Conservatives call on Canada to donate rockets to Ukraine — but not all are battle-ready

The federal Conservatives are demanding that the Liberal government donate to Ukraine tens of thousands of surplus air-to-ground rockets that are slated for disposal.

Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre issued the call Friday during the House of Commons debate on legislation to update the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement.

The Canadian Armed Forces has a stockpile of 83,303 CRV7 rockets, a 1980s-vintage weapon that was taken out of service in the early 2000s.

Three years ago, the federal government signed a contract to dispose of the rockets over several years.

Poilievre said he understands Ukraine has asked Canada to donate the CRV7s instead of destroying them.

«It's time for less talk and more action,» Poilievre said in a media statement.

«Instead of making Canadians pay millions of dollars to decommission these weapons,» he said, the weapons should be given «to Ukraine who can use them in the defence of sovereignty.»

The Department of National Defence (DND) acknowledged Friday that it still has the rockets and they're being considered as part of a possible future military donation package.

The problem — according to a defence official who spoke on background — is that while Canada still has tens of thousands of the rockets and their motors, not all of them have warheads.

A spokesperson for Defence Minister Bill Blair confirmed the government is considering donating the rockets.

«Before sending equipment to Ukraine, we coordinate closely with Ukraine to ensure that any donation would meet its military needs, and we examine the operational effectiveness of the equipment,» said Daniel Minden in a media statement.

«We are following this same process for the CAF's stock of CRV7 rockets, purchased decades ago. In particular, we are