44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Feb/28/22 7:24:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. leader of the Bloc Québécois. I completely agree with him and I appreciate him having the courage to clearly say that we have no reason to support fossil fuels.
Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, published a new report stating quite clearly how close we are to the tipping point of a major planetary disaster. We are facing security threats and planetary threats.
I found a quote by Svitlana Krakovska, head of the Ukrainian delegation at the IPCC negotiations. She said:
She said, “Human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots—fossil fuels—and our dependence on them,” and “We will not surrender in Ukraine, and we hope the world will not surrender in building a climate resilient future”.
I would like my colleague's comments on that, please.
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- Feb/28/22 7:26:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not want to derail this debate entirely, but that report is alarming. It really made me question whether the people who hold the political and economic power are prepared to deal with or mitigate the fallout of climate change. Are they just insulating themselves from the impact of climate change by accumulating more wealth and selling more oil? Climate change will hurt many other people who are far less wealthy.
That is horribly cynical. I do not think that producing and exporting more oil helps Ukraine or anyone. I think that we need to be looking at other solutions all around.
Obviously, since we need to transition much more quickly, western Canada will not be a supplier for Europe.
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- Feb/28/22 7:27:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was starting to feel like I was too small for you to notice me.
Anyway, earlier today I asked the government whether the same sanctions that have so far been imposed on Russia should also be imposed on Belarus, which has been complicit in this invasion. The Russians would not be at Kyiv's doorstep today if Belarus had not given them access to invade Ukraine from the north.
My question for the Bloc Québécois leader is the following. Should we not impose the same sanctions on Belarus as have so far been imposed on Russia?
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- Feb/28/22 7:28:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would hope that it will be just a matter of hours before the government adopts an approach similar to that of the rest of the world. A growing number of governments across Europe are imposing on Belarus sanctions comparable to those imposed on Russia. That one dictator is serving as an accomplice to another dictator does not make the first dictator less guilty than the second.
The people of Belarus are being oppressed and have been egregiously dominated by evil means. Strategically speaking, it is clear that amassing troops on the border between Ukraine and Belarus was the quickest way to reach Kyiv, which, today, as far as we know and from what we are hearing, whether it is true or somewhat true, is fighting a fierce, courageous and very human battle for its dignity. With that in mind, in order to slow down, curb, contain, stop and perhaps get everyone out of Ukraine who has no business being there, I do believe that Belarus should be subject to the same sanctions.
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- Feb/28/22 7:29:42 p.m.
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Before resuming debate, I would like to remind members that there are many people who would like to ask questions. Although members may feel somewhat ignored, the Chair is not ignoring you at all. Members will take turns, and we will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to ask a question in due course.
Therefore, I am asking you to please be patient and persevere, and every member will be able to ask their question.
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- Feb/28/22 7:30:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats strongly condemn President Putin's flagrant aggression against Ukraine, and we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. My thoughts go out to all Ukrainians who are worried about this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russia.
War always brings terrible loss of life and human suffering. As Canada has welcomed a significant population of Ukrainian Canadians, I spoke with some of them today who shared their worries and fears. I spoke with a young man whose parents still live in Ukraine, and despite the fact that his parents live in the western region, which has not seen as much military action, his family lives just kilometres away from where rockets fell. I spoke with Bohdana, who shared with me her fears and that she cannot sleep at night. She has family, friends and cousins she is trying to sponsor, and she cannot sleep at night without making sure that they are okay. She has not slept many hours over the past number of days. She is constantly checking in and constantly worried that something might happen. These are just two of the many stories from Ukrainian Canadians who are deeply worried about what is happening in Ukraine.
In this serious crisis, I will outline two specific areas where Canada can play a significant role in supporting people at this time. First is stronger and more severe sanctions, and second is an emphasis on humanitarian relief.
To begin with the sanctions, the Liberal government must continue to use all tools to deter Putin's aggressive actions. What we can specifically do is impose additional economic sanctions where it hurts Putin, which is by sanctioning Putin's closest oligarchs. I spoke with Bill Browder who is the author and the motivating force behind the Magnitsky Law in Canada and the Magnitsky acts in other countries. He outlined that the current sanctions in place both in Canada and in other countries ignore many of the ultrawealthy oligarchs who hoard Putin's wealth. These oligarchs are well known through the diligent work of many activists and advocates, including Mr. Browder.
