44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 20, 2024 02:00PM
- Mar/20/24 7:27:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we are here this evening to take part in a debate on the Canada-Ukraine relationship and the new strategic partnership between Canada and Ukraine.
I want to say clearly, at the beginning of this take-note debate, that Conservatives support the newly agreed to Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership.
We have long supported Ukraine. We did this well before the war in Ukraine began, started by President Putin's illegal invasion in 2014. On December 2, 1991, Canada became the first western country to recognize Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, under then Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney. The late Brian Mulroney was recognized this week in the House for his great foreign policy accomplishments with then external affairs minister Joe Clark.
It was under Prime Minister Harper's leadership that Conservatives first negotiated the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, the first free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine. This deepened trade and investment relations between the two countries. The trade agreement removed tariffs from 86% of Canada's exports, with the remaining tariffs being phased out over the following seven years. This allowed for stronger exports of agricultural goods to and from Ukraine.
It was under Prime Minister Harper that Operation Unifier was started. That was a significant operation that was done jointly with the United Kingdom, and it was critical in preparing the Armed Forces of Ukraine for Russia's illegal invasion. In fact, my hon. colleague who just spoke in the House referenced that many were surprised about how Ukraine stood up to Russia's second illegal invasion in February 2022; many expected Ukraine's armed forces to collapse in the face of the Russian invasion. In fact, they did not collapse, in large part because of Operation Unifier, which began in 2015.
It was also Prime Minister Harper who led the charge at the G8, which no longer exists, to expel Russia as a member. This turned it into the G7. We all remember that famous video of Prime Minister Harper confronting President Putin on camera when they met in Australia, telling him he needed to “get out of Ukraine”.
These are some things that Conservatives have done in the past to support Ukraine. In opposition, as we have been since 2015, we have continued that support. We have continually called on the government to support Ukraine and to provide more support, particularly military support. We have largely supported the government's initiatives with respect to Ukraine over the last two years.
Long before Russia's war on Ukraine began in February 2022, we had called on the government to provide more lethal military equipment to Ukraine. It was not until February 14, 2022, a mere 10 days before the invasion began, that the government heeded our call. It then reversed its decision not to provide lethal military equipment and started to provide that equipment.
Since February 2022, we have called on the government to provide surplus light armoured vehicles from the Canadian Armed Forces and role 3 mobile hospitals. Recently, we have also called on the government to provide the NASAMS air defence system, as well as the CRV7 rockets, of which there are 83,000 in surplus in the Canadian Armed Forces. Ukraine has indicated that it wants and could use them.
The government could provide these four things immediately to support Ukraine: the surplus light armoured vehicles, the role 3 mobile hospitals, the 83,000 rockets and the NASAMS air defence system.
We have been calling on the government to do these things because we believe Ukraine needs additional military support. We have also been calling on the government to increase arms production in Canada, and in particular, the production of munitions. The NATO alliance and Ukraine, beyond that, are in desperate need of 155-millimetre shells. It has been assessed that Russia has produced millions of similar types of shells and that the alliance is desperately underproducing these shells. The government recently announced that it has looked at increasing shell production in Canada. Conservatives believe the government needs to do that expeditiously to meet not only Ukraine's defence needs but also our own here in Canada.
I will go back to the strategic security partnership that was just agreed to by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ukraine, formally titled “Agreement on security cooperation between Canada and Ukraine”. There are two clauses in that agreement, in particular, that Conservatives support. Section I is titled “Resilience of Energy and other Critical Infrastructure”. That part of the agreement reads:
Acknowledging that energy supply security remains crucial for Ukraine’s resilience, and building upon existing support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure from the G7 and others, Canada will continue to seek to support Ukraine’s overall energy sector with a special focus on nuclear safety and security and clean energy transition.
We support that; one thing we think Canada should be doing to support Ukraine and counter Russia is exporting clean liquefied natural gas, not only to displace Russian liquefied natural gas in western Europe and in Ukraine, as well as liquefied natural gas among other democratic allies, but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A kilowatt hour of electricity produced by coal-fired plants produces double the greenhouse gas emissions that a plant fired by natural gas does. We can meet our security and defence goals in co-operation with Ukraine and, at the same time, help reduce global emissions. About a fifth of all global emissions are produced from coal-fired electricity plants. If we could eliminate those in the next 10 years, we could cut global emissions, just on that alone, by 10%.
The technology to replace coal-fired electricity plants with LNG or with natural gas plants is decades old. It is easy to do. Ontario did it when it closed down the Nanticoke coal plant some years ago and replaced it with natural gas-fired plants throughout the province of Ontario.
