44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 3, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/3/22 2:26:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.
Our government is prepared for any eventuality. We are putting in across-the-board measures to support Ukraine in this situation. We have NORAD modernization as our priority. We are working very closely with our American counterparts. We will leave no stone unturned for the safety and security of this country, this continent and indeed Ukraine itself.
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- Mar/3/22 2:26:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Russia has 40 nuclear-powered weaponized icebreakers. Does the House want to know how many Canada has? It is zero. Russia has 18 military bases near Canada's Arctic border, whereas we are struggling to get one naval base up and running.
Yesterday, Russia's foreign affairs minister said that a third world war will be “nuclear and devastating”. These remarks are deeply concerning and present a serious threat to our national security and to public safety.
Is the government taking this seriously? I am not quite convinced by the Minister of National Defence's answers. What meetings has she had to make sure we are prepared?
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- Mar/3/22 2:27:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure my hon. colleague and the House of Commons that we are indeed prepared for every eventuality, including those from the information we have received relating to the nuclear allusions that Mr. Putin has been making. We need to be non-provocative, we need to be rational in this situation and we need to act together as a country and support each other in this time of need.
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- Mar/3/22 2:28:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, according to the former lieutenant-general and former Liberal MP, the only thing that will stop the Russians is deterrence.
Russia has 40 nuclear-powered icebreakers in the Arctic, while Canada has none. Russia has 18 military bases near the Arctic, while Canada barely has one. The Russian ambassador, who is the chief propagandist for the Putin regime, is still here in Canada.
What exactly is Canada doing to deter the Russians and the Putin regime from coming here to Canada?
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- Mar/3/22 2:29:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that our government is very serious about protecting our sovereignty in the North and the Arctic.
What we are going to do is continue working with the United States for our continent and our country. We also have the Coast Guard working for us.
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- Mar/3/22 2:29:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, three days ago, 500,000 people had fled the war in Ukraine. Now it is more than a million.
I welcome the government's creation of the authorization for emergency travel, but more must be done, and faster. The minister calls it an authorization for emergency travel, but it is going to take two weeks to set up. After that, who knows how long it will take to process applications. Speedy is not exactly the IRCC's middle name.
I have a simple question. With the number of people fleeing doubling every three days, how long will it take for these people to actually get to Canada?
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- Mar/3/22 2:30:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we announced a new program that will eliminate many of the administrative formalities to get Ukrainians here faster so they can have a safe place to stay for up to two years. There will be no limit to the number of Ukrainians who can apply. The process will be very fast.
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- Mar/3/22 2:30:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada needs to be prepared for a large‑scale airlift operation to receive refugees. We must be prepared to charter as many flights as possible to take into account an influx of exiles that swells by 500,000 people every three days and could still increase, as the Russian strikes become more brutal.
As I said, the government has the support of the Bloc Québécois in its support for the people of Ukraine, but things must move faster, especially since half of the exiles are children.
Will the government organize this airlift operation?
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- Mar/3/22 2:31:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, we will do everything we can to welcome the people of Ukraine.
Second, since we know that family members of Canadian citizens may want to start a new life in Canada, everyone who arrives under these measures will be eligible for an open work permit. They will be able to start working right away if they wish.
We are also going to work very hard for families.
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- Mar/3/22 2:32:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we need to stop the war in Ukraine and to do that we need to put pressure on President Putin where it counts, and that is his wealth. We know his wealth is held in the hands of Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovich, so will the Prime Minister commit to specific targeted sanctions to sanction the wealth and assets of these Russian oligarchs that are held in Canada?
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- Mar/3/22 2:32:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, together with our allies, we are ensuring that Russia's actions do not go unpunished. We have levied sanctions against President Putin directly, key members of his inner circle, his foreign minister, oligarchs close to the Putin regime and members of the State Duma, and we are not done yet. We will keep working with our allies to impose sanctions that are meaningful across the board.
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- Mar/3/22 2:33:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we must stop the war in Ukraine and, to do so, we must put pressure on President Putin where it counts, namely, on his wealth.
We know that his wealth is in the hands of Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovitch. Will the Prime Minister commit to putting in place sanctions against Russian oligarchs in Canada?
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- Mar/3/22 2:33:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, we have already imposed sanctions against President Putin himself and on key members of his inner circle, the oligarchs close to his regime and members of the Russian Duma. We will continue to exert maximum pressure on the Putin regime with our allies.
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- Mar/3/22 2:34:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the former president of the United States and the Prime Minister issued a joint statement in February 2017, in which the Prime Minister committed to modernizing our NORAD equipment. Five years later, nothing has been done.
The Prime Minister has to realize that Vladimir Putin is a danger to Canada and that our country does not currently have the capacity to defend the Far North. Will he keep his promise to modernize NORAD, or will this be yet another broken promise?
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- Mar/3/22 2:34:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, alongside our American partners, our government is making the investments necessary to modernize NORAD. It is a personal priority for me and for our government, and I have had many conversations with the secretary of defence of the United States about our continued co-operation to protect the sovereignty of our Arctic, to protect our continental defence and to work together for the benefit of the safety and security of our world.
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- Mar/3/22 2:35:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is funny, because according to an April 2019 report from the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, the committee was surprised to learn that Russia's military had significantly increased its air and naval capacities in the Arctic.
The members of the committee said that the North Warning System was approaching the end of its life expectancy and that they did not understand why no funding had been allocated to replace it.
The Prime Minister promised the U.S. President in 2017 that he would modernize NORAD, and the committee recommended that he allocate the funding to do so in 2019. It is now 2022. When will the Prime Minister take action?
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- Mar/3/22 2:35:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are making major, essential investments in personnel, equipment and infrastructure in the north.
What have we done? We recently awarded a $592‑million contract to Nasittuq Corporation, an Inuit company, to operate and maintain the North Warning System.
We remain strongly and steadfastly committed to defending our national interests.
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- Mar/3/22 2:36:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Putin's invasion of Ukraine has taught us all that we cannot take our Canadian Arctic sovereignty for granted. Russia recently filed a claim that adds 705,000 square kilometres to Russia's current Arctic claims. U of C Professor Robert Huebert said, “We haven’t seen a country before that’s extended over its neighbours. Here’s a situation where they’re claiming the entire Canadian and Danish continental shelf as part of their continental shelf.”
When will the government stand up to Putin and defend our Arctic sovereignty?
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- Mar/3/22 2:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is no situation stronger than our own sovereignty in this country, and Arctic sovereignty is an integral part of that. Canada's Arctic sovereignty is long-standing and well established. We work with our partners in the Arctic Council to ensure that we will continue to exercise that sovereignty well. We are taking stands with our Arctic Council partners to ensure that Russia gets the message strongly. We will not attend meetings in Russia and we will put a pause on all activity with Russia as we continue to defend Arctic sovereignty in Canada.
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- Mar/3/22 2:37:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with an aggressive Russian invasion of Ukraine, European countries recognize how dependent they are on Russian gas supplies. Forty per cent of Europe’s gas comes from Russia, and Europe’s security now has a gun to its head. Coal plants are being brought back online, undoing years of progress on emission reductions. Energy and security analysts have been warning about this danger for years, and the government has lacked Canadian vision on this matter.
When will the government end its efforts to replace Canadian energy with offshore resources from hostile regimes?
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