We can use the Magnitsky Law in Canada, and there are two categories, one for human rights violations and one for corruption. We know who these oligarchs are. Many of them were identified by Alexei Navalny, a political opponent who Putin imprisoned, tortured and attempted to kill with poison. We need to use the tools that we have to hit Putin where it hurts, with the money he has hoarded in the names of the oligarchs whose resources are located in countries around the world.
We also need more tools to identify where the oligarchs are hiding their money and deal with money laundering in general. We can accelerate the creation of a publicly available, nationwide beneficial ownership registry. This would provide transparency on property ownership in Canada, including those owned by oligarchs whom we know have property in Canada. The current timeline for this registry is 2025, which is simply too far away.
Putin's greed is well documented. It is his weakness. It is well known that the oligarchs hoard his wealth, the wealth that he has stolen from the Russian people. We need to stand up to Putin and do it in a way that hurts him most, which is with his wealth and by sanctioning those oligarchs with the tools we have. We need to do that. It would create significant leverage by putting pressure on Putin to end this war.
Second, we need more support in humanitarian aid, and I will break that down into two areas. Since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, 1.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes. Many came to Canada after the initial invasion eight years ago and have successfully resettled in communities across the country. With Russia's current invasion of Ukraine, the situation for people on the ground has become unfathomably more dire. Ukrainians will be seeking safety and refuge in Canada, and for years we have been calling for visa-free access for Ukrainians. We are calling for urgent action, and that is what we need to do.
The government must work collaboratively to support and resettle those who have been displaced by this escalating humanitarian crisis. We need to automatically extend expiring documents and permits for all Ukrainians currently in Canada. Those who are already here should not be compelled to return to severe risk and danger in Ukraine. We need to ensure that it is easy and that there is barrier-free access for people who are seeking refuge and safety.
We also need to increase humanitarian aid. Ukrainian people need our support more than ever and Canada needs to plan for that humanitarian aid. The crisis is worsening and families are torn apart. Children have been killed. Over half a million Ukrainians have fled the country in a few days, with many more internally displaced. All children in the Ukraine, at least 7.5 million, those who are under 18 years old, are in grave danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress and displacement.
Canada must work with our allies, including the United Nations, to respond appropriately to this terrible situation.
As we have seen with the Syrian crisis, neighbouring countries who host refugees rely on significant support from those donor communities to ensure that the basic needs of the refugees in local populations are met. We ask the government to ensure that additional funds to Ukraine will not be diverted from the existing humanitarian envelope that continues to necessitate Canada's attention.
We are pleased to see the matching funds for the $10 million for the Red Cross, but this is just a drop in the bucket in terms of the massive needs. We need a plan with significant financial commitments to helping Ukrainians, both within Ukraine and those who have managed to get to safety in neighbouring countries. Members of Canada's humanitarian coalition are operating in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries, and they also deserve our support.
The Ukrainian community in Canada is also offering to provide support and is raising funds. We need to support those efforts as well. We know that there will soon be a UN call for funding and Canada must provide its fair share of support for this call.
New Democrats strongly condemn President Putin's flagrant aggression against Ukraine, and we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. My thoughts go out to all Ukrainians who are worried about this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russia.
War always brings terrible loss of life and human suffering. Earlier today, I spoke with Canadians of Ukrainian origin who are terribly worried for their friends and family in Ukraine.
We must help immediately. We must boost sanctions against Putin's oligarchs and increase humanitarian aid to Ukrainians and to organizations helping those seeking refuge. We must work fast to help people seeking refuge in Canada get here safely.
In light of the escalating crisis, we must recognize that Ukrainians seeking safety from the dangers right now in their homeland do not have months to spare. The most urgent action is required. The government must do everything in its power to help these people find safe haven from the threat of violence in Ukraine caused by Russia.
New Democrats stand in solidarity with Ukraine and with the people of Ukraine. We commend and acknowledge their courage, and we encourage the government to offer all help possible to support them in this time of need.
