While Moscow’s violation of international law must be unequivocally condemned, we also need to be honest about the origins of this crisis, the most significant conventional warfare operation in Europe since the Second World War. Doing so is not to downplay Putin’s clear act of aggression, but to understand the geopolitical realities at play.

The secrecy surrounding JTF2 has long threatened democracy. The news that members of the special forces unit participated in protests in which some have called for the overthrow of the Canadian government is deeply troubling. Our elected representatives must ensure the investigation into this matter be comprehensive and that the results are quickly released to the public.

Why would a progressive media outlet regurgitate talking points from the Conservative Party and hawkish media pundits about Canada arming the Ukrainian military? On January 31, The Tyee published an article echoing the call of former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and many mainstream journalists for Canada to provide more weapons to Ukrainian forces in their standoff with Russia.

NATO’s proponents often claim it’s a democratic force, but in Canada’s case the alliance highlights the hollowness of our democracy. A healthy polity requires vigorous debate on important issues, but no major party opposes this country’s membership in the military alliance. In fact, the NDP has gone to great lengths to block members from expressing themselves on NATO.

The Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies are two of many institutions funded by the military and arms industry to promote their ideas. Media outlets serious about journalistic principles should point out their contributors’ direct or indirect financial ties to the military when offering their opinion on the armed forces.

Arms manufacturers and militaries utilize propaganda to hype Chinese military power to rationalize expenditures on weapons of war. This gobbles up public resources required for a just transition away from fossil fuels. Whatever lies and exaggerations the militarists may pedal, it’s the Western-led military–industrial complex we should be most worried about—and the environmental movement needs to confront this reality head-on.

Though it receives relatively little attention, the Canadian Forces’ ecological footprint is immense. In fact, DND emits far more carbon than any other institution. According to the government’s 2017 defence policy review, DND “represents more than half of the Government of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.” Despite this, CF operations are exempt from the government’s emission reduction targets.

Unbeknownst to most progressives, Canada is part of a secretive colonial and imperial alliance in Haiti known as the “Core Group”—made up of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, and the European Union—that has deepened the country’s political crisis and pushed through elections denounced by independent observer missions as fraudulent.

It was quite the performance. CTV Power Play host Evan Solomon’s response to former Green Party leader Jim Harris demonstrates just how enamoured the media is with Annamie Paul’s pro-imperialist identitarian politics. While I have ideological differences with Harris, he is correct that Paul’s refusal to repudiate her senior adviser’s threats to defeat sitting Green MPs is the root of the recent conflict within the party.

Annamie Paul’s perspective has overwhelmingly shaped coverage of the dramatic and bitter conflict within the Green Party. The media has even uncritically reported Paul’s claim that Elizabeth May, who abused her authority to promote Paul’s candidacy in last year’s leadership race, is part of a conspiracy against her. As 25-year Green Party member Constantine Kritsonis noted, “Straight out of the twilight zone! The Annamie Paul gang blames Elizabeth May!”