44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 16, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/16/22 7:14:16 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to commend and congratulate my colleague on his speech.
As my colleague said, the war in Ukraine means that there is less food globally, which is deplorable, hence the explosion that we can already see in food prices. We may be facing a worldwide shortage and famine.
At the same time, we see that our farmers here need fertilizers, which are produced primarily in Russia on a global scale. In many cases, these fertilizers were ordered, purchased and paid for before the war in Ukraine. However, deliveries are arriving now, if not a few weeks or months ago.
The government chose to bring in the 35% tax to punish Russia. However, since the fertilizers were already paid for and ordered before the war, the only ones hit by this tax are local farmers. Obviously, this is going to be reflected in the final cost, at a time of skyrocketing food prices and shortages.
What does my colleague think about this?
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- Jun/16/22 7:18:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I really appreciate the work of my hon. friend from Foothills in making sure people understand how important it is to have fertilizer for our farmers who grow our food here. We also know that the silos in Ukraine are still full because they have been unable to off-load them. If they are able to grow anything, they need places to store it.
In terms of the complexity here, and I know we may not see eye to eye on this, but it needs to be said, the climate crisis has exacerbated the food crisis. To pull back on climate action in Canada when our own efforts are so inadequate to what is needed will worsen the food security problem and worsen our military threats. I put to the member the words of one of Ukraine's leading scientists, Dr. Svitlana Krakovska, who said that the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis have the same root cause, which fossil fuels and our inability to move away from them.
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- Jun/16/22 7:41:35 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I have to say I am absolutely delighted that we are having this debate today and that we have the opportunity to speak about this issue. I firmly believe that the food security crisis that is facing the global community is one of the most pressing issues affecting the world right now. I am going to speak about the impacts of Ukraine on this issue, but I want to start by saying that where we find ourselves today is not just a result of what has happened in Ukraine. In fact, before the war in Ukraine and before February 24, there was a food security crisis on the planet.
Before COVID, food insecurity was increasing significantly. During COVID, those numbers jumped massively, to the point where we had hundreds of millions of people around the world who were food-insecure. Then, the war in Ukraine happened. Two weeks ago, Russia destroyed a major grain warehouse in the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine. The terminal plays a crucial role in getting grain out of Ukraine into the global market. Many people in North Africa and many people across the Middle East, which some people will describe as the “ring of fire”, are very dependent on the grain that comes from Russia and Ukraine. That major grain export warehouse was the hub for moving those grains around, so the conflict in Ukraine is making what was a very dire situation around the world in terms of food security much worse.
I have heard in the House tonight some talk about how we need to make sure that we give people the tools to produce their own food. I absolutely agree with that, but this is not an issue of giving people tools so they can access their own food. This is the fact that we have an emergency and crisis where there is no food going into these regions. People are urgently at risk of starving to death. This is the reality we are in. The reality is not that we should figure out how to get fertilizer to Canada. That is a different issue. This is not a reality of “we should figure out how to make sure that our development dollars are more effective”. That is a different issue.
What we are dealing with right now is an urgent food crisis where people around the world, in Afghanistan, Lebanon and North Africa, are going to die because they do not have enough food. It is a different conversation that we need to be having in this place right now. I understand the desire to talk about a whole bunch of different things, like the price of oil and gas or the issues that farmers in western Canada are facing. I come from western Canada, and I understand that, but this debate needs to be on the lives of the millions of food-insecure people around the world who will die if the global community does not step up and deal with this.
I want to talk about the implications of that a little. What we are seeing with Vladimir Putin is a madman who has no interest in caring for people around the world. He knows exactly what he is doing when he stops food and crops from leaving Ukraine. He is causing and sowing mayhem in other countries.
Members know what happens when there is not enough food: There is conflict. That happens. People go to war if they cannot feed themselves and if they cannot feed their families. What a perfect way for Vladimir Putin to make the west blink: to make the west divert its attention from Ukraine by having conflict in North Africa, Afghanistan and the Middle East. It is a perfect plan if western countries and the globe do not come together and respond appropriately.