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- Feb/28/22 7:39:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for this thoughts and his speech. It seems to be a general consensus that sanctions are the way to go, specifically Magnitsky sanctions.
He mentioned that he had a conversation with Bill Browder. I have always appreciated the advice that Mr. Browder has shared with me over the years. I was just wondering if the hon. member could share with the House any specific thoughts that Mr. Browder had with respect to sanctions and any specificity, particularly on Magnitsky sanctions.
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- Feb/28/22 7:40:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. Browder really wanted to highlight that sanctions will only work if they target Putin. Putin is not someone who cares about his country. He has robbed from the country. However, he does care about his wealth, and his wealth is hoarded by oligarchs.
The member pointed out that Magnitsky laws provide for the provision of corruption. There are many cases where we can tie oligarchs who are close to Putin with corruption, and those oligarchs need to be sanctioned. We need to start naming and sanctioning specific oligarchs closely connected to Putin who are involved in corruption. That will significantly impact Putin in a way that can apply real leverage and pressure on him to stop this war.
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- Feb/28/22 7:41:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP talked about Magnitsky sanctions. As a matter of fact, I worked very closely with Bill Browder when former senator Raynell Andreychuk, who was from the other place, and I brought forward legislation in 2017 to have the Magnitsky Act become legislation. Unfortunately, the federal government has not used Magnitsky sanctions since 2018.
For people to understand how the kleptocracy works in the Kremlin and Russia and how corrupt Vladimir Putin and his inner circle are, everyone needs to read Red Notice. Bill Browder wrote that book about Sergei Magnitsky, who his lawyer and accountant at the time, and who was trying to tell the truth of what was happening there. Sadly, of course, he was arrested, impugned and beaten. He then died from his injuries in prison.
We know we have a lot more work to do. I would ask the leader of the NDP to talk more about how the government should be using Magnitsky sanctions because it sends the message, in concert with our allies from around the world, that our country cannot be used as a safe haven for corrupt foreign officials, for those who steal from their own citizenry and commit gross human rights violations. We have never seen human rights violations for a long time at the level we are witnessing right now in Ukraine, and they are all being carried out by Vladimir Putin and his war machine.
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- Feb/28/22 7:43:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what has been identified really clearly is, if we want to apply pressure on Putin, the current approach with sanctions, while symbolically important, will not impact him. He has amassed significant wealth by stealing from his own country, so sanctions on the country will not be sufficient to curtail his actions or send a clear message that will hurt Putin personally.
The only way to apply pressure in this case is make President Putin feel the pain. We know that his wealth is held and hoarded by oligarchs, many of whom have been identified by many advocates. We need to identify and sanction those specific oligarchs with Magnitsky law, the sanctions and powers we have. That will send a very powerful message and hurt Putin where it counts, which is his greed and the wealth he has amassed by stealing from the country and Russians.
That is what we need to do. That is a powerful tool, which has yet to be used effectively, and it is part of what New Democrats are calling for, which is to apply real leverage and pressure to end what is going on in Ukraine, to end the violence and stop Putin from continuing to do it.
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- Feb/28/22 7:44:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is an extremely serious time. I agree with most of what the NDP leader said, especially what he said about more targeted sanctions.
Does he think sanctions should be applied to Belarus to bring about the fastest, most conclusive results possible? That is what the Bloc Québécois believes. I would also like to know what he thinks about maintaining contact with embassies and ambassadors, as other parties have proposed.
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- Feb/28/22 7:45:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, under normal circumstances, sanctions can be imposed and diplomacy can be used to send messages. In this case, however, it is clear that President Putin is not paying attention to such gestures. He only cares about money. That really is his weakness.
If we really want to help the Ukrainian people, who are suffering at the moment, the sanctions must hit President Putin by targeting the oligarchs and their wealth. That is how we can really put pressure on President Putin. Other tools, sanctions and efforts will unfortunately not work, because Putin does not care about normal things. On the other hand, if we target the oligarchs, we can put pressure on Putin and hit him where it hurts the most.
