Latvia and Canada may consider new measures and new forms of partnership to strengthen security - DisinfoWatch founder

RIGA - It is too early to predict the future of NATO or to question its stability, but Latvia and Canada have every right to consider new measures and new forms of partnership to strengthen security by cooperating with partners in parallel with NATO developments, Marcus Kolga, founder and director of the Canadian disinformation project DisinfoWatch, said in an interview with LETA.

Canada's willingness to increase defense spending is also justified by the need to become more self-sufficient, which also means acquiring new weapon systems, said Kolga.

"And why should we do it alone? We have partners all over the Baltic Sea region who face similar environmental conditions," said Kolga."We should first talk to these partners about developing some kind of a joint procurement system, because it would be beneficial for all of us," he added.

Countries have increased defense spending and new defense systems will be needed. "We may need to expand the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which in a way complements NATO but can also serve as a stand-alone defense alliance. Canada is not yet part of this force but should consider joining," said Kolga.

"It is too early to assess and predict what will happen to NATO in the coming years. The White House's messages and rhetoric on NATO have changed somewhat recently. The Americans emphasize that the United States is clearly part of NATO. But that does not mean that we - at least these like-minded countries - should not move forward together to make sure that our future is secure," said Kolga.

Kolga thanked Latvia and the other two Baltic countries not only for supporting Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty, but also for sheltering Russian democracy defenders, independent Russian media, and Belarusian media that have mainly taken refuge in Lithuania.

"This is real leadership. Given our experience of Russian colonization, brutal repression and cultural genocide against our peoples, it is surprising that Latvia has the courage to provide such asylum, especially to Russia's independent media and some civil society groups. I try to tell the Canadian public about this, and I think Latvians should be proud of that," said Kolga.

As a Canadian, Kolga feels very proud to have the Canadian Armed Forces in Latvia.

"It doesn't matter if they are here in Latvia or in Estonia - all our nations should feel safe. They need to know that NATO is behind them. Because it is not just about the threat of invasion, Russia's actions have different consequences. I know that, because of this threat, in Estonia there are problems with attracting foreign investment. Our countries are suffering because of this threat," said Kolga.

He added that people also suffer psychologically when they constantly hear talk that the Baltic countries "will be next". "That is why it is very important for Canada to be here. And I hope that we will continue to be here to help our friends in Latvia. By giving them confidence that NATO is behind them," said Kolga.

He also said that the majority of the Canadian public supports this mission in Latvia. Most understand why Canadians are here.

However, Canada's far-left, due to Russia's constant distortions of history, is trying to undermine Canadian support for the mission, and there is growing support in Canada for the far-right, which often uses some of the same narratives, although an isolationist stance is also more prevalent on the right, Kolga said, adding that some right-wing foreign policy experts believe that Canada is incapable of sustaining its mission in Latvia and should rather build a "North American fortress" together with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Kolga stressed that after the Liberal Party's landslide victory in the recent elections, Canada's future in Latvia is fairly secure and a recruitment drive in the Canadian Armed Forces is expected in the near future, which will help sustain and possibly even expand this mission.

"I believe that we have not done so well with the Canadian media coverage of what our troops are doing here. I believe that the Canadian mission here is probably the most important mission of the Canadian Armed Forces since the liberation of the Netherlands in World War II. It is a mission with existential implications not only for Latvia, but for all three Baltic countries, NATO and Canada," said Kolga.

He also said that it is in Canada's own interest to have a strong Canadian presence here.

"We have heard all sorts of threats from Russia, including with regard to the Arctic. Russia is not that far from Canada. Many Canadians do not know it yet, but Russia has claimed all the resources in the Arctic Sea up to Canada's exclusive economic zone. This is a very clear threat. There is a massive military build-up in the Arctic. So if we can deter Russia here, we can help deter it elsewhere, including at Canada's own borders," the expert explained.

The general Canadian public is not yet aware of the Russian threat, said Kolga.

"I would like to give just one example. A month ago, Russian ambassador to Canada [Oleg] Stepanov posted a tweet on the Russian embassy's account, essentially saying that Canada is working with Sweden and Norway to militarize the Arctic in preparation for a conflict. He implied that we would start the conflict. This is exactly the same rhetoric that Russia is using against NATO and that it used in the run-up to the attack on Ukraine," said Kolga.

He added that Canada should take these Russian threats more seriously as Russia is preparing for conflict and is itself constantly talking about an impending conflict in the Arctic.