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Jan/31/22 9:22:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the answer to the question is simple. For centuries Canada's security, the safety and security of our citizens and the safety and security of our borders have been inextricably tied to that of Europe. If democracies in Europe are being threatened with an attack, with invasion, then Canada must stand up not only for the security of those nations in Europe but for the security of Canadians here at home and provide all assistance necessary to ensure that happens; assistance including diplomacy, humanitarian aid and assistance including the threat of use of force and lethal defensive weapons as the Government of Ukraine has requested.

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Mr. James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, CPC)

Jan/31/22 9:23:34 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member has been a great, reasonable voice on foreign affairs in our caucus and in this House. I know that he takes what is happening in Ukraine very seriously, as he just articulated. Perhaps he could elaborate. The world is watching what happens right now in Ukraine. Despots around the world are waiting to see what NATO and the alliance does in response to these threats from the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin in particular. If we are not able to contain this situation and protect Ukraine's sovereign territory and the people of Ukraine, what possibly could happen by other despots who see the position that Canada has taken and other nations as weak?

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Hon. Michael Chong

Jan/31/22 9:24:29 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I could not agree with my colleague more. In fact, what is going on right now often reminds me of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s where the duly elected and recognized government of Spain, the republican government of Spain, was under threat from the nationalists, from a civil war and a coup d'état that had erupted, led by Spanish generals. Spanish republicans pleaded to western democracies to provide lethal defensive weapons, lethal military weapons, for the defence of Spanish republicans, but democracies in the 1930s turned a blind eye and refused those military weapons. Germany and Italy, being fascist powers at the time, sent plenty of weapons to the nationalists who eventually triumphed, leading into the dark events of the war of 1939 to 1945. When I hear about governments and democracies refusing to send lethal defensive weapons to a fellow democracy under threat from another authoritarian regime, it brings me back to that period of time in the 1930s where we as democracies turned a blind eye to rising authoritarianism in Europe and paid a very high price over the subsequent six years to 1945. That is the lesson we have failed to heed from the situation that is currently unfolding in eastern Europe.

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Mrs. Shannon Stubbs (Lakeland, CPC)