I have to tell members that we have some very clear solutions. We have heard from experts. I will quote until the end of time one of my very favourite people in the entire world, Mr. David Beasley, who is from the World Food Programme and who incidentally has asked time and again to have food security commitments from this country be indexed to the price of food. That is a very clear ask from the World Food Programme. I hope people in this place are listening when I say that this is something the community has asked for. It is something that specialists and Nobel Prize-winning organizations have asked for.
I also want to mention some of the other things we can do. I think it would be irresponsible to come to this and talk about the people who are starving around the world and not provide those solutions, those options, of what Canada can and should do, because there are options here. The next G7 meeting will be happening in Germany in a few weeks' time. The NATO summit is in Madrid, and will take place at the end of June. The Government of Canada can ensure that the global food crisis is on the agenda at those meetings and Parliament can ensure that this happens. We can make sure there is pressure we are putting on our government. We can ensure that famine prevention and response are a core part of the 2022 G7 agenda and at other global forums such as the G20, as well as in the discussions ongoing with the World Bank and the IMF. We can make sure that food security is on those agendas.
Canada right now should be pledging $600 million toward food security around the world. That is the ask, and this urgent pledge needs to happen and be announced very quickly. That $600 million needs to be spent fast. It needs not just to be promised. I do not want a minister to stand up and promise these dollars and not deliver them for weeks at a time. This needs to happen very quickly. This is an urgent need. This money cannot come from other pots. It cannot be money that was devoted to women and girls or to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. It has to be money that is used for food security.
I will say as well that Canada needs to up its game on food security in the long run. I have mentioned in this place before that we give $250 million a year. We are not providing our fair share of food security money to the global community. We need to up that to at least $400 million a year, and it needs to be an annual commitment. It needs to be something Canada stands for. If we are a country that believes in human rights, that believes in women's rights and that has a feminist foreign policy, that is something Canada can do and needs to do right now.
I will tie this very quickly to our responses with respect to Ukraine. We have heard from members of the government and the opposition that there needs to be more commitment to defence spending with NATO. The call has been to ask for 2% of spending for NATO. Do members know what we spend on humanitarian aid in this country? It is 0.3%. What we are saying is that as a country that believes in human rights, in multilateralism and in global solutions to global problems, we are prepared to spend 2% on defence spending and get nowhere near that in humanitarian aid or in official development assistance. We just have that as a fraction. I look around the world and see places like Denmark, which spends 2% on NATO. That is great. It also spends the promised 0.7% on ODA. It also meets its commitments in humanitarian aid. I would say if we are going to raise one we cannot not raise the other because it means that we do not believe in people. It means that we are not supportive of that.
I know I am running out of time. I am going to quote David Beasley from the UN World Food Programme one more time. He came to the foreign affairs committee and told us that Canada and other developed countries have an option. We have a choice. We can pay right now, or we can pay a thousand times more if we wait. That is only in dollars. That is not in human lives, that is not in human suffering and that is not what Canada should be doing.
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- Jun/16/22 8:01:44 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Northern Affairs this evening.
I am very pleased that colleagues in the House have called this take-note debate forward this evening, because the question of global food security as a result of the war in Ukraine is the most important question right now that we all collectively face.
I am very proud to be the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. We have started a global food security study because of what we are seeing around the world and because we have seen the explicit targeting, by the Russian Federation, of Ukrainian assets that feed not only Ukrainians but the whole world.
It is important to start by giving some context to how important Ukraine is in the global food conversation. It represents 47% of sunflower oil exports to the global market, between 10% to 12% of wheat exports to the global market, 18% of barley and a really high percentage of corn as well. Suffice it to say that not only is Ukraine the breadbasket of eastern Europe, but it is extremely important in the global food sense.
Another thing that is extremely important is that 50% of the World Food Programme's contributions toward vulnerable states come from Ukraine. As we start to stare down what is truly becoming a global food crisis because of the illegal invasion, because of the war, those countries are the most susceptible right now to being impacted. I commend all members of the House for bringing forward this discussion. It is important and extremely timely.
I want to give some other reflections, although this is a very short period of just five minutes for opening remarks on the take-note debate.
