44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 20, 2024 02:00PM
- Mar/20/24 3:14:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a Prime Minister who authorized the export of gas turbines to pump gas from Putin's economy into Europe to fund the war. He is someone who signed on to allow Russian detonators to blow up Ukrainians on the battlefield, and he is pro Russia's energy policy to fund the Russian economy.
We will take no lessons—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Mar/20/24 7:57:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his speech. We were both members of the committee that must not be named. It was very interesting. What struck me was how we, as Canadians, take our safety here in Canada for granted.
We have welcomed more than 100 Ukrainian families to Châteauguay—Lacolle, and they are fitting right in. These wonderful people work in our communities, and we are happy to have them. In his speech, my colleague said that NATO should maybe have intervened sooner following the Russian invasion. I would like him to expand on that. Does he think Canada was ready to send troops to Ukraine?
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- Mar/20/24 8:06:59 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton Strathcona.
It has been more than two years since Putin began his full-scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine. Today, New Democrats want to reaffirm our solidarity with Ukraine and Ukrainians.
Putin's genocide has killed and injured tens of thousands of Ukrainians and displaced hundreds of thousands more. However, through it all, Ukrainians have maintained their courage in fighting for Ukraine, for democracy, for international law and for an international order based on justice and accountability. Their spirit and resilience in the face of this war shines bright, and they do it for all of us.
Since Parliament's last take-note debate on Ukraine, much has changed. The unanimous solidarity among democratic countries is beginning to crack. The long-awaited strategic security partnership package from the United States has been held hostage by far-right Republicans who seek to undermine Ukraine's fight. Hungary's Viktor Orbán has repeatedly blocked Ukraine's membership in NATO and the European Union.
At a time when the far right is increasingly listening to Putin, Ukraine needs Canada to step up and support its fight. That is why it is so painful to see what is happening here in Canada.
First, we have seen the government not meet the urgency of Ukraine's fight. Time after time, the government announces a new aid package to Ukraine, whether it is for air defence systems, light armoured vehicles, funding toward demining activities, or seized Russian assets, only to have the promise left unfilled. While the government delays its delivery of aid, Ukraine is being bombed and Putin's attacks continue. We must demand that the government quickly deliver on all promised aid packages and find new ways to deliver aid quickly.
Second, what is truly painful to see is the erosion of our unanimous solidarity within this very chamber. I know the pride many members of the Conservative Party had when thinking they were champions for Ukraine. However, recently, I was shocked to see the shift in positioning from the official opposition, and Canadian Ukrainians have spoken to me in my riding about how they feel abandoned by this.
Not only did the Conservatives vote against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, but they put up delay after delay on the bill. After President Zelenskyy specifically asked us to support the deal, Conservatives did everything they could to block it. Even last night, the Conservative Party senators teamed up for one last attempt to block the bill.
Conservatives also voted against additional monetary supports for Ukraine, with millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and the monies required by Operation Unifier so Canadian Armed Forces members can continue to train Ukrainians. The Conservatives voted against those measures.
Canada is not immune to American-style far-right politics. We know that the dog whistles we hear from the Conservatives about cutting foreign aid, refusing to commit to honour the security guarantee and calling Ukraine some “faraway” land are playing to a dark side of their base that we have to call out.
As this war continues and we hear more and more escalatory rhetoric from Russia, Canada needs to take a leadership role on the world stage. Last week, Putin openly declared Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons. This was far from the first time the world has heard those threats, but we need to continue to take them seriously.
The nuclear threat is the highest it has ever been. The tensions between NATO, Russia and China are constantly rising, and diplomacy between countries is at an all-time low. Canada has a role to play in restarting the necessary talks on nuclear disarmament. Canada could join the 93 other countries that have signed on to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We can use our voice on the international stage to push for disarmament negotiations so that Ukraine and our allies are not faced with nuclear blackmail and bullying by nuclear superpowers.
This is a moment for all of us to reiterate our commitment to supporting Ukraine and supporting the fight to create a peaceful, just world.
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- Mar/20/24 8:14:58 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Conservatives strongly support Ukraine. We supported sending lethal weapons to Ukraine even before the war, at a time when the NDP opposed it and spoke out against it. We supported consistent sanctions against Russia, even when the Liberals were granting sanctions exemptions to Russia.
I want to ask the member about the seizure of Russian assets. This is mentioned in the co-operation agreement, in section N. There is very important language there about seizing Russian assets and using them to support Ukraine.
