44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 1, 2022 02:00PM
- Jun/1/22 2:05:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I recently joined the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Northern Affairs, my Manitoba colleagues and Premier Heather Stefanson to greet 350 Ukrainian adults and children and their pets as they arrived in Winnipeg.
We greeted them like family, which is not an exaggeration. More than 120,000 Manitobans are of Ukrainian descent, including members of my own family. Each of them received a warm Manitoba welcome.
However, those moments of warm embrace were bittersweet. Thoughts of beloved family, friends and homeland left behind were ever-present. Vladimir Putin is solely to blame for the chaos, for displacing millions of people and taking thousands of lives. He has waged an illegal war on a democratic nation and is terrorizing civilians and razing cities.
Ukraine is a significant ally to NATO, and as a member of the alliance, Canada will continue to support its defence through humanitarian aid and military equipment for as long as necessary. Canada will always be a steadfast supporter of Ukraine and host its people with warmth, dignity and respect.
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- Jun/1/22 7:29:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all members of this House for taking the time to hold a debate on what our government sees as a critical priority for Canada's foreign policy: our strong support for Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO.
However, I want to begin by speaking to the gravest threat to international peace today: Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It has been months since President Putin unleashed his war of choice on Ukraine. With every day that passes, the number of civilians, including children, killed and wounded continues to climb. We have witnessed Russian attacks on apartment buildings, public squares, theatres and maternity hospitals. In addition, the reports and images of what Russian forces carried out in Bucha are horrifying and deeply shameful.
Let me be clear: We believe that this amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and we are committed to holding President Putin and those supporting him accountable for their actions. Canada and our NATO allies are responding to Putin's aggression with unprecedented coordination, as we continue to support the men and women of Ukraine as they defend themselves and fight for their country, communities and families. We have announced round after round of sanctions and will continue working across our alliance and with international partners to suffocate the Putin regime. This reality provides even greater urgency to the debate we are having tonight.
I forgot to mention that I will be sharing my time with the member for Cambridge.
Since its foundation in 1949, NATO has been a cornerstone of Canada's international security policy. Along with 11 other founding nations, we established the alliance to promote the collective defence of its members, maintain peace and security in the North Atlantic area, and safeguard the freedom of its people based on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.
Since then, the alliance has increased from 12 to 30 allies. NATO's door is open to any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership and contribute to Euro-Atlantic security. Canada has a long tradition of fully supporting NATO's “open door policy”, based on article 10 of the Washington treaty. This is why we strongly support Finland and Sweden's decision to pursue NATO membership, and we wholeheartedly endorse their application without reservation. We also believe that every country has the sovereign right to chose its own path and its own security arrangements, and we stand with the people of Finland and Sweden, who have made their choice clear.
We have always welcomed Finland and Sweden's close partnership with NATO and their contributions to Euro-Atlantic security. We enjoy a long history of excellent bilateral relations with both countries, as demonstrated by our extensive co-operation and our shared values and priorities. The Canadian Armed Forces has worked extensively with their armed forces on training exercises, as well as in NATO's training mission in Iraq. Our troops have also fought alongside one another on operations from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya.
Canada also has a strong presence in Europe, and we are currently deploying 1,375 Canadian Armed Forces members across NATO's eastern flank, along with two frigates and accompanying patrol aircraft, in support of the alliance's strengthened deterrence and defence posture. These deployments fall under Canada's Operation Reassurance, which includes NATO's enhanced forward presence, the standing NATO maritime groups and NATO air policing.
Canada has full confidence in Finland and Sweden's ability to integrate immediately into NATO and make meaningful contributions to our collective security. Both their militaries are strong and, in areas such as whole-of-society engagement on security, allies have much to learn from them. Finland and Sweden are some of the alliance's closest and most active security and defence partners. They share the alliance's commitment to upholding the rules-based international order. They are committed to the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and their militaries are highly qualified and very capable.
Sweden and Finland are also strong proponents of advancing the women, peace and security agenda. Gender equality and inclusive peace processes build more stable societies and are critical preconditions for a peaceful world for people of all genders. The full, equal, and meaningful participation of all women and girls in preventing, ending and recovering from conflict benefits us all and is essential in achieving sustainable peace.
