44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 24, 2023 10:00AM
No, Madam Speaker, the member did not misunderstand. The committee is the right place for going into the details of the agreement. It is an opportunity for stakeholder groups to come before the committee, those that have gone into the weeds of it to see what it would mean for the customs code and what the implications are of expanding certain sections.
What I was referencing is that I would like to hear from more members on the floor of the House as to what their views are. I am sure our House leaders are talking right now, and we will see what they decide to do about when we see this bill at committee and how much time would be devoted to reviewing the specific contents of it. As I mentioned, I am looking at the sections on how goods and services will be treated in the territories occupied by the Russian Federation, which are rightfully Ukrainian territories.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to once again rise in this place to speak to the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement.
When we talk about the importance of the Canada-Ukraine relationship, we have to talk about the 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian origin who live here in Canada. Many of them were integral to the development of western Canada. They are an incredible and important part of the social fabric of Canada, and their contributions to Canada cannot go unnoticed. As a result of that, we have very strong people-to-people ties between Canada and Ukraine. Of course, we are strong supporters of Ukraine during the illegal invasion being prosecuted by Russia.
In addition, with respect to this agreement in particular, this modernization of the agreement would build on the 2017 agreement which updated or added 11 new chapters to the free trade agreement. The updated chapters include rules of origin and procedures, government procurement, competition policy, monopoly and state enterprises, electronic commerce, digital trade, labour, the environment, transparency, anti-corruption and responsible business conduct.
There is also a significant number of new chapters. There are 11 new chapters, to be frank. These are on investment; cross-border trade in services; temporary entry for business people; development and administration of measures; financial services; services and investment, non-conforming measures; telecommunications; trade and gender; trade and small and medium-sized enterprises; trade and indigenous peoples; and good regulatory practices. This is a substantial change from the original agreement which was signed in 2017.
In 2021 alone, Canada processed some $220 million in exports and $227 million in imports with Ukraine. Given Ukraine's GDP has dropped some 30% since Russia's invasion, trade with Canada is welcomed now more than ever. For some context, some of the larger exports from Canada to Ukraine include vehicles and parts, fish, and pharmaceuticals. When it comes to imports to Canada, it is largely cereals, iron and steel to name a few.
I want to spend the majority of my speech talking about the people and largely the people in Edmonton.
When the Ukrainian president was here in Ottawa, he reminded Canada and the world about Edmonton's close connection to his country. Soon after taking the podium right up there, he brought up my city in talking about our links to the destiny of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Canadian community. He mentioned a statue that has stood outside Edmonton City Hall since 1983. It was a proud moment for many Edmontonians, especially with his call for another monument there on victory day when Ukraine conquers and wins this Russian war against Ukraine. This was stated no more clearly than by the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Alberta Provincial Council, when she stated, “This is amazing. He's paying attention. He knows who we are.”
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress Alberta Provincial Council has done incredible work during this war. It is a non-profit organization that provides leadership, advocacy, coordination and connections. It officially represents the needs of Ukrainian Canadians in Alberta before the people and the Government of Alberta. It aims to promote knowledge, respect for Ukraine's history and sovereignty, and acknowledgement of the great contributions of Ukrainians within Canada. Since the war began, over 12,000 Ukrainians have already come to Edmonton.
Some of the work that Ukrainian Canadian Congress Alberta Provincial Council is doing is phenomenal, to say the least. It is providing $200,000 to support Ukrainian organizations with programming and membership for newcomers. It spent $32,000 in grocery gift cards for newcomers. It put up a website with resources and tools for newcomers. Together with the Firefighter Aid Ukraine organization, it filled the first plane to Ukraine with medical and emergency supplies.
Other of its activities include assisting with crisis needs, including emergency housing, financing the purchase of medical equipment, organizing a furniture donation warehouse, distributing furniture to thousands of newcomers, organizing free English language classes, organizing job fairs, hosting information and welcome events for newcomers, weekly rallies protesting against Russian aggression, fundraisers to support settlement, government advocacy, distributing SIM cards, distributing pallets of clothing throughout Alberta, providing laptops and computers to Ukrainians in need, coordinating mental health support and resources and, of course, welcoming Ukrainian nationals at the airport. As someone who flies a lot, being able to see those Ukrainians come to the Edmonton airport and connect with someone as they get off the plane is nothing short of heartwarming.