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- Feb/28/22 7:46:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the NDP for his strong condemnation of the attack by Russia on Ukraine, his support of measures that will take the fight directly to Vladimir Putin, and his suggestion to take up some of the measures that I and my New Democrat colleagues have been suggesting for a long time to help Ukrainians get to Canada in an expedited fashion by, for example, eliminating the visa requirement.
We know that one component of Putin's attack on Ukraine very much has to do with disinformation and how Putin and the Russian administration under him have excelled at propagating disinformation through social media. We have felt the effects of that even here in Canada. We have known for a long time that part of the Russian strategy has been to decentre western democracies through disinformation. We are going to have to be very vigilant during the battle between Ukrainian forces and Russian forces to understand and appreciate the role of disinformation.
I wonder if the member has some thoughts on what government could do, and what individual Canadians could do, to fight against the propagation of disinformation on social media?
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- Feb/28/22 7:48:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is true that we have already seen the impacts of the campaign of disinformation led by Russia to particularly target democracies. They do so by propagating messages, information and propaganda that are incorrect. They repeat the lines that Russia is encouraging people to believe. It is information designed to subvert democracies and incite hatred against different groups. In this case, it is against Ukraine.
We have seen clear, concerted attempts to incite hatred against Ukraine that are baseless, and we have seen propaganda that is baseless.
There is a couple of things that we could do. The first is to be very careful. When we see information, we should be very careful about the source and make sure it is a source that we trust, a source that has been verified before spreading any of its messages. There is a clear effort, and we will be targeted with disinformation.
The second is that government has a strong role to play. We have seen, through a number of different accounts, including whistle-blowers, that social media benefits from divisive rhetoric and comments, and they amplify messages that might divide people because, whether it is people criticizing that message or supporting it, it will keep more people on their platform.
Governments have to play a role in ensuring that disinformation is not spread and is not allowed to be spread. It cannot be left in the hands of social media companies, which would give those messages that are divisive and that create controversy more space and amplify them in people's feeds. That is why government has to take a role in stopping the spread of that information. It is something we have long called for.
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- Feb/28/22 7:49:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River.
I am proud to rise today during this take-note debate in the House of Commons to speak to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. A couple of days ago, I was joined by several of my colleagues in requesting this emergency take-note debate in the House of Commons. We felt it was important to provide an opportunity for members of all parties from all parts of the country to speak to this issue and to discuss Canada's and the international community's response to what is happening in Ukraine. I would like to thank all parties for their support for the motion to have this emergency take-note debate.
During our last take-note debate I shared a story with all members about my grandfather, Yvan, and how I was with him when Ukraine declared its independence. He was a great patriot. When Ukraine declared its independence, it might have been the proudest day of his life. My grandfather said to me that day that, now Ukraine was independent, we would have to keep up the fight for Ukraine's independence. I was 14 years old at the time and I asked him what he was talking about. I thought Ukraine had declared its independence, as people wanted, and the world had recognized it. I said to him, “You are wrong.” However, I was wrong.
In 2014, Russia twice invaded Ukraine and Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. In 2014, the world did not do enough. It did not impose enough sanctions. It did not send weapons. It did not do enough to support Ukraine and to deter an invasion. Now Vladimir Putin has begun an unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has attacked the entire country, and not just the soldiers defending Ukraine's borders. He is targeting and killing civilians: men, women and children. He is bombing buildings. He is bombing kindergartens and much more. Civilians are dying as we speak.
The courage of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian armed forces has been inspiring. It is not just soldiers who are fighting courageously, it is men, women, people of all ages, seniors, are taking up arms. They are outnumbered and they are outgunned, but they keep fighting. They are holding the line against a much larger, much more well-armed military.
In Ukrainian we say, “Slava Ukraini. Heroyam slava.” This means glory to Ukraine and glory to the heroes. I think we can all agree that Ukrainians are living up to those words right now. For those of us with Ukrainian ancestry, this touches us personally, but this is something that concerns all Canadians. It is a humanitarian crisis. We see not just the soldiers being killed, but civilians being killed, as well as civilians being displaced and civilian communities being bombed. This is an attack on Ukraine's sovereignty, but it is also an attack on democracy in the international rules-based order. It is a threat not just to Ukraine's security, but to Europe's security, the world's security and Canada's security.
