Flags planted in Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti memorial field (photo courtesy of Scott Anderson)

By Liam Verster

Front Line Assistance

Former Vernon councillor, military officer to deliver medical supplies to Ukrainian troops

Nov 5, 2024 | 12:41 PM

A former councillor for the City of Vernon and captain in the Canadian Armed Force Reserves will be delivering aid to troops in Ukraine.

Scott Anderson will leave Canada on Nov. 15 and travel to Lviv, Kiev, and then head east to the conflict zone to deliver medical supplies to Ukrainian soldiers.

The former Vernon councillor and one of the Conservative Party of Canada candidate nominees for the new Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee federal riding, said he has three reasons for undertaking this mission.

“The first is fairly straightforward: to take medical supplies to the front in Ukraine and to make sure they arrive there and aren’t diverted to the black market. Specifically, front line units are short of tourniquets, chest bandages, and IV lines. All of those are readily available in Poland but hard to find in Ukraine. Transporting supplies all the way from Canada doesn’t make sense given air freight charges, so we’ll be buying supplies in Poland and bringing them across from Krakow,” Anderson said.

“Second, if I’m chosen by our local members to represent this riding in Canada’s national Parliament, and if it ever becomes necessary to defend Canada in an increasingly unstable world, as both a member of Parliament and a father I refuse to send our young people into a situation I’m unwilling to risk myself. And frankly I’d rather try to do something to help instead of just talking about it. There are far too many talkers and not enough doers in the political universe.

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“Finally, I want to see the situation on the ground firsthand. However this war ends, it’s going to take a lot of international cooperation to structure a European peace that works and lasts, and I hope to create ties with academics and experts in Ukraine so they’re willing to lend their experience and knowledge to decision-makers here in Canada when the time comes.”

Anderson will be travelling with media accreditation from the Lviv Herald, and will be joined by individuals from Britain who have specialized army training and extensive wartime experience in Ukraine.

“In one of the surreal twists in this war, some soldiers use an interactive civilian app that’s updated frequently to show where the current zero line is,” Anderson said.

“Movements on the front line tend to be small and tactical so we’re unlikely to wander into any surprises.”

To support his efforts, Anderson’s team launched a fundraiser to purchase the medical supplies. Donations can be made online here. Anyone who donates a minimum of $100 will be recognized by Anderson planting a flag at Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti memorial field.