As a close friend and security partner, Canada will support Finland and Sweden through the accession process, including against threats to their security. We are working to expedite our domestic processes in order to facilitate the accession of both countries without delay. We encourage all allies to do the same and approve their application for NATO membership as quickly as possible. Finland and Sweden are strong champions of the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law that the alliance was founded upon. Their accession will strengthen our collective defence.
The consequences of President Putin's reckless war of aggression extend far beyond Ukraine's borders. His unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine constitutes a significant threat to Euro-Atlantic security and the rules-based international order as a whole. Putin's brazen attack on a neighbour, on a sovereign country, supported by a campaign of lies and disinformation and carried out with devastating impact on civilians, has shattered peace in Europe. This is not just an attack on Ukraine. This does not only impact Europe. This is an attack on the UN charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and it impacts democracy, freedom and human rights for the foreseeable future.
However, in the face of this war, NATO's resolve is as strong as ever. NATO allies and partners, including Finland and Sweden, are increasing their support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia's full-scale invasion. Thousands of anti-tank weapons, hundreds of air defence missiles and thousands of small arms and ammunition stocks are being sent to Ukraine bilaterally by Canada, our allies and our partners. Sweden has provided anti-tank weapons, demining equipment, personal protective equipment and financial aid to Ukraine. Finland has sent small arms, ammunition, anti-tank weapons and personal protective equipment.
NATO has also increased efforts to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank to deter and defend against Russia's aggression. The alliance strengthened NATO's enhanced forward presence with additional battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to bolster NATO's eastern flank and support our eastern allies.
It is the sovereign right of Finland and Sweden to choose their own security arrangements. They have made the decision to join NATO with the strong and unprecedented support of the Finnish and Swedish people. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been in close contact with her Swedish and Finnish counterparts, as has the Prime Minister, and we have assured them of Canada's complete support through this process.
We also continue to underscore, in the face of Russian disinformation and threats, that NATO is a defensive alliance and does not seek confrontation, nor pose any threat to Russia. NATO and transatlantic security are more important than ever, and Finland's and Sweden's accession will increase our shared security, including in the Baltic Sea. Their decision to join NATO has been warmly welcomed by neighbouring allies, such as Denmark, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
Canada will continue to support the principles that have kept the countries on both sides of the Atlantic safe, free and prosperous for over 70 years. We look forward to welcoming Finland and Sweden to the alliance and our continued close co-operation and friendship.
I will end simply by stating the facts. Time is of the essence. We encourage all NATO allies to work to support their membership rapidly. There is no time to waste.
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- Jun/1/22 7:58:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
I am in support of concurring in the fourth report of the Standing Committee of the Public Safety and National Security, which expresses its strong support for Finland's accession and Sweden's accession to the NATO alliance, and which calls on all NATO members to approve their application for NATO membership as soon as possible.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 was an illegal act of war. It was an unprovoked attack on a European democracy. It marks the first war between European states since 1945. It shattered the relative peace and security that we in the western alliance have enjoyed for the last eight decades, since the end of the Second World War.
Russia's war on Ukraine has actualized something that was once only theoretical. An authoritarian state led by an autocrat directly attacked—
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- Jun/1/22 7:59:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Russia's war in Ukraine has actualized something that was once only theoretical. An authoritarian state led by an autocrat has attacked a democracy: It has demonstrated that it is willing and able to attack a democracy. It has made clear that democracies that stand alone and are not part of military alliances are most vulnerable. That is why it has become necessary to bring both Sweden and Finland into the NATO alliance.
This is an urgent matter. It is urgent because Sweden and Finland are now very vulnerable. They sit in between a period when they were neutral states and full NATO membership, which would guarantee their security and protection by other NATO members under article 5. That is why this debate is so important and why I hope the House will add its political support to the Government of Canada's decision to support Finland and Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
It is also an urgent matter because now that Sweden and Finland have indicated that they wish to join the NATO alliance, Russian disinformation will no doubt accelerate through media sympathetic to Russian disinformation and through political actors sympathetic to Russian disinformation. That is why it is important that we here in the House speak clearly and categorically about our support for both Finland and Sweden's entry into the NATO alliance.
It is also important that the Government of Canada puts pressure on NATO members that are resistant to Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance. Both Turkey and Croatia have indicated concerns, if not outright opposition, to Finland and Sweden joining NATO. The Government of Canada must make clear, through its ambassadors as well as through discussions between foreign ministers and heads of government, Canada's position.