The other section we like in this agreement is section N, titled “Compensation for Losses, Injuries and Damages Caused by Russian Aggression”. We like it because we have long called for Canada to lead an effort, which we have suggested should be at the G7, to repurpose some 300 billion U.S. dollars in Russian assets that have been seized by western democracies. When the war broke out two years ago, scores of Russian assets were seized by western governments in order to punish Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Those assets remain seized, but we need to take the next step and repurpose them for the reconstruction of the infrastructure in Ukraine, which has been much damaged by Russian aggression. About $200 billion of those assets rest in Europe.
Canada has strong diplomatic ties to many countries in Europe; it has strong ties with the European Union, NATO member countries and individual member states. We should be using this diplomatic capacity to come to an understanding among the western alliance that we are going to repurpose the $300 billion in assets to create a Marshall-type recovery plan for Ukraine. Thus, when this war ends, the people of Ukraine can rebuild their infrastructure, join the community of democracies and rebuild their lives.
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- Mar/20/24 7:42:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, who I believe is a good member of Parliament who often provides the chamber with good advice and, in this particular instance, a good history lesson. I am from the province of Alberta, the very same province from which the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney actually pledged recognition of the independence of Ukraine, which was a momentous moment for Alberta and one we are tremendously proud of.
To lean in on the question of our Bloc colleague a bit more, I do think that Ukrainians, at least the Ukrainians I know from Alberta, have been a bit nervous and a bit scared of the partisanship throughout this 44th Parliament, particularly when it came to the free trade agreement and the votes by the Conservative Party related to the support for that agreement. I think it is important for the security of Ukraine that we have an all-party approach to actually find unity in the chamber in our support for Ukraine.
However, one of the biggest ways to support Ukraine today is to actually ensure that the American security agreement, which would commit up to $60 billion in support, including military aid, is actually passed in the United States. Republicans are withholding support on that right now. Considering the member opposite is a member of the Conservative Party and likely knows many members of the Republican Party as well, would it not be important for us to actually reach out, as America's close ally, to find ways to close the gap, the unfortunate partisanship, that is affecting our allies in Ukraine?
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- Mar/20/24 8:22:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think maybe the member needs a glass of water. He seems quite upset.
What I will say to him is that what we brought forward, as New Democrats, before the further invasion by the Russian Federation, was looking for peace. We were looking for a peaceful resolution. This happened before the invasion that we saw, the extension of the invasion by the Russian Federation. Of course, we are New Democrats. We are always looking to lessen the loss of life. That is in the very nature of what we do.
Today, and this week, we are honouring the work of the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney. I would like the members from the Conservative Party to perhaps reflect upon some of the legacy that Brian Mulroney brought forward. He was not someone I agreed on everything with, but I will say that his support for South Africa, going against the United States at the time, against an apartheid regime was extraordinarily important.
I wonder why they found it impossible for them to actually support sending humanitarian aid, perhaps going against the United States, and stopping the selling of arms to Israel, who is using them against civilians. I wonder if this particular version of Conservatism, which I think perhaps the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney would not be as impressed with, would have the courage the former prime minister had in terms of standing up for human rights. We are not seeing it from this particular opposition.
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Madam Chair, it is an honour to take part in tonight's debate on the relationship between Canada and Ukraine.
Before I continue with my speech, I want to take a moment to recognize in the chamber former prime minister Brian Mulroney and to extend my condolences to his family and to all those who knew him. Prime Minister Mulroney was, of course, a steadfast supporter of Ukraine, and his leadership continues to positively impact the Canada-Ukraine relationship today. When Prime Minister Mulroney was prime minister in 1991, Canada became the first western country to recognize Ukraine's independence.
As colleagues may know, Bill C-57 received royal assent yesterday, leading us one step closer to bringing into force the modernized Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. This modernized trade agreement represents a historic milestone for the Canada-Ukraine commercial relationship and for Ukraine's economic security, which I will be focusing my remarks on tonight.
The Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, also known as CUFTA, is just one of the tools Canada is using to support our ally Ukraine, which continues to face the violent consequences of Russia's illegal and unjustified invasion. Indeed, since the beginning of the conflict in 2022, Canada has committed over $13.3 billion in multi-faceted support covering military, financial, humanitarian, development, security and cultural assistance for Ukraine.
The modernized free trade agreement is another form of support that will provide the framework for bilateral trade and investment. It will strengthen the foundation on which Canadian and Ukrainian businesses can work together, not only now but also during Ukraine's recovery and economic reconstruction over years to come, when it will win this war against Russia's illegal invasion.
Furthermore, our bilateral relations are strengthened through our warm people-to-people ties that are rooted in Ukrainian Canadians in our country. They represent roughly 1.3 million people and have shared values. Many of these values are reflected in CUFTA.