Ukrainians are fighting bravely, and they are fighting for their freedom. They are fighting for their homeland, but they are also fighting for something else. They are fighting for all of us. Today, this impacts all of us. This affects all our security. It affects democracy around the world. It affects global security.
Today, they are fighting for all of us. Today, we are all Ukrainian. Ukrainians are fighting for us, and we need to fight for them. That is why Canada and our allies must do everything possible to stop this invasion and to ensure Russia withdraws from Ukraine.
Canada has taken a tremendous number of steps along with our allies. Today, we banned crude oil exports. We announced that we are going to provide additional lethal weapons to Ukraine, anti-tank weapons, and other rockets and systems that Ukraine has requested. We will ask the CRTC to review RT's presence on our airwaves. We need to get rid of RT in Canada.
We have previously provided two shipments of lethal weapons. We trained over 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers, who are fighting so bravely as we speak right now, and we have imposed a tremendous number of sanctions against Vladimir Putin, his oligarchs and the central bank and much more. These sanctions are having a significant impact, but it will not be enough until Vladimir Putin stops, until Ukraine is free.
Today, the House unanimously supported my motion that called on Canada to do a number of things, including continuing to impose sanctions, the provision of additional support to the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian armed forces, the issuing of an additional order for the CRTC about RT and broadcasting policy, and the removal of Russia from SWIFT and the payment system.
We have to keep working until we stop Vladimir Putin, until the Ukrainians win. They are fighting for us.
In 1991, on that day with my grandfather, I was wrong. In 2014, the world was wrong. There is too much at stake. Ukraine's security is Europe's security and is Canada's security. Ukrainians are fighting bravely for freedom, but they are also fighting for us, and we need to fight for them.
Today we are all Ukrainian. Today everyone in the free world is Ukrainian, and today we can all say slava Ukraini, heroyam slava.
Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.
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- Feb/28/22 7:55:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Saskatchewan has a large Ukrainian community, with as many as 15% of the province's population tracing their roots back to Ukraine.
Last week the provincial Government of Saskatchewan sent a letter to this government, asking it to prioritize immigration applicants from Ukraine who have already applied under the Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program as well as to fast-track refugee applications from Ukrainians bound for Saskatchewan.
Can the government commit to working closely with the provincial Government of Saskatchewan on these priority items so we can help as many Ukrainians as possible?
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- Feb/28/22 7:56:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his advocacy around helping those Ukrainians who are displaced and fleeing their country and need our help. Canada has an important role to play in making sure we support those who need our help, providing humanitarian assistance and also welcoming Ukrainians to Canada, where they can find refuge.
The Government of Canada has been working very closely with provincial governments and will continue to, I am sure. What the Government of Canada has shown to date, through the measures that have been announced over the last few days and today, is that we are taking every step possible to ensure we help facilitate Ukrainians coming to Canada, finding safety here and continuing to build this country, as Ukrainian Canadians have for generations.
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- Feb/28/22 7:57:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks.
This has been raised a few times today, and my colleague just mentioned it again, but I am not sure we have had a clear answer as to whether the government is considering waiving visa requirements for Ukrainians coming to Canada, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, since it is an emergency situation.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.
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- Feb/28/22 7:57:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government has already demonstrated that it will work to support people who are fleeing war and Ukraine.
I hear the member's suggestion, and I thank him very much for that. I think it is vitally important that Canada do everything it can to bring Ukrainians who need out to Canada.
The government has already announced that we are doing this, and we will continue to work on it.
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- Feb/28/22 7:58:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his words in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Whether they are bringing their children to safety or fighting for freedom and democracy, Ukrainians are showing the world what courage looks like, and we have to support them. I have spoken to so many people in my community here in Victoria who are worried about their family members. Parents, grandparents, people with disabilities and people with young children are trying to get to safety and need to get here quickly. We know our immigration and refugee system is broken and extremely backlogged. We are witnessing this unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Can the member speak to the urgent need to provide more resources and measures to help those in need of support and resettlement who are fleeing Putin's violence? As well, does he agree that Canada should provide visa-free access to all Ukrainians?
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