kenney, the current defence minister, has said Canada would be interested in joining a U.S.-led training mission, which would include instructing combat forces.
However, the military police plan to provide classroom instruction, possibly this spring, was more advanced and separate from what Kenney was suggesting.
A defence spokesman, Dan Lebouthillier, says a preparatory meeting slated for next month has been postponed because Ukrainian leaders were unavailable.
Using military cops to instruct their Ukrainian counterparts was billed by the Conservatives as another visible demonstration of Canada’s support of Ukraine in the face of Russian-backed rebel factions.
Lebouthillier says there has been no cabinet decision on participating in the wider training mission, which Kenney suggested could involve instruction in combat medical evacuation and trauma care.