The committee had the chance to hear from Minister Solsky, essentially the minister of agriculture in Ukraine, about the fact that right now they are trying to plant on 80% of the territory that is not yet occupied by the Russian Federation. We heard from member of Parliament Yulia Klymenko that 13% of the arable land in question is being mined right now by the Russian Federation. As we can appreciate, the front line of this combat is fluctuating in eastern and southern Ukraine, and the Russian Federation has been planting mines. That is not going to be solved overnight. We heard from Ms. Klymenko herself that farmers have perished simply trying to harvest their crops and plant on their fields.
I had a conversation yesterday with the ambassador of Ukraine to Canada. She showed me a picture of the artillery shells in the fields in which the Ukrainians harvest not only for their own people, but indeed for the world. It needs to go on record explicitly that part of the Russian Federation's plan is to create destabilization around the world regarding food security and energy prices. We have to understand that some countries, particularly in the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia, are reliant on the Russian and Ukrainian importation of food products. Those are the same countries that could fall and then create regional geopolitical challenges, with governments being overthrown, and this could be ripe for terrorism and extremism. That is the testimony we have heard.
I want to talk about what Canada can do in this, because that is the conversation we are having. We know that there is a global challenge. We know that countries are particularly vulnerable. Even though Canada is very food secure generally, we are seeing a huge rise in prices at the supermarket because of some of the import costs as a result of the war. Canada has played and will continue to play an important role in this domain.
Some 22 million tonnes of grain product is sitting right now in silos in Ukraine, but it is not able to be moved because of the blockade in the Black Sea. The challenge in 2022, of course, is that as the harvest comes off the field, what do they do with that grain? It is important that we provide temporary storage. I know the Ukrainian government is looking to Canada to work to try to provide storage on the western border with Poland. That is extremely important.
We also need to make sure that farmers in Ukraine have the capacity to continue their work. For those who are not in occupied territories, we have to be doing everything we can to help. There is a conversation around what type of equipment we can provide for demining some of the agriculture fields. What technical expertise can Canada offer? I think that is an important conversation.
Of course, there is the trade corridor. Conversations are happening right now with the United Nations, Turkey and Russia. What can we do to provide a NATO solution as well to create those corridors?
To finish up, there is also a role we can play in Canadian production over the next couple of years, because this is not just a 2022 issue. We need to help produce more so we can help provide for the global market.
I wish I had more time, but I look forward to taking questions from my hon. colleagues.
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- Jun/16/22 8:12:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that was a big question, so please permit me just a moment.
On globalization, Canada is a world food provider. We cannot turn away from that. That is a reality. I think we have to look out both ends of the telescope. We need to build domestic capacity in Canada through local food infrastructure to help support, perhaps, import substitution, and Canada still needs to play a global role.
As it relates to food and war, my hon. colleague is absolutely correct. Russia right now is playing from the old playbook, trying to target a country's capacity to feed itself and feed the world. It is creating havoc. It is driving a conversation here domestically.
We need to continue to support Ukraine in its fight for all of us, because this is a playbook of the Russian Federation to try to create disruption in western countries that are committed to international rules-based order.
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- Jun/16/22 8:28:14 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as my hon. colleague from Chatham-Kent—Leamington mentioned, he has ties to Ukraine. We heard him contribute in a very meaningful way on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
I want to ask him a couple of things. He highlighted very precisely what the challenge is in vulnerable countries and the geopolitical dynamic that could come from that, and I applaud that because it is spot on. We heard in Kharkiv, which is where the plant-breeding research station is in Ukraine, was targeted directly by the Russian Federation. We heard from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that it is going to try to salvage some of the varieties that are there.
I am of the view Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada can work constructively to help rebuild some of the varieties where there might be some common overlap. Does he believe that would be a constructive solution the government can work on, and will he constructively raise that to help push the government to work in that domain?
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- Jun/16/22 8:42:59 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Ottawa West—Nepean.
I am exuberant to be here tonight, and I feel the same sense of importance for this debate as my colleague, the MP for Avalon. The date of this debate is particularly timely, given recent events in Ukraine. We all know that Putin's senseless war on Ukraine is having a massive impact on global food insecurity.