In January of this year, I had the opportunity to spend some time across western and central Canada, from Alberta to Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and of course here in Ontario. I have spoken with many Ukrainian Canadians, businesses and stakeholders about what was before our Parliament, which was the modernized CUFTA. There was a lot of interest from Ukrainian Canadians, certainly from the Canadian private sector, to support Ukraine as it continues to keep not only its economy going, but also its reconstruction activities.
The modernized CUFTA is going to do just that. Canadian companies would not only trade in goods, and that was the agreement we just modernized. It has been modernized with provisions that allow for services, trade and investments. The new trade agreement has nine new dedicated chapters that cover things such as cross-border trade in services, investments, financial services, telecommunications and good regulatory practices. As well, it includes dedicated chapters on inclusive trade, trade that will yield benefits to all in our economies, such as small and medium-sized businesses, which has a chapter. There is the first-ever trade and indigenous peoples chapter to be in a concluded FTA, as well as a chapter on trade and gender, so that the benefits of trade will be shared widely.
Ultimately, the outcome of this agreement is a modern, ambitious and fully comprehensive free trade agreement that will fortify the Canadian-Ukrainian bilateral commercial relationship for years to come and will support Ukraine's long-term recovery and trade interests. It is also good for Canada. There are many Canadian companies that have a lot to offer that will benefit from trade and investment in Ukraine.
I look forward to leading a business mission to Ukraine. Many businesses I talk to are interested in having the trade minister lead a mission that will open up some of those doors and create the opportunity, and that would just build on the momentum of the new CUFTA.
Let me conclude by thanking the negotiators, not only in Canada but also in Ukraine. They were negotiating this in the midst of a war, with sirens blaring and bombs going off around them. I want to thank them for their courage. Let us rebuild Ukraine together.
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- Mar/20/24 9:57:53 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member is trying to change the channel here. Canada has worked very closely with all our allied countries. Let me remind the member. Yesterday, we were talking about Brian Mulroney. Even members in the chamber today were talking about Brian Mulroney and the trade agreement of 1988.
People could reflect on some of wonderful things that Brian Mulroney did. He opened the chamber to the idea of free trade being a good thing. He also opened the idea that acid rain and the environment were also something very important.
I believe that Brian Mulroney would have looked at the behaviour of the Conservative Party on Ukraine, and Brian Mulroney supported Ukraine, and he would have been somewhat disappointed with the way the Conservative Party of today voted on the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, when we should have had solidarity. That would have sent a very powerful message to the world that we collectively support Ukraine, today and well into the future.
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- Mar/20/24 9:59:03 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, if I was the member for Winnipeg North, I would be careful not to make too many assumptions about Mr. Mulroney's thoughts on what goes on in the House or in the Conservative Party. I am not sure he would be much prouder of the Liberals for the way they have managed Canada for the past while.
That said, tonight we are having a take-note debate to discuss the relationship between Canada and Ukraine and the new strategic security partnership. That is the theme of tonight's take-note debate. However, all that I have heard from the Liberals are questions for the Conservatives about why they voted against the free trade agreement because of a provision that mentioned the carbon tax.
My colleague from Montarville clearly stated in his speech earlier this evening that 58% of the aid that Canada promised to Ukraine has still not reached Ukraine. I want to know why. That is very significant. It changes things on the ground there. It affects Ukraine's ability to repel the Russian enemy. When will that 58% arrive? Why can we not do more? That is what I want to know tonight.
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- Mar/20/24 10:34:32 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I never mentioned anybody's presence or absence. What I talked about was the position of the leader of the Conservative Party. He required his MPs to vote three times against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement and against military aid for Ukraine. They voted to cut Operation Unifier. They voted against funding for Ukrainian immigrants settling here in Canada. Yesterday I personally went to the Senate and watched Conservative senators unanimously vote against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. The leader of the Conservative Party will not say whether he will support the security agreement with Ukraine that Canada signed.
What has happened to the Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney or John Diefenbaker? In summary, there is a far right movement in Canada, just like there is in the U.S., where it has taken over the Republican Party, that believes the pro-Putin propaganda and does not support Ukraine. There is a Putin wing in the Conservative Party, and the leader of the Conservative Party is seeking to earn its support. The Putin wing has taken over the Conservative Party.
The second thing that has happened is that he is trying to consolidate the PPC vote, and the PPC has always been pro-Putin and anti-Ukraine. He is pandering to the PPC vote and has given in to the Putin wing of the Conservative Party. That is what has happened with the Conservative Party.
We need to make sure that we stand with Ukraine until it wins, and for that to happen, the Conservative Party, and specifically the leader, needs to step up and start voting in favour of Ukraine. He needs to make sure his members step up, and make sure they start voting for Ukraine. That is how we are going to make sure Ukraine wins. That is how we are going to make sure we all win.
Slava Ukraini.
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