Minister of National Defence Anita Anand opens her notes as she prepares to appear as a witness at the Standing Committee on National Defence, regarding the surveillance balloon from the People's Republic of China, in Ottawa, on March 7.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Defence Minister Anita Anand says there is no indication the flying objects shot down over Yukon and Lake Huron last month were affiliated with a foreign country.
But Ms. Anand says she won’t otherwise speculate on the origins or purpose of those two objects, or of a third shot down off the coast of Alaska, because they have not been recovered.
Ms. Anand made the comments today during an appearance with senior military officers at the House of Commons defence committee.
The three objects were shot down in short order between Feb. 10 and 12, days after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was destroyed off the coast of South Carolina.
U.S. and Canadian officials have previously indicated that the three objects were likely balloons, but said they did not pose a threat to national security.
Ms. Anand was also asked about reports that Chinese surveillance buoys were recovered in Canada’s Arctic waters, but she would not comment owing to national security concerns.