The Ottawa\u002Dbased charity Mriya Aid has faced allegations of mismanagement, including providing Ukrainian troops with inadequate equipment.
Defence Minister Anita Anand and Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, as well as senior military leaders, were unaware the officers were directly dealing with military equipment suppliers or engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions with Ukraine’s government.In addition, senior Canadian leaders say they had no inkling the officers had conducted briefings on the side with U.S. politicians and other agencies about aid to Ukraine.
Le Bouthillier also acknowledged the Canadian Forces leadership was kept in the dark about the efforts of the officers to directly deal with the Ukrainian government and military, as well as U.S. government officials. Lt. Col. Melanie Lake, who was the chairperson of Mriya Aid, noted in a Nov. 16, 2022 statement to this newspaper she did not use government resources or her military position to assist with her volunteer work.
Kateryna Halushka, a Ukrainian who provides medical assistance on the front lines of the war, complained in February 2023 that Mriya Aid raised more than $20,000 for tourniquets for a specific medical group in Ukraine but those were initially not delivered. Lake had previously acknowledged there were issues with the night vision systems sent to the Ukrainians. She also told this newspaper in February that communication issues with the Ukrainian medical volunteers were behind the problems with the delivery of tourniquets to them. The medical supplies have since been delivered but that only happened after the Ukrainian medical volunteers complained about Mriya Aid on social media.
Friedberg, a grievance analyst with the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group at CFB Borden, did not respond to requests for comment about who authorized him to contact Joly’s office. Col. Nickolas Roby, commander of the recruiting group, didn’t respond to a request for an interview nor respond to questions.
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