The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, of which I am a proud member, is currently examining this very issue. I have been actively engaged and learning quite a lot about this issue throughout the study of this important topic.
Last week we heard from Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, who reported that the current situation in his country poses a very serious threat to global food security. Due to the Russian bombardment, grain exports from Ukrainian ports are down by more than half, and spring sowing acreage is down by 25%. Storage capacity is also reduced, as the Russians target silos as well as farm equipment.
Ukraine is a major exporter of wheat, particularly to more vulnerable nations in Africa and the Middle East, and we all know that it has been called the breadbasket. The minister also recently said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will create a global wheat shortage for at least three seasons by keeping much of the Ukrainian crop from markets, pushing prices to record levels. According to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization, by next year the crisis could increase the number of people experiencing severe hunger by 18.8 million and impact 1.7 billion people across the globe.
Russia has bombed key agricultural infrastructure, stolen Ukrainian grain and agricultural machinery and prevented exports from leaving Ukraine. Significant amounts of Ukraine's best agricultural lands have been occupied and land mines have been planted there, affecting Ukraine's arable land.
Before the invasion, the vast majority of Ukraine's exports left from the port of Odessa on the Black Sea. However, Russia's control of major parts of the coastline and the blockades it has imposed have rendered these routes virtually unusable.
While some of Ukraine's grain is slowly getting to market, Ukraine is facing logistical challenges and backlogs. In fact, it is estimated that 20 million tonnes of wheat are stuck in Ukraine, and there is an urgent need for export ahead of the spring harvest.
Canada is in regular contact with the Government of Ukraine, the EU and G7 allies to support Ukraine in its efforts to export its agricultural commodities. We have received requests from the Government of Ukraine for assistance to help with its export challenges and we are seriously considering options to provide that assistance. Obviously, I hope that we do provide that assistance.
Ukraine has asked Canada for support towards additional grain storage, for lab equipment to help establish labs in reclaimed territories and for urgently needed support in exporting Ukrainian agricultural products. The Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food said that the storage capacity is significantly down, stating that “Given the current low rate of exports, last year's harvest and our harvest forecast, the shortage of storage capacity will reach 10 million to 15 million tonnes by October.”
We understand the urgency of these requests and that this assistance is are needed to support the harvest this fall. Canada is working with Ukrainian officials to determine the specifics of these requests and is coordinating with other countries to determine how those needs can best be met. In the meantime, Canada will continue to assess other requirements for Ukraine's agricultural industry, including the potential for provision of seed and technical and scientific assistance in processing capacity or research support.
We continue to support relief efforts in Ukraine. To date, Canada has provided $245 million to support the humanitarian response to meet urgent needs on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
I have much more to say, but it is clear to me that Canada is doing what it can and is considering all options to support Ukraine. Also, I was particularly interested to hear the good news recently that the President of the United States has talked about setting up temporary grain storage along the Polish border, which I think Canada supports.
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- Jun/16/22 9:17:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think we all agree in the House about the illegal and egregious genocide that is happening against the Ukrainian people. Yevheniya Kravchuk is one of the MPs who was here from Ukraine this week. In her remarks, she said that Putin was relying on democracies thinking that democracies are weak because we are under pressure when our populations have inflation, increased food prices and increased fuel prices, and he thinks this is going to cause us to have pressure from our populations and therefore not be as resolute.
Could my colleague comment on the fact that the food prices, fuel prices and inflation happening around the world and here in Canada are very much because of what Putin is doing in Ukraine? What are his thoughts on that?
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- Jun/16/22 9:18:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is a pleasure to work with my friend across the way. We agree on many issues. We disagree on some as well. I would say, respectfully, that I think inflation is caused by a number of factors. We had a significant issue of inflation prior to the invasion of Ukraine. A significant part of that is the government's approach to spending. We have run up more debt in the past seven years than the country had previously.
