SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Mar/20/24 10:34:16 p.m.
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I really do not recall his actually saying whether he was here or not. I would say that we should be judicious in what we are saying and make sure we do not say whether someone is here. The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

The Chair

Mar/20/24 10:39:08 p.m.
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When someone in the House is saying that someone is standing with Putin, that is probably a little too far out on the edge, as the Speaker has ruled. The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

The Chair

Mar/20/24 10:40:28 p.m.
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The member for Miramichi—Grand Lake was asked to apologize for saying something very similar to, I think, what the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona said. The hon. member should retract that and apologize for it. Then we can go on and ask questions. The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

The Chair

Mar/20/24 10:40:42 p.m.
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I have asked you to retract it. Please retract it and apologize, or your evening is going to come to an end. The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)

Mar/20/24 10:49:52 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is great to follow my hon. colleague from the wonderful city of Etobicoke and the riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore. I know the hon. member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore is a proud Ukrainian Canadian. He represents the Ukrainian community, not only in Etobicoke but across Canada, with everything in his heart and everything in his soul, and he believes in the cause of defeating the Russian aggression we have seen over the last two years and the invasion of Crimea several years earlier. I am proud to stand with my hon. colleague and to be his colleague. I have known him for many years. He is an esteemed and learned member, and not only here in this House. He also served in provincial parliament. He is a good person, he means well and he believes in what he says. I know he is also the chair of the Canada-Ukraine Friendship Group and has done a lot of work there. I rise tonight to speak as an individual who supports the Ukrainian Canadian community, all one million-plus of them, but also in my role for the last few years as the chair of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association. In that role, I get to participate in the Council of Europe meetings at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, where we hold a number of bilateral meetings with delegations, including the Ukrainian delegation. I believe the current Ukrainian defence minister was actually a member of that delegation. We had several meetings with them, and I wish Godspeed to Mariia, Ilyana and all members of the PACE delegation from Ukraine, whom I will see shortly in the month of April. I know how hard they are working to ensure the brave Ukrainian men and women fighting this unjustified barbaric invasion by Russia are going to prevail. I was watching this debate earlier on this evening, and it was great to see the non-partisan nature of what was going on, but unfortunately, I think the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan decided to make it a little more partisan than it should be. There was some banter back and forth, but let us be serious: Everyone in this House, all 338 of us, know Russia needs to be defeated. As Mario Draghi said, there is no Europe if Russia wins. Unfortunately, when the leader of the official opposition said that something was going on in a “faraway” land, it was an inappropriate remark to make, in my humble view. We are all held to account in what words we state, in our deeds in this House and as parliamentarians. I see the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, whom I have spoken to before. Much like the hon. member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, he is a staunch, proud Ukrainian Canadian. He wants nothing more than to see the full sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine for the Ukrainian people and the freedom of the brave men and women in Ukraine. Two years ago there were not many folks in this world who believed Ukraine would stand up to Russia the way it has, but it did for many reasons, including the participation of the Canadian Armed Forces through Operation Unifier, which has trained over 40,000 Ukrainian troops and continues to provide resources. There are 300 Canadian Armed Forces troops in Europe right now, in Poland, the U.K. and Latvia, helping out. I was doing some note-taking, because I do not sit on the defence committee or foreign affairs committee as I have other responsibilities, and I was looking at Canada's participation. We are in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. We are in the air force capability coalition. We are in the armour capability coalition. We are in the drone capability coalition. Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $13.3 billion in funding support to Ukraine, including in 2024, when we will commit another $3.02 billion in spending. When I hear feedback from my constituents, it tends to be far-right individuals who do not believe in supporting Ukraine. It is a fact. Much like in the United States, there is an element on the political right that does not support aiding Ukraine. That is a fact. It is unfortunate, and I try to speak to them, calmly, to say that we need to stand up for Ukrainians. I also want to give a big shout-out to the President of Czechia—

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Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

The Chair

Mar/20/24 11:17:55 p.m.
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I just wanted to say to the hon. member for Etobicoke Centre that I will not be reporting this back, so the hon. member, even though he became invisible to me for a few moments, will be fully seen tomorrow during the session of the House.

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