Two Royal Canadian Navy warships sailed out of Halifax harbour Monday, bound for the Baltic region where they will join a NATO mission aimed at deterring Russian aggression.
The vessels, HMCS Shawinigan and HMCS Summerside, will help NATO forces with mine-hunting and disposal in the North Atlantic as part of Operation Reassurance.
Rear Admiral Josée Kurtz, commander of Joint Task Force Atlantic, said the deployment signals Canada’s commitment to the 31-country alliance.
“Even if NATO is not directly involved in what’s happening in Ukraine with Russia, the fact that we are positioning the alliance to be ready to react, if called upon, is very important,” she told reporters after the ships left the harbour….