Jan/31/22 9:26:11 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member for Wellington—Halton Hills for his leadership and this opportunity. This debate is urgent and personal. Lakeland has deep connections with Ukraine. In 1891, 125 Ukrainian families first came to Lamont County, called the cradle of Ukrainian settlement in Canada, where I grew up. In 1903, my father-in-law's Satskyv family came by train to Innisfree to farm. By 1930, the more than 50,000 Ukrainians in Alberta were the biggest community outside Ukraine. It is as strong as ever in Lakeland. From churches and festivals, the Ukrainian village, the ancestral home built by former Premier Ed Stelmach's grandparents, the Victoria settlement near Smoky Lake and St. Paul's Garlic Dome to the world's largest pysanka in Vegreville, Glendon's giant perogie, and Mundare's kolbassa, symbols of Ukrainian food, faith, family, language and culture help define Lakeland. Today, outside of Ukraine and Russia, Canada has the world's largest Ukrainian population of more than a million people. Historically, Canada stood with Ukraine to defend its territory and democracy. Almost three decades ago, under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government, Canada was the first western country to recognize Ukraine's independence from Russian only one day after an overwhelming declaration from the Ukrainian people. Canada's support was immediate and unequivocal. In 2014, Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea was met with a swift, powerful response from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government. He led the charge to boot Russia out of the G8, pledged millions of dollars in military trainers and other aid and imposed sweeping sanctions against hundreds of individuals and entities. He did not pull any punches with Putin at the G20 later that year and told him to his face to get out of Ukraine. He said, “Whether it takes five months or 50 years, Canada will never accept the illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory by Russia.” Two years ago, he warned, “Ukraine's struggle is not over. We must continue to stand with the people of Ukraine in the face of ongoing aggression from the Putin regime.” Today those prophetic words fall on the deaf ears of the current Liberal government like the pleas from Ukrainians in Lakeland and across Canada. Natalia from Vegreville emailed me. She wants Canada to take a leadership role in support of Ukraine's independence and in defence of Ukraine's territory and to increase sanctions and military equipment and defensive weapons for Ukraine, among other measures. Vegreville has significant Ukrainian history and is a sister city to Kolomyya, Ukraine. Last spring, Vegreville hosted the red carpet premier of Troy Ruptash's award-winning film They Who Surround Us, which tells the story of a grieving Ukrainian farmer in Alberta who loses his wife in a tragic accident. He relives the trauma from his childhood in Ukraine of being dragged from his home with his sister and mother by Russian invaders. When it ended, there was not a dry eye in the room. The people of Lakeland are standing with Ukraine, and they expect their government to do the same. A constituent, Janet, wrote to me, imploring the Canadian government to do more. She said that Ukrainians “have the will and passion to fight, but not the army to defend against Russia's might. Needlessly, young people and their future will die if the world does not help. We must not forget them.” Well, Conservatives will not abandon Ukraine, nor will we forget the Ukrainian people. Last April, we condemned Russia's expansion of its illegal military presence in Crimea and called on the Liberals to counter with an increase in military defensive aid and to re-offer RADARSAT imaging to help identify Russian troop and equipment movements. Two weeks ago, in response to another build-up of Russian troops at Ukraine's border, Conservatives again called on the Liberals to expand Operation Unifier, restore RADARSAT imaging, give Ukraine lethal defensive weapons and use Magnitsky sanctions. The Liberals first only offered a small loan that was politely welcomed by Ukraine's president, then non-lethal equipment, a small expansion of Operation Unifier's standard renewal, some humanitarian assistance and only 60 troops. That is not enough. Ukraine is facing 130,000 Russian troops. Their embassy said, “We need to defend our land. The U.K. and U.S. have already shipped the military equipment and we would appreciate if Canada follows suit.” The Liberals are ready to fall short again in another abrogation of Canada's proud heritage of actually leading and in joining allies when it matters most. For generations, Canadians have been world-renowned for their extraordinary efforts in defending freedom, equality, democracy, human rights and sovereignty, and punching above our weight no matter the strength of the foe. Those values, that courage and that moral compass are still in the hearts of the Canadian people, the Canadian Armed Forces and our international and diplomatic service. The Liberal government must stand with Ukraine and with all Ukrainian Canadians with real action.

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Mr. Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 9:31:10 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it was wonderful to hear, particularly in the first part of the member's remarks, a bit about her community of Lakeland and the Ukrainian heritage that so many people in Lakeland value and share, how they celebrate that, and how that inspires their concern for what is happening right now in Ukraine. Could the member speak a bit about sanctions? She mentioned briefly in her remarks the need for sanctions. Over the course of the last few years, the government has sanctioned about 440 individuals and entities, mostly Russian but some Ukrainian as well, who were involved in threatening Ukraine's sovereignty and violating human rights. I wonder if the member could speak to what additional sanctions she would like to see and if there are any particular groups or entities she would like sanctioned.

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Mrs. Shannon Stubbs

Jan/31/22 9:32:14 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would say that it is not only about sanctions. The response of the Canadian government must be multipronged. Sanctions are only one among the vast array of tools that Canada has to show real solidarity to defend the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The request is very clear, as the top priority, for lethal weapons. At least nine other countries in the world, including the U.S. and the U.K., have ensured that the military equipment the Ukrainian people require to defend themselves is there. Canada should be at the front of the pack.

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Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)

Jan/31/22 9:33:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I know that my colleague, the member for Lakeland, has as many Ukrainians in her constituency as I do in mine. It was lovely to hear that commitment to the Ukrainian diaspora in her community. The member will not be surprised when I talk about the need for de-escalation and the need for a peaceful resolution on this conflict. She spoke about the tools that we have in our tool box and all of the things that we could be doing. From her perspective as a member of the Conservative Party, what are those things that Canada should be doing to de-escalate? Aside from providing weapons, aside from escalating with lethal-force weapons, what are those things that she sees that the government should be doing to de-escalate and to turn down the temperature on the conflict happening in Ukraine?

