SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Mar/20/24 7:08:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize. Our Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine held a bilateral meeting to discuss the situation on the ground and Ukraine's needs over the coming months. The two leaders signed a new, historic agreement on security co-operation between Canada and Ukraine to establish a strategic security partnership. The agreement builds on the G7 joint declaration of support for Ukraine and outlines key, long-term security commitments for Canada to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity, protects its people and rebuilds its economy for the future. As part of this commitment, Canada will provide just over $3 billion in critical financial and military support to Ukraine in 2024. In addition, the Prime Minister announced new support for Ukraine's resilience and recovery efforts. This includes $75 million in peace and security assistance, which includes demining, cyber-support and intelligence support; and cultural support for the completion of the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv, helping preserve the memory of victims and survivors of the Holodomor, a systemic and heinous campaign of deliberate starvation by the Soviet regime that killed millions across Ukraine in 1932 and 1933. The Prime Minister also announced the allocation of funding, up to $39 million, for development assistance to provide access to essential mental health services for vulnerable populations, to help build food systems that are more resilient and to support efforts by local communities toward reconstruction and recovery. There is over $22 million in humanitarian assistance to support trusted United Nations and Red Cross partners in delivering critical assistance, including emergency health interventions, protection services, shelter, water, sanitation and food, as well as the promotion of respect for international humanitarian law. There is also over $18 million in peace, security and stabilization assistance to support projects. For many Canadians, and especially those of Ukrainian heritage, it is important now more than ever that Ukraine continues to receive the support it needs to fight the war. I was proud to host our Minister of National Defence in my community of Etobicoke—Lakeshore last month to announce that we are providing Ukraine with the drones it needs to protect its troops and the country. Of course, there is the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. Yesterday, I was pleased to join my colleague from Etobicoke Centre and Ihor Michalchyshyn to witness the Senate pass the agreement, despite opposition from the official opposition in the House and the official opposition in the Senate. It was a fundamental way to show solidarity with Ukraine, and I cannot believe the official opposition did not support it. It is shameful. In short, the federal government stands in full solidarity with the people of Ukraine. There are so many more measures I could discuss, but the bottom line is that we are here, we are with them and we will support them until this is over.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Mar/20/24 7:26:41 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have to say that, when this war started, I was so impressed by that countries all around the world that pledged their support and stood beside Ukraine. What has happened in the last six months, with the unexpected holdup in the U.S. with the House of Representatives, is that the funding Ukraine needs has still not been approved. If we really support it, as Canada has done, we need to put our money on the table and continue to be as supportive today as we were when this war broke out.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Mar/20/24 10:06:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, you have my apologies. President Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister have reaffirmed the strength and importance of our bilateral relationship time and time again, including during the President's visit in September and in his address to the House. On February 24, 2024, just a few weeks ago, when the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence visited Kyiv to mark two years since Russia's full-scale invasion, they were reminded, once again, of the bravery and resolve of the Ukrainian people. This visit culminated in the historic signing of the Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership, which commits Canada to provide an additional $3.02 billion in critical macroeconomic and military assistance to Ukraine in 2024, and frames our co-operation for the next 10 years. This brings Canada's total committed support to date to $13.3 billion since 2022. This includes over $4 billion in military assistance, $7.4 billion in financial assistance to support Ukraine's macroeconomic stability and many other forms of support. On security and stabilization, since 2022, Canada has committed over $198 million in security and stabilization funding, including projects on demining, reducing threats from nuclear or radiological materials and chemical weapons, as well as countering disinformation. The members of the House have often highlighted the importance of coordinating sanctions. Since 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 2,900 individuals and entities in Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Canada has also implemented targeted restrictions against Russia and Belarus in the financial sector, in trades for goods and services, in energy and in transport sectors. We have also implemented export control measures, prohibiting the issuance of new permit applications and revoking valid permits to export controlled military, strategic and dual-use items to Russia. These measures, taken in coordination with our partners, are having an impact on the Russian economy and are expected to be cumulative and increase in significance over time. Canada will continue to work with partners to address loopholes, increase the cost of the war for Russia and prevent sanctions evasion, circumvention and backfilling. The final issue that I want to address today is the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported, forcibly transferred or otherwise displaced from the territory of Ukraine to the temporarily occupied territories and Russia and Belarus. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was clear: Children cannot be used as pawns of war. That is why our government launched the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children, a joint initiative with our Ukrainian friends and allies to coordinate efforts to address the illegal transfer of children to Russia. I know I have to wrap up, so I will conclude by saying that Canada will continue to stand, both today and always, with the government and people of Ukraine on the path to victory and recovery. Slava Ukraini.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Mr. Shuvaloy Majumdar

Mar/20/24 10:24:27 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I stand by every syllable of my leader's requirement to ensure that not a single Canadian dollar goes to terrorists, to useless multinational organizations or to dictators, all projects that the hon. member across the way seems to be obsessed with funding in Gaza. In terms of reversing bad schemes that do not work for the development of the most impoverished, I stand 100%, four-square, behind the leader of His Majesty's official opposition. It is actually a fact, a sad fact, that under NDP-Liberals, official development assistance declined 10%. Not just that, but at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the increased war in Ukraine, what we saw was that the NDP-Liberal government dismantled the wide-ranging development assistance that Canada had been providing to Ukrainian civil society, the Ukrainian capital budget, its defence production and its training of its armed forces through Operation Unifier. The Liberals intentionally walked much of that back, dismantled it and weakened Ukraine just at the time when it needed to strengthen Ukraine for the oncoming anticipated offensive by Russia. I appreciate the perspectives the member has offered in this debate, but I am very proud to say that our party, our opposition, has exactly the right plan to help Ukraine win the war.

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