I want to talk about a few of the people and initiatives, particularly three Edmonton firefighters. Three Edmonton firefighters went to Ukraine to teach first responders a modified version of the NATO standard tactical combat casualty care course. They were all volunteer firefighters through the Firefighter Aid Ukraine organization. They taught 70 firefighters and police officers, who then trained other firefighters and police officers across Ukraine.
The medical course they taught focused on life-saving interventions for injuries associated with military attacks on civilian populations. They focused on critical and acute injuries, and even mental health. The president of the association stated:
Individuals who have not performed in an emergency responder role previously, have now taken on that role in Ukraine. As such, they do not have this kind of training and it is imperative for them to have it, given the situations they are dealing with in their roles.
In addition to the training, the firefighter group also brought over supplies of PPE, and specialty equipment for treating patients and saving lives. This is not new to this organization. In May 2017, it filled a shipping container with medical supplies, tools and emergency response equipment, which was then sent to Ukraine. Just last September, a group of seven firefighters and one dispatcher also went overseas to Ukraine.
Another example is of Edmonton artists who are donating their works to Ukrainian aid. A number of local artists donated to a fund created by the owners of the West End Gallery in Edmonton. The campaign raised almost $29,000. It did not have an auction. This was a call to answer by its customers. It is adamant that the full amount of the sales went directly to those who needed it the most.
The group contacted the former Alberta premier, a dear friend of mine, Ed Stelmach, whose grandparents came to the province as Ukrainian immigrants. Stelmach and his wife, Marie Stelmach, founded and have administered The Ed Stelmach Community Foundation since 2007. The foundation fosters a culture of charity and equality for all Albertans, and is overseen by a volunteer board.
The support did not stop there. Suddenly, we saw tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn country, and an Edmonton mother and daughter decided to team up to help the new arrivals, who had arrived with very few belongings. The two projects they co-founded were a free store and a food kitchen. The duo launched the Free Store for Ukrainian Newcomers at a temporary site and then moved downtown to an Edmonton building provided rent-free by MacEwan University. The facility provides clothing, diapers, pillows, toys and household essentials at no charge to newcomers displaced by war.
The second project, the Ukraine Kitchen by Free Store, opened its doors in northeast Edmonton after operating temporarily out of the Cook County Saloon. Pre-ordered Ukrainian food is sold, providing wages for a team of about 14 kitchen workers, who proudly dole out plates of cabbage rolls, perogies, borscht and desserts.
Lastly, there is a furniture store. For nearly 10 months, Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council, has been operating a furniture depot in a northwest Edmonton warehouse to supply newcomers with essentials to set up their homes. Approximately 35 families utilize the free warehouse weekly, and most need mattresses and other supplies. The whole operation is housed in the Boilermakers Lodge 146 building near the High Park industrial area.
This is not new to Edmonton. The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village Society was founded in 1971, and I am sure my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan will not mind me mentioning it. It has a number of exhibit galleries that provide a closer understanding of Ukrainian settlement in east central Alberta, which has been critical to the education of so many Albertans and Canadians.
These are just some of the reasons Canadians are watching this debate so closely. The Conservative Party is one hundred per cent behind supporting Ukraine, trade and free trade. Free trade between free nations is something we support one hundred per cent. As a member of the international trade committee, I look forward to going through this agreement and hearing debate on this agreement in the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in this debate on legislation concerning the free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine, for a variety of reasons. I love my country, I love Ukraine and I am a strong supporter of free trade. This agreement was created under a Conservative government. Later we will have the opportunity to come back to that. As a good Conservative, I support entering into free trade agreements with as many countries as possible, provided they are good countries, of course.
When we talk about Ukraine, we cannot disregard the fact that this country has proven to humanity as a whole that resilience is the defining trait of these people and this nation, or that their strength of character only grew clearer when the Russian ogre outrageously invited itself into that country. Putin's illegal attack on Ukraine made people realize that, unfortunately, in the 21st century, we can still experience the same atrocities as in the First and Second World Wars, what we would call traditional wars. Nevertheless, the strong, proud people of Ukraine have been able to withstand the crass and heinous attacks from Putin's Russia, and they are heading for victory. We are all hoping for that outcome, and above all, we are hoping for an end to the hostilities, because there are no winners in war. There are only losers who lose friends, loved ones, family, and people who suffer under the illegal bombing. When we think of Ukraine, our thoughts are with the people who are currently experiencing the horrors of the war.