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Mrs. Shannon Stubbs

Jan/31/22 9:34:00 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I outlined a number of those specific measures that Canada could take and that Conservatives have consistently recommended since last April, which is a lot of time that has been expended with very limited action, while Ukrainians are vulnerable to expanding Russian military forces on the border. Given that the member commented about my constituents, why do I not just tell her a few recommendations that Natalia from Vegreville sent me? These are things that Conservatives support too. She recommended accelerating a NATO membership action plan for Ukraine; increasing sanctions on Russia to deter further aggression; ensuring that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline never becomes operational; increasing the provision of military equipment and defensive weapons to Ukraine; and extending and expanding Operation Unifier, Canada's military training mission in Ukraine, which was of course launched by the former Conservative government. As the member for Wellington—Halton Hills said, diplomacy is critical and must be ongoing, but to push back on the danger and the threats to free people and free countries everywhere against despots it must be founded by real, potential lethal action.

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Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)

Jan/31/22 9:35:20 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, all evening in this debate, the Conservatives have been going on and on about Ukraine's requests for weapons. I would like my colleague to comment on whether she believes that what Canada can bring to the table in terms of weapons would have much of an impact on the ground. In that context, does she agree with me that we should use diplomacy instead of weapons? Does she recognize that the diplomatic route is really more important than weapons and the latter must come second?

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Mrs. Shannon Stubbs

Jan/31/22 9:36:05 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, of course diplomacy is necessary and ought to be ongoing, but let us talk about the real cost to the Ukrainian people of only talking. Natalia also pointed out that since 2014 the illegal invasion and occupation by Russia has cost Ukraine over 13,000 dead, over 30,000 wounded and 1.5 million internally displaced people. This is why we should join our free and democratic allies who have already sent the weapons to Ukraine that the country needs to defend itself. This is why we should be at the front of the pack. Those are the real costs that happened while we put up hashtags on pieces of paper and sit around here debating diplomacy.

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Mr. James Maloney (Etobicoke—Lakeshore, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 9:36:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank all members of the House tonight, as this debate would not be taking place if it were not for the unanimous agreement of all members in this chamber. I believe the reason we have that unanimous consent is that we stand united in purpose to stand with Ukraine. We need to remember that throughout this debate. I rise today in support of Ukraine and of the initiatives of our government to support Ukraine in this difficult time. The links between our two countries are strong, and Canada has been and will be steadfast in standing in solidarity with Ukraine, especially in the face of unwarranted Russian aggression. For me, the ties are strong. Not only do I have a large Ukrainian community in my constituency, but there are also many Ukrainian cultural and religious organizations, as well as the Ukrainian consulate. Canadians of Ukrainian descent strengthen our social and cultural fabric in Etobicoke, in Toronto and in the country. The community is strong and the ties that bind our two countries are many. They are my neighbours; they are my teammates; they are my classmates; they are my friends. As has been said many times before, when Ukraine became an independent state in 1991, Canada was the first western country to recognize it as such. Canada and Ukraine have enjoyed an even stronger relationship since. The 1994 joint declaration on special partnership recognizes Canada's support for the development of Ukraine and the importance of that bilateral co-operation. Canada is committed to supporting Ukraine as it takes necessary steps to secure itself as a stable, democratic and prosperous country. We have been there to develop and strengthen democratic institutions in Ukraine, including election monitoring. I was there myself in 2019 as part of the delegation. I felt those bonds. Since 2014, Canada has provided Ukraine with more than $890 million in multi-faceted assistance to support Ukraine's security, prosperity and reform objectives. Since 2015, Canada has been providing military training to Ukraine under Operation Unifier. The operation's focus is to assist with security force training to help them improve and build their capability and capacity. Over 32,000 of its security forces will help ensure Ukraine remains sovereign, secure and stable. Last week, our government announced $340 million for the extension and expansion of Operation Unifier for three more years, as well as immediately deploying 60 personnel to join approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members on the ground, with the ability to surge to 400. Military support is just one part of Canada’s overall strategy. There are also economic supports through trade and investment. In 2020, the value of Canada’s merchandise exports to Ukraine totalled $161 million and the value of merchandise imports from Ukraine amounted to $144 million. Last week, on January 27, Canada and Ukraine announced the launch of negotiations for the modernization of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Since 2014, Canada has been one of Ukraine’s leading bilateral development assistance partners, having committed more than $245 million to development assistance, including the provisions of emergency basic health services, safe drinking water, food assistance, protection support, shelter and essential relief items. This needs to be a non-partisan debate. As I said at the beginning, we are united in purpose. The Prime Minister is fully engaged. The Deputy Prime Minister is fully engaged. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Ukraine last week, came back and granted the request of the President of Ukraine. The Minister of Defence is there as we speak. I expect, upon her return, we will see further action from Canada. I hope we can maintain this united force and non-partisan approach.