I will certainly agree with her in saying that we need to have firm resolve. We need to be prepared to do what is necessary to impose sanctions that are debilitating to the Russian economy. We need to up energy production to displace Europe's dependence on energy. We need to supply the heavy artillery that is required and we need to endure through these circumstances, because so much of what we believe in is at stake.
I believe that citizens in democracies believe in and benefit from the systems, and are prepared to endure. While we may disagree on some aspects of the inflation issue, I appreciate that we agree on the fundamental point about the strength of democracies.
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- Jun/16/22 9:21:53 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in terms of companies that are continuing to do business with Russia, there are two possible circumstances. We could speak about those that may be violating sanctions, and we could also speak about cases where the sanctions are not preventing them from doing that.
We need to continue to push for tougher sanctions, and we also need strengthened sanctions enforcement. The member has talked about how we respond to this food crisis. There are many different actions that are required, and part of it is ensuring that victory, supporting our farmers and supporting international development. A lot of work needs to be done, and I hope we are prepared to do that work and have the resolve.
On his second question about how long the sanctions should be in place, very clearly we need to be committed to sustaining these sanctions until the Putin regime withdraws from all of Ukraine's sovereign territory, as was recognized by the government of Russia in the Budapest Memorandum.
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- Jun/16/22 9:23:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands, a very good colleague of mine.
I am pleased to rise virtually and take part in this debate on global food insecurity. This is an issue that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food has been working on for the past week. We have had the opportunity to hear from a number of witnesses, including the Ukrainian agricultural minister. We know how important a contributor Ukraine is to the world's grain supply.
Of course, the war caused by Vladimir Putin is illegal. I wish to express my solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who are still resisting and fighting every day to maintain sovereignty over their territory.
We have heard numerous stories over the past few weeks. What is concerning is that Ukraine typically exports about five to six million tonnes of grain per month. Last week, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that Ukraine was able to export only one million tonnes of grain in May. Obviously, that is causing a ripple effect in the world market. It will cause massive famines in some African countries. This is not only worrying for the Ukrainian people, it is also worrying for developing countries that are not fortunate enough to have such a strong agriculture industry or to get the same yield from their land.
Canada plays a fairly important role in the world. More than 20 million tons of wheat are stuck in Ukraine right now. The Ukrainian port is under Russian blockade. I do not need to repeat everything my colleagues from all parties have said. We have seen the consequences of this war.
I want to reassure the House that our Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are on the job. They have had several meetings with actors at the international level. G7 and G20 countries are on the job. They are taking action and looking for strategies. It is not easy. It is not just about whether people can farm the land safely. It is also about finding ways, if the land can be farmed and the harvests are good, to export all that grain without access to ports. There is the rub. It is extremely difficult.
Last week, the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food was told that Ukraine's rail network is not the same as in the rest of Europe. There can be wait times in excess of 27 days. Ukraine asked us to build temporary silos, which can store grain safely for four months while awaiting export. Will Ukraine be able to ship its grain around the world in four months?
We are working on all of these issues with several stakeholders. Unfortunately, it is hard to say very much in just five minutes, but I want to reassure my colleagues. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has had several meetings with G7 countries. I know that we are working very closely with Ukraine to come up with solutions. Canadian logistics experts are saying that trucks might have to be used, because that is the only way to get the grain out. Canada will play an important role in this fight to ensure that the whole world has access to food.
Again, this is not a partisan issue. I want to thank all my colleagues who have participated in tonight's debate and those who will be speaking later on, too.
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- Jun/16/22 9:38:59 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as I said, I am learning quite a bit about this tonight in this debate. I will be the first to admit that this is not my field of expertise, but I will say that I have heard both the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and I believe a Conservative member earlier speak to Canada's expertise as it relates to the logistics of moving wheat. Canada can play a huge role in that.
I do not personally know exactly what those solutions are, but again, if this is another way that Canada can be an exporter of our incredible understanding and capabilities when it comes to the logistics around this, then we should play a role in that, not just from a humanitarian perspective, but indeed from a global security perspective. Not only is it a problem that Ukraine cannot move the wheat right now, but now it is starting to talk about problems with respect to getting the seed in the ground for next year.