Canada supported Turkey's accession to NATO in 1952, and Canada should now ask Turkey to clearly support Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO in 2022. Canada should note that it supplies military equipment to Turkey, particularly key technology for Bayraktar drones. Canada supported Croatia's entry to NATO in 2009, and now Canada should ask Croatia's President Milanovic for his support for Finland and Sweden's accession into the NATO alliance in 2022. The government should note that continued opposition could have negative repercussions for Canada-Croatia relations, which could impact everything from youth mobility arrangements to the promotion of two-way trade and investment.
The Government of Canada also needs to make clear to Finland and Sweden that both Canada and Turkey work together to combat terrorism, and it should indicate that there are groups that both Canada and Turkey consider terrorist entities as listed under the Canadian Criminal Code.
The Canadian government should do as the United Kingdom government recently did, and provide interim security guarantees to both Finland and Sweden in the interim period where they are the most vulnerable before their accession to the NATO alliance to counter any plans that Moscow may have to try to block and intimidate these two countries.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ann Linde, Sweden's foreign minister, on May 5. We discussed Sweden's application to join NATO, Russia's war in Ukraine and its implications for defence, energy and Arctic sovereignty. It was clear during our discussion that it was in Canada's interests as well for Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance. Their membership would help bolster Arctic defence and security in a region that Russia considers its most strategically important. It is a region in which Russia has invested considerable resources in recent years.
Finland and Sweden also have robust militaries that could bolster Canada's contributions to the military alliance. Finland demonstrated its fighting spirit during the Winter War of 1939 and 1940, when brave Finns fought back advancing Soviet tanks by running up to the tanks with tar-coated bombs and slapping those bombs onto the track treads of those Soviet tanks, disabling them.
They used nothing more than their bodies and simple, homemade, handmade bombs to stop the Soviet army in its tracks and they eventually repelled the invaders.
The Swedes have a robust domestic military industry. They produce the Gripen fighter jet. Therefore, it is in Canada's interests that both Sweden and Finland join the alliance, helping us to bolster our military capabilities both here and abroad.
Finland and Sweden and their desire to join NATO have demonstrated how much the world has changed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. For some 200 years, Sweden has had a policy of neutrality. This is longer than the confederation of Swiss cantons. It is longer than Switzerland's policy. Its position of neutrality dates back to 1812, when it lost territory to Russia as a result of the Napoleonic wars.
The fact that after two centuries of neutrality Sweden has formally applied to join a military alliance reveals how much the world has changed in the past three months, and that should be a wake-up call for the government. The world has changed, but the government has been slow to react to that change. Russia's invasion of Ukraine makes it urgent that the Canadian government meet its commitment to spend 2% of Canada's gross domestic product on our military. This is something it committed to before the most recent budget. It is something the most recent budget fails to deliver on, and our allies are increasingly making note of our failure to uphold our defence spending commitments.
Just this past week, U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen said, “In the public discourse leading up to the release of the budget, the rhetoric from senior Canadian government officials implied that there would be a significant increase in defence spending.” He added, “It’s fair to say that although $8 billion is more money, it was a little disappointing as matched against the rhetoric that we heard leading into the release of the budget.”
Finland and Sweden understand that the world has changed, and that is why they are urgently seeking to join NATO. Germany understands that the world has changed, which is why Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who heads a centre-left coalition, announced on February 27 a dramatic U-turn in decades of German foreign and defence policy by immediately committing to increase German defence spending to well beyond 2% of gross domestic product, with an immediate commitment to spend $140 billion Canadian on German defence spending. Other NATO allies understand that the world has changed, but the government has not and it has been slow to react.
Let me finish by stating clearly and categorically that we as Conservatives support Sweden and Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. I encourage all members of the House to do the same to ensure that the Parliament of Canada adds its clear voice of support to the Government of Canada's decision to support Finland and Sweden's accession into the NATO alliance.
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- Jun/1/22 8:28:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was not in government then, but to my knowledge, the Conservative government at the time spent more on international aid.