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Mr. Marc Dalton (Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, CPC)

Jan/31/22 9:41:51 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I heard Liberal members discuss about all options being on the table, but it seems to me that one of the options is providing military aid, lethal support, and we have been bringing this up over and over again. It was a previous member of Parliament with the Liberal Party, former lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, who said recently that the Liberal government does not take the military seriously. This impacts what we can do and provide for Ukrainians and is having a direct effect. That is my concern. What we are able to do for Ukraine is just an outflow, other than a few troops coming in and doing a few different things. What it needs help with is military. I wonder if the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore could speak about the deterioration of the military and the armaments we have in order to provide to Ukraine.

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Mr. James Maloney

Jan/31/22 9:43:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, first of all, I am going to disagree with his characterization of the situation. There has been no diminished contribution. Canada has been there with Ukraine since the beginning. This goes back to 2014 with the invasion of Crimea. We have been talking about support of military lethal weapons. Canada did not do it then. The opposition is asking us to do it now. Military support comes in many different fashions. We need only look at Operation Unifier. Over 30,000 members of the Ukrainian military are better trained because of Canada's contribution, so to say that Canada has not helped with military contribution is absolutely false.

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Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)

Jan/31/22 9:44:01 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, one of the things I asked earlier, and I would like to extend the question to the member as well, is around the assurance by the Government of Canada that it will be implementing some of those key lessons in our feminist foreign policy. One of those is that we do what we can to advocate to ensure women are at all tables, that women are part of all the discussions that lead to de-escalation, because we know that when women are at the table, different decisions are made. I just want to be very, very clear. How is the government ensuring women are there, that they are part of the solution and part of the de-escalation efforts happening in Ukraine?

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Mr. James Maloney

Jan/31/22 9:44:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we heard the Prime Minister earlier this evening address that very issue. Canada is very proud to support the initiative to make sure women form part of the training exercise. If we look at Operation Unifier, women formed part of that training. International development programs that Canada has supported and has been part of have put great emphasis on that very issue. It is quite clear where Canada stands.

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Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)

Jan/31/22 9:45:23 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the importance of diplomacy in resolving the conflict has come up a lot in tonight's debate. Some people put it second, some put it first, but everyone has talked about it. This crisis may have exposed certain shortcomings in Canada's ability to engage in credible diplomacy. Several ambassadors have complained in the press about the very rapid turnover in certain embassies and the loss of institutional knowledge. Is tonight's debate not the right time to say that we need to reinvest in diplomacy and set a clearer, more assertive foreign policy?

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Mr. James Maloney

Jan/31/22 9:46:13 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, with all due respect, to suggest there has been a shortfall by Canada on the diplomacy front is simply wrong. Our foreign affairs minister was in Ukraine last week. Our defence minister left Ukraine hours ago. She is going to Brussels as we speak to engage in further diplomatic discussions. That is exactly the approach Canada is trying to take. To answer the question as to what is a priority, everything is a priority to make sure that further invasion of Ukraine does not take place.

