44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Feb/28/22 8:21:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to see the hon. member back in the House. Some things my hon. colleague touched upon are actually going to be in what I say later today.
This gentleman, my colleague, has served in our Canadian Armed Forces. He has defended and protected our country, and I thank him for that.
My question is actually around the military presence. The United States and Canada have ruled out the idea of having Canadian troops in Ukraine. Of course, the minister of defence has said that we will mobilize 3,500 troops to support our NATO commitments.
The member served in that capacity. Could he give his thoughts to us, his colleagues in the House, about what point Canada has to mobilize beyond its initial 60,000? Are we at that point, in terms of our complement of Canadian Armed Forces, or do we have to be encouraging other Canadians that perhaps may take on the same profession that he did before he joined the House?
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- Feb/28/22 8:42:36 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is an absolute privilege to be here tonight, albeit I just have five minutes to talk about a subject that is much more nuanced than time allows. I will try to make my remarks proportionate to what we have seen.
I would like to thank the member for Etobicoke Centre and other colleagues in the House who pushed for this debate. It is extremely important and timely that we are having it right now. I will join the chorus of my colleagues in the House, indeed individuals around the world, in condemning and denouncing Russia's egregious attack on Ukraine. It is unjust. It is unprovoked. Indeed it is against international law.
This is the largest mobilization of state-to-state warfare we have seen in Europe in decades. It marks a very nuanced and challenging point vis-à-vis the Cold War. I am 31 years old. I was born in 1991, right at the time the Soviet Union was collapsing, and this of course is very pronounced in the last 31 years that we have seen this.
The images have been horrific. I do not know if words give justice to what we have seen. It has been horrific but also inspirational at the same time. It is horrific in the sense that we have seen civilians killed. We have seen beautiful, peaceful cities which just a few days ago were not dealing with this now being bombarded with Russian missiles and bombs and with soldiers on the ground. It is beautiful in the sense of how we have seen the Ukrainian people come together in their resistance under the leadership of President Zelensky. Everyday Ukrainians are banding together in such a unified fashion to fight for their democracy and their freedom. It is truly, in every sense, incredible and inspiring.
I am going to take a quick moment to talk about the Government of Canada's response. It would be difficult to find someone in this House who does not support what the government has done to date. Indeed, there are calls for us to do more, which are warranted.
As the situation continues to evolve, we will continue to need to do even more for the Ukrainian people, whether it be providing lethal and non-lethal weapons or imposing economic sanctions, which we saw today are continuing to have an impact on the Russian Federation. The price of the ruble is dropping significantly. The fact that we have worked to limit the central bank from having any access to SWIFT and those global payments is doing important work. It will not change the dynamic overnight, but it will be an important piece.
I want to take the last two minutes I have to talk about the fact that not only do we need to continue to support Ukraine but we also need to recognize this is a change in foreign policy around the world. As I mentioned previously, this is the end of the post Cold War period. No one has a crystal ball to see where things may go, but the fact that Russia and China signed an agreement just four weeks ago, the fact that China did not vote against the Russian invasion as being contrary to the principles under the United Nations signals and access, should have all parliamentarians and Canadians mindful of that dynamic from a geopolitical sense.
Like other colleagues have done, I want to provide some recommendations that I think will be important for all us as parliamentarians, and indeed the government, to consider in the days ahead.
One is looking at Canada's propensity to feed and fuel the world. I come from a riding that is agriculture based. We have a tremendous capacity to feed not only Nova Scotians but also people around the world. How can we start to incorporate that into Canada's foreign policy by providing healthy, sustainable food particularly to our allies? If those trading relationships change over time, we should be at the front line of making sure we are providing that, similar to what was done eight decades ago during World War II.
We have to be mindful of our defence spending. I asked the member for Durham earlier for his thoughts on mobilization. It is probably early yet for that conversation, but we do need to be mindful of making sure our military, our Canadian Armed Forces, are available and ready.
I would agree with my colleagues who talked about the Arctic, whether it be for reasons of climate change, infrastructure, economic opportunities or our sovereignty. That will be an important piece.
I wish I had more time. Five minutes is short for a conversation of this gravity and as nuanced as this one is, but I look forward to taking questions from my colleagues.
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- Feb/28/22 8:48:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his question.
I think it is totally reasonable for our government to consider measures and economic sanctions against Belarus. Belarus is just as guilty, since it helped Russia attack Ukraine.
I think this discussion will continue in the House and I agree with the principle of the question.
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- Feb/28/22 8:50:33 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, first of all, one of the points the member raised in her intervention was the fact that there is a separation between the regime in Russia and the Russian people. We have seen that in the demonstrations in cities across Russia. I want to go on record as saying we have to separate the Russian regime from the Russian people.
As to her question on immigration, I know our minister, as he mentioned today in the House, is exploring all options. I do not pretend to be privy to the information that he might have in cabinet, but I know that we will be exploring all avenues for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada to be able to get here. Any process to expedite that I certainly support.
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- Feb/28/22 8:52:19 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the pension board is independent of government, but I think now is the time for government to be looking at all tools available to limit the ability for Russia, for Putin, for the oligarchs to finance the war that we are seeing in Ukraine. If that were something that was available and there were ties, that is something the government could look at, particularly given the circumstances that we are seeing right now.
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