That 2% target is part of what NATO expects of its members. Of that 2%, 20% is used to purchase military equipment. I think we can make a pretty good case right now for why we need to be ready. With guys like Putin invading Ukraine, we need to make sure our armed forces are ready and supplied with state-of-the-art equipment. At the moment, Ukraine is able to fight Putin and the Russian army because it has been supplied with cutting-edge equipment, which is taking a toll on the Russian invaders.
If we want peace, we must prepare for war.
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- Jun/1/22 8:41:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I get the impression that there is absolutely nothing we can do to guard against a Russian invasion. These invasions are often irrational and are becoming increasingly illogical. Apparently some close to President Putin are starting to very much question the strategy.
In a context where prevention is not possible, we must nevertheless be prepared for attacks, hence my point on the resilience we must restore in Ukraine when it comes to its infrastructure. That requires funding, but also support for countries that want to join NATO, such as Finland and Sweden, which could contribute to defence on the front lines with Russia.
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- Jun/1/22 8:56:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, and I sincerely thank him for his question. I am sad that he is not a member of my party, but perhaps that will happen one day.
It is an important question. What should the government do for Ukraine? We must be realistic. Canada is not a military power.
What can we do to get things moving, play a role and influence what is currently going on in Ukraine? First, we must help the refugees. Canada is a welcoming country, so we must make every effort to help them. At present, 200,000 Ukrainian refugees have applied for authorization to come to Canada. To date, about 100,000 applications have been approved, but the people are not arriving. Ukrainian mothers and their children have been authorized to come here. Unfortunately, these women have been living on their meagre savings for the past three months. They cannot afford the airfare. It is one thing to authorize people to come, but now they must get here one way or another. That is one thing we could do.
In addition, through diplomacy, Canada should obviously gather as many allies as possible to ensure that Sweden and Finland join the NATO alliance.
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- Jun/1/22 8:57:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know my colleague cares deeply about people around the world. We have worked together on many files looking at human rights around the world. In fact, today we were on a panel looking at the atrocious war crimes that are being committed in Ethiopia in the Tigray region, and I am delighted to hear at least the words of the government, if not the actions, in support of Ukraine.
However, I wonder if the member could comment on how he feels the government has sent a message, and what that message is, to other places around the world where dire humanitarian crises are happening and the government has not responded at all.
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- Jun/1/22 8:58:21 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is such an important question. Why was our response to the present conflict in Ukraine so rapid compared to other natural disasters and armed conflicts around the world? Right now, people are experiencing actual genocide. As a signatory to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, there are two things we must do when we know that genocide is occurring. We must either prevent it or punish those perpetrating it. What is happening right now in the Tigray is genocide. What is happening with the Uighurs is genocide.
Many of us here voted in favour of the motion moved by my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona on the genocide in Ukraine, but when I wanted to move a motion barely three weeks ago calling on the House to unanimously condemn the Uighur genocide, the party in power rejected my motion. I am still upset about that.
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- Jun/1/22 9:11:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent speech.
I want to correct the record. I think I said that Ukraine had a $35‑billion deficit, but what I should have said was that 35% of the country's economy is shut down, resulting in $5 billion in losses every month.
My colleague spoke about sanctions. Many people are calling for the money that was seized from oligarchs to be used to help Ukraine. Canada announced that it had put several oligarchs on the list, but no one knows where the money is. The RCMP claimed not to know whether it was supposed to follow up and said it was relying on the banks to check whether the money had been frozen.
Did someone drop the ball here, costing us a golden opportunity to help Ukraine?
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- Jun/1/22 9:24:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member and I were on the same trip, as were the members for St. John's East and Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, and I thought that I would like her to comment on the fact that the people of Lithuania raised $5 million in the course of three days to buy a drone.
What does that mean in terms of their response to this brutal invasion by Vladimir Putin into Ukraine?
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- Jun/1/22 9:24:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question and of course really appreciated our time together. In terms of the NATO parliamentary association, this is an opportunity for members from all parties. We may have internal disagreements, but in this place we represent Canada, and it is important for us to work together.
I was really moved in Lithuania in seeing how many people had flags on their cars and how many stores had signs up and were taking money to donate even while we were there. The commitment is profound. We see the reality that these communities and countries are all so close together, and they know that a threat to one is a threat to all.
We have to remember that we may be far away on the other side of the ocean, but we are all connected. When we look at the realities that are happening in Ukraine, we must all stand together. I believe Putin needs to see that. Putin needs to see us all coming together in solidarity so that all countries understand that we will not put up with that kind of violence.