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz (Davenport, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 9:47:00 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to wish you and all colleagues in the House a very happy New Year. I know it is the end of January, but this is my first chance to stand in the House virtually to speak and send those wishes. I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak during this take-note debate on Ukraine and the buildup of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border. It is important for us to have this conversation and dialogue. We live in troubling and unpredictable times. In addition to the global pandemic that the world is grappling with, what is happening at the Ukrainian border, with the accumulation and buildup of over 100,000 troops by Russia, is troubling to say the least. As a Ukrainian-Canadian, I have been following this development since its start last fall. My father's family is Ukrainian. They were and are very proud of their culture and heritage. They came to Canada as a broken family after World War II, reluctantly leaving their homeland, having no choice. They lost everything in the war. With the USSR taking over Ukraine, there was no hope for a future. They were devastated. From a displaced persons camp and on one of the last boats to leave for North America, they came to Canada seeking peace and safety. The scars from the war and from that time remain with my family, and we are still healing from them. That is why I am so very proud of our federal government for its leadership and for stepping up to help Ukraine counter unprovoked Russian aggression. I support Canada's strong push for peace and for a diplomatic resolution while supporting Ukraine economically and helping Ukraine to defend itself. For me, the right choice is to push hard and to explore any and every opportunity for a diplomatic resolution. Providing arms should be our last option, not our first one. I stand with Canada and with our government to defend the sovereignty, territoriality and independence of Ukraine. I fully support Canada's push for peace and for a diplomatic resolution while preparing, if we have to, to quickly step up our contribution should Russia choose armed conflict and invade Ukrainian territory. As I am currently serving as the vice-president of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, I am also very proud of NATO's leadership under the direction of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. NATO has been very clear that they are encouraging and are prepared to engage in political dialogue with Russia, while also being ready to respond if Russia chooses an armed conflict. Now let us look at how Canada is stepping up to support Ukraine. There are many ways. When our Minister of Foreign Affairs went to Ukraine over a week ago, Ukrainian President Zelensky's number one ask was for economic loans to help stabilize Ukraine's economy. Within three days, our government stepped up with a $120-million loan. The second thing Ukrainian President Zelensky asked for was help to defend Ukraine, so we urgently announced an expansion of the existing much-valued Operation Unifier at the cost of $340 million. This extension and expansion of Canada's military presence in support of Ukraine will ensure that members of the Canadian Armed Forces will continue to provide enhanced military training and mentorship to Ukraine's security forces through to the end of March 2025. Additionally, Canada is providing non-lethal aid and working with the Communications Security Establishment to enhance cyber-operations. This increased support will help Ukraine strengthen its security and ability to defend itself against a range of threats. On top of that, we are providing $50 million in development and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In less than one week, there has been over $500 million in support for Ukraine. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has been in constant contact with our many NATO allies, has indicated that we are ready to step up even more, together with our allies, with stronger economic sanctions against Russia, should there be military incursion into Ukraine. Any action by Russia in this direction will have serious consequences. Our Minister of National Defence has said the same thing. I want to say to both ministers how grateful I am for their extraordinary leadership during these unpredictable and troubling times. In closing, while we live in troubling and unpredictable times, I have confidence that working together with NATO and our other allies, and in keeping the channels of communication open with Russia, it is not too late to find a diplomatic and peaceful way out of the current situation. [Member spoke in Ukrainian]

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Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)

Jan/31/22 9:52:03 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I just have a comment for the member, whom I have known for a number of years now. Russia's military is not the only hard power tool that it has to intimidate Europe and Ukraine. It can also use energy as a weapon. It supplies 40% of Europe's natural gas, and if it cuts off natural gas supplies to Europe, people will freeze, industries will shut down and European GDP will plummet. The Biden administration has been talking to countries around the world about increasing natural gas supplies to Europe in the event that the Russians cut off gas to Europe, except for Canada. Canada is not mentioned in any of the reports coming back about supplying natural gas in the event that this happens, even though we are the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the world. When will the government see that energy is not only vital to our economy, but vital to our national security and to those of Europe and Ukraine?

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Jan/31/22 9:53:11 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for his excellent comment and question. I do believe that we recognize the importance of energy. If the member is suggesting that we should be looking at energy as one of the ways that we might actually want to support Ukraine in the future, I think the Prime Minister, all of the ministers who have spoken today and many of my colleagues who have spoken today have indicated that every option is on the table. Anything that we can do to continue to support Ukraine, to continue to de-escalate, will be on the table and will be part of the discussions moving forward.

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