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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 292

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 20, 2024 02:00PM
  • 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 10:00:16 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, interestingly, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, earlier today, acknowledged an additional $2 billion that actually came in very recently, and we are talking about a matter of days. That brings our total to somewhere in the neighbourhood of just under $7 billion. We also have all sorts of other investments through our allied forces. I suspect one will find that in working with the allied countries and Ukraine, there has been a great deal of flexibility. I am not going to concede the numbers that the member opposite or that his foreign affairs critic were talking about earlier today. I do know that Canada continues to play a significant role, financially and with other forms of resources, to be there in a very real and tangible way for Ukraine. The impression that the Ukrainian people have of Canada today is one of the very best in the entire world. We might be ranked somewhere around three or four on the perception of how we are contributing to what is taking place and of how are being a positive factor for Ukraine and Ukrainian solidarity around the world.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:01:38 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is a real honour for me to be speaking on behalf of the residents of the riding of Davenport on the agreement on security co-operation between Canada and Ukraine. Many people might not know, but within my riding of Davenport there used to be a fairly significant Ukrainian population. I actually went to grade school there. I went to a Ukrainian school. It is called St Josaphat. It is still there. The church is still there. The community has largely moved away, but I know they would be very proud of the contribution that Canada has been making and continues to make to Ukraine. As we all know, Ukrainians have been defending themselves from Russia's full-scale invasion for over two years now. As we are all aware, they need coordinated global support now more than ever. A resilient, democratic and prosperous Ukraine is vital for stability and security in Europe and around the world. Today I am going to focus on how Canada has responded through steadfast support to Ukraine, a coordinated approach to sanctions and strong diplomatic leadership on the issue of the forceful transfer of Ukrainian children. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Canada has continued to work in close collaboration with Ukraine, as well as our other partners, to provide comprehensive and multi-faceted support. President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Trudeau have reaffirmed the strength and importance of our bilateral relationship time and time again—
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  • Mar/20/24 10:03:05 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member knows we should not be mentioning the last names of members. It has been in a number of the speeches tonight. I just want to make sure that those who are coming after cross that out and put in the correct title. The hon. member for Davenport.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:06:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, you have my apologies. President Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister have reaffirmed the strength and importance of our bilateral relationship time and time again, including during the President's visit in September and in his address to the House. On February 24, 2024, just a few weeks ago, when the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence visited Kyiv to mark two years since Russia's full-scale invasion, they were reminded, once again, of the bravery and resolve of the Ukrainian people. This visit culminated in the historic signing of the Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership, which commits Canada to provide an additional $3.02 billion in critical macroeconomic and military assistance to Ukraine in 2024, and frames our co-operation for the next 10 years. This brings Canada's total committed support to date to $13.3 billion since 2022. This includes over $4 billion in military assistance, $7.4 billion in financial assistance to support Ukraine's macroeconomic stability and many other forms of support. On security and stabilization, since 2022, Canada has committed over $198 million in security and stabilization funding, including projects on demining, reducing threats from nuclear or radiological materials and chemical weapons, as well as countering disinformation. The members of the House have often highlighted the importance of coordinating sanctions. Since 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 2,900 individuals and entities in Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Canada has also implemented targeted restrictions against Russia and Belarus in the financial sector, in trades for goods and services, in energy and in transport sectors. We have also implemented export control measures, prohibiting the issuance of new permit applications and revoking valid permits to export controlled military, strategic and dual-use items to Russia. These measures, taken in coordination with our partners, are having an impact on the Russian economy and are expected to be cumulative and increase in significance over time. Canada will continue to work with partners to address loopholes, increase the cost of the war for Russia and prevent sanctions evasion, circumvention and backfilling. The final issue that I want to address today is the unlawful deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children. Since Russia's full-scale invasion, thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported, forcibly transferred or otherwise displaced from the territory of Ukraine to the temporarily occupied territories and Russia and Belarus. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was clear: Children cannot be used as pawns of war. That is why our government launched the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children, a joint initiative with our Ukrainian friends and allies to coordinate efforts to address the illegal transfer of children to Russia. I know I have to wrap up, so I will conclude by saying that Canada will continue to stand, both today and always, with the government and people of Ukraine on the path to victory and recovery. Slava Ukraini.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:06:51 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as I take part in this debate this evening, it strikes me that actions are more important than words. We hear words from the Conservatives saying that they support Ukraine, yet their actions with regard to votes do not align with that. This member is a member of the government. Recognizing all the announcements the government has made on supports for Ukraine is one thing, but the actual delivery of that aid has trickled. A fraction of what the government has promised to the people of Ukraine has actually been delivered, and Vladimir Putin is counting on that. He is counting on the world to lose interest, to look away and to be distracted. Russia is counting on the fact that it can outlast the patience of western allies. When we dribble aid to Ukraine instead of giving it the tools it needs to win this war, we are playing into Putin's hands. Announcing things is great, but we have seen a fraction of that actually delivered to Ukraine. When will all of it get to Ukraine?
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  • Mar/20/24 10:08:17 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, while I respect the member's passion and her support for Ukraine, I do not agree. We have done a tremendous amount for Ukraine. We started out being recognized for our training of the military within Ukraine, which proved instrumental with this latest full-scale invasion by Russia. Since then, we have provided military support, economic support, sanctions and international aid. Today we are talking about the historic signing of the Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership, which not only commits us to additional dollars this year but also frames our co-operation for the next 10 years and commits 3 billion additional dollars. These are not words; these are actions. We acted over two years ago when this war first started. We continue to act, and we will continue to support Ukraine right until it wins this war.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:09:25 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am very curious about something. When I gave my speech on co-operation, one of the pieces that I pointed out is so critically important is the fact that there is a provision in here about bringing home all the children who have been stolen from their families and their communities by Vladimir Putin and his evil regime. Does the member agree that we need to do more as a country to continue fighting to bring those children home, so they can get back to their parents, their families and their communities?