One great way that we can continue to ensure Ukraine has the financial support it requires to fight the war and rebuild is to repurpose Russian assets, and, frankly, the government has been behind on this. I wonder if the member would support our call to repurpose confiscated Russian assets and use them to support Ukraine.
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- Mar/20/24 8:24:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Canadians across the length and breadth of Canada have been very supportive, as my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona has said, in supporting Ukraine, but I think there is a profound problem when one party in the House refuses to support the strategic security partnership and refuses to support a trade agreement with Ukraine that we were asked, by President Zelenskyy, to sign.
The former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole would never have taken those radical, extremist stands. The current leader is an extremist. He is a radical. He takes his direction, I believe, from the Republicans in the United States, who have been steadfastly trying to stop any supports for Ukraine.
What does it mean when the leader of the Conservative Party calls Ukraine a “far away foreign land” and what does it mean when Conservatives stand with Danielle Smith, who is right beside the major Russian apologist for Putin, Tucker Carlson, who has provided so much damage in trying to attack Ukraine and reinforce the Russian dictatorship?
What does this all mean when Conservatives contradict themselves so vehemently?
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- Mar/20/24 8:25:45 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is something that I have been appalled by and that many Albertans I know have been appalled by.
We heard from the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. We did not hear a single peep from him when Danielle Smith stood with Tucker Carlson right before Tucker Carlson went and did an interview in Moscow with Putin and used Russian propaganda. Frankly, I am surprised he was not standing with Tucker Carlson as well, because that is what we have come to expect from this particular member.
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- Mar/20/24 8:32:37 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my hon. colleague mentioned in his speech how Ukraine and Canada share many similarities, in particular, a shared geography with Russia: Ukraine borders Russia, and Canada shares an Arctic border region with Russia.
In light of the fact that Sweden and Finland have recently joined NATO and that NORAD modernization is going on, as the defence minister has indicated, could he tell the House what the government's views are on Canada's role in the Arctic, particularly as it relates to countering some of the threats the Russian Federation presents not just to the Canadian Arctic but to the other Arctic nations in the NATO alliance?
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- Mar/20/24 9:15:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we are all saddened by the news that Ukrainian children are trying to learn, struggling in this conflict, in bomb shelters. In places like Kharkiv, they have to go hundreds of metres underground to actually get the schooling that has been so cruelly interrupted by this massive invasion by the Russian dictatorship.
I think it is appalling to all Canadians to see a dictatorship that sees human beings simply as objects and tries to bulldoze over the Ukrainian people in order to take Ukraine, destroy its democracy and occupy the entire country.
Sadly, in the United States, the Republicans, the far right elements, are refusing to provide aid to Ukraine. To what extent does my colleague think Canada needs to step up additionally, given that the conservative Republicans have absolutely refused to support Ukraine and are siding with the Russian dictatorship? What does Canada need to do now to reinforce the supports for Ukraine, its democracy and its people?
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- Mar/20/24 10:25:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent speech and, certainly, for the wealth of wisdom and experience that he brings to the House.
I would like to ask him, based on his knowledge and expertise, what the best way to isolate the Russian regime is and to hold the Russian regime accountable for the crimes that they have perpetrated. We have seen crimes committed in terms of the abduction of children, systematic sexual violence and the crime of aggression in general. What steps does he see as necessary to hold the Russian regime accountable?
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- Mar/20/24 10:26:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, at present, the government is still slow to sanction all aspects of Russian energy production and supply chains around the world. We are seeing Russian oil refineries being attacked, appropriately so, as a means to starve its capacity to fund its war machine. We see Russia today searching for specialized parts to rebuild these energy resources for itself, and it is suffering under the yoke of that. Enhancing it is a critical part of ensuring that Russia is incapable of accessing the resources it requires. I thank the hon. member for the question on how that can be done.
Twenty thousand-plus Ukrainian children have been spirited into Russia to be reprogrammed in what must be amounting to a cultural genocide of the Ukrainian people. One thing that can be done is for all Russian families participating in this unjust, horrific conquest of Ukrainian lives to be added to sanction lists with Magnitsky sanctions. These are all areas where forensic work can be done until these children are repatriated back to their families.
Finally, the supply chains being provided to Russia by the People's Republic of China and other bad actors should be sanctioned as well. We should be building an economic blockade against the kind of encroachment that Russia, China and others are pursuing in the conquest of the western world and of Ukraine.
I think there are many ways that imagination could come to choke the Russian regime from its capacity to wage this war.