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- Jun/1/22 9:43:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is right. It is not a particularly attractive building, but I was not going to use the word “ugly”.
She is also right in the sense that we are not listening. We did not listen in 2008. We did not listen in 2014, and we have been slow to listen in 2022. It is not as if Vladimir Putin does not signal what he is going to do. He tells us what he is going to do. It is blindingly obvious that, if he is successful in Ukraine, then the Baltic nations are next.
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- Jun/1/22 10:10:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I believe I did mention that I was splitting my time. I am sorry about that.
One of the other things we have been asking the government to do is supply our Harpoon maritime and coastal missiles. They would really strengthen Ukraine's ability to protect Odessa and other coastal cities. We asked for that and Canada did not do it; the U.K. did. We asked to send over our LAVs, like our M113s. Canada did not send them, but the United States and Australia sent M113s.
We need to step up and do more, not less. I again want to reiterate that having Sweden and Finland join our NATO alliance speaks volumes, and I know we all welcome their applications.
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- Jun/1/22 10:10:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I believe that Canada has actually been very supportive of Ukraine in every way.
Having said that, my question is more in regard to the importance of NATO and how NATO's role in the world has been amplified. I believe that going forward NATO is going to become a much healthier, stronger world factor. I am interested in hearing my colleague's thoughts in regard to how what has taken place in Europe has really amplified the importance of NATO to the world, and how as a Canadian government we need to support and work with our allies, and in particular with NATO.
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- Jun/1/22 10:12:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know we are sending sniper rifles that were bought by the Ukrainian military from Canada that are very advanced and require training. I agree that if we are going to send more technologically advanced weapons, it means we have to be able to move personnel who built the equipment to train individuals on it.
Not all of the equipment takes weeks and months to train on. It is not like selling them new fighter jets that they have not flown before, which would take years to master. A lot of this stuff only takes a matter of days or weeks before it is in operation.
That is why I would encourage the government, which has $500 million earmarked in the budget to go toward military equipment for Ukraine, to buy the equipment that Ukraine already uses from the world market and get it there as soon as possible, so that we do not have to train the troops and they can actually put it into use immediately.
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- Jun/1/22 10:14:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know that while we do not agree on everything on the response to Ukraine, my colleague and I both strongly believe that Canada needs to do everything it can for the people of Ukraine.
As a co-vice-chair of the Ukraine Canada friendship association, I admire his commitment to the people of Ukraine. I would like to ask him a question. We know that there has been about $600 billion worth of damage done to infrastructure in Ukraine. What would the member like to see the Canadian government commit to, as a long-term strategy, to help Ukraine rebuild after this war?
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- Jun/1/22 10:14:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's strong support for Ukraine as well.
Canada needs to start planning ahead for a Marshall Plan to help rebuild all the infrastructure that has been destroyed by the Russian military in Ukraine. We know that there are a number of assets that have already been seized from Russian oligarchs and corrupt kleptocrats who have been hiding their wealth and own businesses here in Canada. Those assets need to be liquidated, and those are the first dollars that should be going into the rebuilding of Ukraine's hospitals, schools, roads and bridges.
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- Jun/1/22 10:15:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is, as always, an honour to enter into debate in this place, especially when it comes to important issues such as the motion we are discussing tonight.
Before I get into the substance of my defence for this motion, I would like to highlight a couple of things. The fact is that over the past number of months, we have seen the security situation of our world evolve dramatically. In the circumstances that I and many of the younger individuals in this place grew up in, I do not remember a time, other than on maps that maybe were not quite up to date that we had in our social studies classrooms, when there was a Soviet Union. I know from those who may have a little more grey hair than I do the stories and the geopolitical reality that existed prior to the dramatic changes that took place at the end of the eighties and the beginning of the nineties.
Over the past number of months, we have seen a dramatic change. The peace and security of our world and the rules-based international order have truly been put at risk. When Russia invaded the sovereign country of Ukraine, I would suggest it sent a shock wave across the world that a red line had been crossed.