As a resident of Quebec City, I was very touched by the young pee-wee hockey players who came to Quebec City despite the war, to play in the cadet league hockey tournament. In front of a very emotional and united crowd of Quebec City residents, they demonstrated that kids can still be kids and still have fun, even if their country is at war. That also reminds me that I invited two young players from the pee-wee tournament, two Ukrainians, to be here in the House when President Zelenskyy addressed Canadians. They also had the privilege of shaking hands with their president, and I was very proud of that moment, which was tremendously emotional for these young people.
Ukraine and Canada have a lot in common. We obviously have the same climate. We also have a very strong agricultural tradition. It is not for nothing that the Ukrainian flag represents the sky and the land, using the same colours we find in Saskatchewan. It is no fluke. There is wheat, of course, but beyond that, there are historical connections that unite us through immigration. Several speakers today reiterated that Canada has the third-largest Ukrainian population after Ukraine and Russia, with 1.3 million Ukrainian Canadians. Some are descendants of the huge community that came to settle here in Canada at the turn of the 20th century and in the 1920s and 1930s. They have enriched Canada with their presence, their culture and especially their extraordinary work effort. It has to be said that we also share a passion for hockey. We are not Nordic countries for nothing. We are not countries that love the snow for nothing. We have this fine tradition, as I was saying earlier, that was beautifully highlighted at the International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.
I cannot help but think that Canada could be doing even more for Ukraine. If we had made the necessary decisions seven or eight years ago, we could have helped Ukraine tremendously with the economic aspect of its war against Russia, and we could have helped our allies, especially European countries, support Ukraine instead of helping Russia by buying its natural resources. In that regard, I have to point out how painful it is to recall that, eight years ago, there were nearly 15 liquefied natural gas projects and ports to export it. Unfortunately, for eight years, for dogmatic and ideological reasons, the current government has done everything in its power to ensure that these 15 projects would not succeed. Imagine if, instead, we had been led for eight years by a government with a vision for the future, one that wanted the whole world to benefit from the bounty we have here when it comes to natural resources. We know how to develop them in an intelligent and environmentally friendly way, with the ethics that have always characterized Canadians. No, instead of having access to our natural resources, countries now have to knock on Russia's door to get liquefied natural gas.
That is crazy. We could be a source of pride on the international stage, but this government did nothing to properly develop Canada's liquefied natural gas potential for eight years because of ideological reasons. We may be speaking with emotion about Ukraine today, but we cannot turn a blind eye to that reality. The great country of Germany is caught between a rock and a hard place and has no choice but to ask Russia for energy, when we have energy but prefer to keep it under the ground. That is unfortunate. It is not just Canada and Canadians who are losing out, but also the people of Ukraine and Germany, who would have been happy to have access to our natural resources.
Since we are talking about free trade, I would remind the House that free trade is a defining feature of the party that I represent, the Conservative Party. Let us remember that the key steps toward free trade began with the free trade agreement with the United States. In 1988 and 1989, we had a prime minister who had vision and who put everything in place for an agreement with the United States. The free trade agreement was approved by the public in the 1988 election. We are grateful to the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney for his vision. He was likely the greatest prime minister of the 20th century.
Later on, there were the colossal efforts made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to sign free trade agreements with other countries. I want to commend the outstanding contribution of the member for Abbotsford. During the final five years of the Conservative Party's time in government, he was the architect of our country's exceptional development in the area of free trade. He was the one who succeeded in negotiating agreements with Europe, America and the Pacific.
Under the direction of the former minister of international trade, the current member for Abbotsford, we made our mark on nearly five continents. The sun almost never set on this empire of positive economic free trade and wealth creation. We believe in free trade because our country is a large, wonderful place, brimming with natural resources. Above all, we are proud of how smart and hard-working Canada's 40 million citizens are.
Let us keep one thing in mind, though. When a local market has 40 million people in it and a nearby neighbour has almost 350 million, maybe it takes a bit more. That is why our country is, in a sense, condemned to always having free trade agreements so we can open up our market and export Canada's know-how, our natural resources, our energy and our products, which are produced so efficiently thanks to Canadian workers and Canadian ingenuity. That means we need free trade agreements.
Our party, the Conservative Party, was the architect of free trade in the 20th and early 21st centuries. It is the party of free trade. As everyone knows, we are always open to the idea of win-win agreements. That is key to a good free trade agreement. As one of my old bosses used to tell me all the time, a good agreement is an honest agreement. The idea is not to make sneaky attempts to put one over on the other party. The whole point is for it to be win-win. That is how outstanding free trade agreements, like the ones the member for Abbotsford negotiated when he was international trade minister, are made.
I see that time has run out. How very sad that I have to stop there.
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