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- Mar/20/24 10:30:33 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.
As we speak, the Ukrainian people are risking everything and sacrificing their lives to defend themselves against Russia's genocidal war, and despite being outmanned and outgunned, the Ukrainian people have shown great courage and resolve in defending their homeland and fighting for all of us. Notwithstanding that courage and resolve, the situation in Ukraine is more dire by the day, and the consequences for us, and globally, are more dire by the day.
Russia is committing war crimes and genocide every day. Hundreds of millions of people in the global south are facing food shortages and famine because of Russia's attacks on Ukraine's agriculture sector. The war is one of the primary causes of food inflation and energy inflation here in Canada and around the world that Canadians and others face when they fill up at the pump or they buy food at the grocery store. The war poses an existential threat to Canada's security and to global security.
Our government has said that Canada will stand with the Ukrainian people until they win and that victory is the only option. Victory is the only option for Ukraine, but it is also the only option for Canada. Victory is the only option for Canada because Ukraine's victory is vital to Canada's security.
If Russia wins, it will not stop at Ukraine. If Russia wins, Canada, Europe and the U.S. will be the next to defend themselves against Russian aggression. Every Ukrainian solider on the front lines today is one fewer Canadian who will have to fight in the future. Every dollar we spend in Ukraine today is millions of dollars less that we will have to spend in the future. Our government understands this, and that is one of the reasons Canada has been a global leader in supporting Ukraine.
Canada has provided approximately $13 billion in support of various kinds, whether that is financial aid, military aid, immigration assistance or humanitarian aid. We are leading in the seizure of Russian assets globally and in the initiative with Ukraine to bring the deported children back to Ukraine from Russia. Yesterday we passed the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, and there are many more things.
These are important contributions, important steps, but it will not be enough until Ukraine decisively wins the war. If we want to stop global food shortage and inflation, and if we want to ensure our own security, we need to ensure that Ukraine achieves a decisive victory. This means that Ukraine wins the war by recapturing every inch of its territory, but it also means that Ukraine must win the peace, which includes many things. To me it includes that Ukraine is secure as part of NATO, that there is justice for Russian war crimes, that we help Ukraine rebuild and that Russia pays for that rebuilding.
As my colleagues will know, and I see some colleagues here who worked with me on the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group, I have worked very hard to advocate for these measures, and I have also worked very hard to ensure that our support for Ukraine extends across all parties in the House of Commons. It really used to, but that has changed. Under the Conservative leader, the Conservative Party has abandoned Ukraine. I am not concerned about the members of the House as much; I am concerned about their leader. It is what he does not say and how he forces the members to vote when it matters. As another member mentioned a moment ago, it is not even the words that concern me as much; it is the actions. Their voting three—
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- Mar/20/24 10:44:24 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, this is turning into a debate as interesting as it is worrisome. On the one hand, you referred to a member's remarks causing disorder in the House. Any statement, whether members agree with it or not, can cause disorder in the House. Is the Chair going to crack down on every statement that causes disorder in the House? That is my first point.
My second point is that there is currently a conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine, an action we vigorously condemn. We support Ukraine, and I believe the entire House of Commons supports Ukraine. That does not mean it is illegal, unthinkable or impossible to hold a different opinion. People could, quite legitimately, support Putin and be pro-Russian. That is not a crime. It is not an opinion I share or agree with. I can see why Conservative members would take offence at being associated with that. I can see why the member for Etobicoke Centre might consider a particular wing of the Conservative Party to be pro-Russian. That does not make saying so unparliamentary.
I think that, as my colleague from Jonquière pointed out earlier, we are walking a very thin line right now. I feel this could set a very dangerous precedent. Freedom of expression is at stake. Freedom of opinion is at stake. I think the Chair will have to consider that when ruling on this point of order.
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- Mar/20/24 11:00:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his very important question. I want to support Ukraine.
We want to do that as much as humanly possible. Even with this innovative agreement with Czechia, we need to do everything we can to support Ukraine. We will always try to do more, as much as possible, whether it is munitions or sanctions. I believe that most, if not all of us in the House are actually sanctioned by the Russia government. We need to keep sanctioning Russian officials.
On that $300 billion U.S. in foreign assets out there that are frozen, we need to make sure that we reconstruct Ukraine with that, that Canada is at the forefront of that and that we will rebuild that country, because it is a beautiful place and the breadbasket of Europe. They are an innovative, hard-working people. We are going to be with them, today, tomorrow and in the future.
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