Debate has taken place in this place, and in parliaments and legislatures around the world, including, I would note, the Parliament of Ukraine. It has continued to function under what are circumstances that I am sure many of us within Canada's House of Commons, Canada's Parliament and many western democracies could hardly imagine. It has continued to function and ensure that, in the midst of what seem like insurmountable odds, democracy matters. It has continued to show that the rules-based international order matters. As we are specifically discussing tonight a motion that supports the entrance of Finland and Sweden into NATO, the treaty alliance that has demonstrated over its history that it has played a key and pivotal role in ensuring peace and security around the world, that peace and security, as I mentioned before, have been threatened.
I would note that my great uncle Ted gave something to me when I was 10 or 11 years old. He was a professor at the University of Toronto, who is now retired. He would visit us back home in east central Alberta. I would have a million questions when he would come during the summer, often spending a number of weeks. I would ask him questions about anything and everything. He happened to be a professor of Hebrew history, but was a very knowledgeable man on many subjects. In particular, one summer he brought a piece of the Berlin Wall and explained to me the significance of that piece of concrete, crumbling as it was.
When I got elected in 2019, I went, as I am sure many of us do, to the box where many things from my childhood and my past were stored and I got that old piece of concrete that was wrapped in plastic. I took it out and was able to get it put into a display. On that, I got a plaque with President Reagan's famous words asking Mr. Gorbachev to bring down that wall. That piece of the Berlin Wall sits in my office today as a constant reminder that this rules-based international order is not something that we can take for granted and that we have to continually and earnestly defend the peace and security that makes up our national democratic institutions. However, it is also a reminder that the world has enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace over the past seven decades or so, and of the significance of the disruption that is possible in light of what the developing circumstances are with Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
I certainly did not imagine, when I was elected to Parliament in 2019, that within a number of years we would be debating a war in Europe. The dynamics have certainly changed when it comes to where we find ourselves today. That is why it is so fitting to be able to debate and discuss what I hope will be an expedient admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
Only three months or so ago, even the talk of these two countries joining NATO would have been something that would have garnered international headlines and would have been called a provocation. We see how, in light of the circumstances our world finds itself in, that it appears to be, and I would suggest is, a necessity for the security of those two countries and the western world.
To provide context, although Finland and Sweden are not currently NATO members, I would like to note in the House this evening that they are active participants in the upholding of, as I have referred to, the international rules-based order. They have been collaborators with NATO and many of our objectives throughout the course of NATO's history. It is those things that I would suggest build a perfect resumé for what should be a speedy admission. For other countries that are now tasked with evaluating whether or not they should support these two countries' admission, if we look at their history I would suggest that their record speaks very strongly in favour of their expedient admission.
My speech up to this point has talked a lot about the impacts of this motion and the results it would have on the world, but it has specific relevance here at home as well. When it comes to domestic impacts, we think about northern sovereignty and how we share thousands of kilometres of our north, although not a land border, with our next-closest neighbour, Russia. Certainly since I have been elected, and as someone who has followed closely the situation in our north, there is without a shadow of a doubt threats that are current and present that we need to take as a country in terms of bolstering our military.
The previous speaker from Manitoba spoke very eloquently about ensuring that we have the military requirements, about meeting our 2% target and about those sorts of things. However, we have to be able to respond in a way that will ensure our national sovereignty: not just the thousands of kilometres of Arctic tundra in our north, but the fact that our sovereign borders do border, although by sea, a nation that has shown itself unwilling to abide by the common precepts of what national sovereignty should look like.
I would call as a challenge to all parties in the House, and especially the government and members of the cabinet, that I have heard a lot of tough talk over the course of the past number of months regarding the situation in Ukraine, but that has to be followed up by equally significant and tough action. Tough talk without action makes good headlines, but does not actually help the people of our nation, the people of Ukraine, the people of Finland or Sweden and it does not keep them any safer.
As I come to the conclusion of my speech, I would simply appeal to this place and to members of NATO that we look toward an expedient admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO for the peace and security of both our nation and the alliance that has helped provide peace and security over the past seven decades in our world.
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- Jun/1/22 10:26:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is certainly significant that we are debating this motion and the opportunity for Canada's Parliament, the epicentre of Canadian democracy, in what I hope will be a strong, unified voice, to share with the world that this situation matters, that Finland's and Sweden's admission into NATO matters, and to continue to speak with a strong voice, united, and to share that although there are many political differences, we stand united with the people of Ukraine and for the rules-based international order.
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