I would agree with the member for Battle River—Crowfoot that we need to work quickly to help address these problems with Ukraine so that this does not become a problem that will occur again next year.
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- Jun/16/22 9:42:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, this goes back a bit to the question from the member for Battle River—Crowfoot, which is if Canada has expertise with respect to assisting Ukraine with the logistical movement of wheat so it can get to countries such as Lebanon much more efficiently, quickly and reliably.
The reality is that when global markets are so interconnected, the slightest little changes can throw a huge wrench into the operation. For a country such as Ukraine, which is the fifth-largest producer of wheat in the global supply, that really becomes problematic in terms of when that starts to be disrupted.
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- Jun/16/22 10:00:34 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the member is from Alberta, as I am. Of course, we have an enormous population of Ukrainians who settled in the prairies and helped build our province. I think we are all very thankful for, and proud of, the contributions that Ukrainian Canadians have made to our country, and I wonder if the member is hearing from his Ukrainian constituents about how we should be providing more support to Ukraine and whether we are doing enough.
I just heard from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress that Canada is 17th in contributions to Ukraine at a time when we know that there are more Ukrainians in Canada than anywhere else in the world outside of Ukraine. I wonder what the member has heard from his constituents. I wonder if he would like to see us contribute more, and if he believes that a larger proportion of ODA spent on humanitarian aid would be useful for Ukraine at this time.
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- Jun/16/22 10:01:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am proud to represent many individuals, families and communities of Ukrainian descent, and I have been absolutely proud to attend things like fundraisers and whatnot to assist with the effort, whether it is resettling refugees or supporting, in every way possible, the people of Ukraine.
There is a lot that needs to be done, such as food aid; ensuring that Ukraine has the required military support; ensuring that there is energy security; ensuring logistical support so that the crop that was harvested last year, much of which still remains in Ukraine today, can actually get to market; ensuring that we are working with partners in the region, like Romania, to get the crop out of the Constanța port; ensuring that we do everything we can in the Black Sea and other areas to get their products to market; and as well ensuring that we are there to give support when it comes to the challenges of what will be, according to the information we are getting, a very challenging year, with many crops not having the chance to be seeded.
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- Jun/16/22 10:11:35 p.m.
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My colleague is right, Madam Chair. This is a problem, not only for today, but also for tomorrow and next year. We will have to work with our international partners to fix this problem.
We must continue to support Ukraine in this war. We must also continue to work together to help Canadian farmers produce the essential foods that our country and the world need.
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- Jun/16/22 10:12:14 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am really concerned that we are not looking at the larger issues here, the fact that we are dealing with war crimes being pushed by Putin. We are dealing with destabilization.
What is the plan to actually put in a new world order, a new understanding of the world in an age of destabilization? Where are we going, given the crimes that we are watching in Ukraine, the destabilization, the break-up of supply chains and the climate change? Canada needs to have a whole new vision.
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- Jun/16/22 10:22:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my friend from Saanich—Gulf Islands for making the incredibly crucial link that all of this is interconnected, whether it is climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic or the conflicts around the world, not just what is happening in Ukraine. The fact is that all of these things are creating a perfect storm that is leading not just to this incredible food crisis, but to a crisis in democracy and a crisis that is having an unbelievable impact on the people of the world. I wonder if she could elaborate on that.
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- Jun/16/22 10:34:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech. He talked about support for getting grain out of Ukraine at this time. If we want to see short-term results, we have to look at that. Does my colleague have a sense of what the government has done?
Last week, when Ukraine's agriculture minister was with us, she said she needs urgent help clearing mines from fields. The fields were seeded this spring, but there will be no harvest this fall because farmers are too afraid of setting off mines to go into their fields. Has my colleague heard anything from the government about plans to do anything about that? Everybody is desperate.
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- Jun/16/22 10:38:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to compliment my hon. colleague for talking about the demining that is needed in Ukraine. I wonder if he is aware that Canada has provided over $450 million in the last two decades to demining. I also wonder if he is aware of the importance of the assistance we are also providing to Ukraine and the fact that, through DND, we have tremendous expertise in this regard.
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