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  • Mar/20/24 10:10:09 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, bringing home Ukrainian children is a key part of the 10-point peace plan Ukraine has put out. I am really proud that Canada has decided to take leadership on this key point. Indeed, thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported, forcibly transferred and displaced from Ukrainian territory. Fewer than 400 of those children have actually been returned. That is why I am so proud of our government for launching the international coalition for the return of Ukrainian children. It is a joint effort with our Ukrainian friends and allies to coordinate efforts to address the illegal transfer of children to Russia. I am proud that this is one of the key areas we are investing in, supporting and taking leadership in. I believe we will have great success in returning those children to Ukraine.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:11:16 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is an honour to rise in the chamber today on the issue of our strategic partnership with Ukraine. As members know, I have been sanctioned by Russia three times. I have also had the honour of visiting Ukraine multiple times: pre-Maidan, during Maidan, post-Maidan and several times thereafter, just before the war. I think it is important, as we get into this debate, to take a step back and consider the environment we are in right now. When America withdrew from Afghanistan, it signalled two things. First, it signalled the end of Pax Americana, of a peace that had stretched through the world in the aftermath of the Cold War and created the greatest period of peace humanity had known. The second thing it signalled was a retreat for NATO from Afghanistan, from a legitimate war it waged after an article 5 attack on New York on September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of that moment, we have watched all of our Cold War arrangements unfurl and the rule of law undermined. We saw in Hong Kong the end of a deal negotiated by Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping, a deal that was supposed to last for 50 years but ended at its halfway mark with the imposition of the national security law on the people of Hong Kong. What was the western response? It was muted. In the aftermath of that, Russia turned up its invasion of Ukraine nearly 100-fold. It dispatched battalions of soldiers, arrogantly driving to Kyiv with the purpose of conquest. What was the western response? It was, “President Zelenskyy, we have a plane for you, not the guns you need to fight and win the war.” It is interesting to me that President Putin and Xi Jinping sat at the Beijing Olympics prior to that invasion to map out their unlimited ambition around the world. Part of that ambition included not just the borders of Ukraine and the rest of the world in the Middle East and Asia; it also included ambition on our northern borders, our Arctic sovereignty. Only a few months ago, part of this constellation of authoritarians around the world, with their interoperable cybersecurity effects and with their interoperable drone warfare, dispatched Iran and its constellation of proxies in the region to wage war on the western alliance yet again. They did it in Iran in the horrific attacks of October 7, which claimed over 1,000 Israeli lives, and they did it in the northern part of Israel through rockets launched from Hezbollah fighters, rockets that were Iranian-built and Iranian-designed, with technologies from Russia and China. In the aftermath of the chaos we have seen, including the conflict in Gaza, which has claimed so many lives, we also see a disruption to our global trade supply chains across the Red Sea region in the form of attacks from Iranian-backed Houthis on shipping conglomerates that drive up the cost of everything everywhere, creating chaos and disorder in international markets and compelling a response from the west to make the authoritarians stop. Only weeks ago, the same network cut data cables in the Red Sea region that supplied 25% of data from the Indo-Pacific region into Europe. These are massive attacks across our western alliance, and as the west comes under attack, it is time for us, as a country, to grow up and join an alliance of democracies around the world that reclaim policies of peace through strength instead of experimenting with various versions of appeasement. In this discussion, in this take-note debate today, I am encouraged by the strategic partnership with Ukraine and Canada that has been proposed and agreed to. What is more important is implementing three particular parts of it, which will define Canadian leadership and help change the course of history for the better. First, Ukraine must win the war. President Zelenskyy rose in this chamber and asked for one thing. He said to end Russia's weaponization of energy. Why would he say that? He understood that Canada is the sole NATO ally with the potential to backfill European energy demand, with 3 trillion dollars' worth of natural resource strength, the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world, NATO's third-largest reserves of natural gas and the capacity to scale nuclear and agricultural products and technologies for the world. Putin today mimics Stalin nearly a century ago, bent on creating famine by weaponizing the food supply, disrupting international energy supply chains, and burning and blockading grain supplies for the developing world so that it cannot reach fragile markets. Vladimir Putin spent years choreographing Germany's dependencies on Russian oil. Having exploited that to shake down Europe, he intervened in Syria and Libya to subvert pipelines that would supply Europe and amplified misinformation against our own Canadian energy, ensuring a steady stream of revenue for Russia's war machine of nearly $1 billion a day, and $250 million a day from Germany alone, to fund his war machine. When Germany finally realized the costs of this, Chancellor Scholz and subsequently President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came knocking on our door for Canadian energy, and both times we turned them away. Russia and Iran scale production today, evade sanctions and provide discounted prices to Beijing to wage their wars in Europe and the Middle East. Qatar, host to Hamas, inked a 3.5-million-tonne gas deal with France just this week. If the NDP-Liberals truly care about trading relationships that support Ukraine, then they can do the one game-changing thing that the world has been demanding, which is to end Russia's weaponization of energy and let Canadian resources be what fuels, feeds and secures the world. Second is defence production. In our inventories as a country, we can provide Ukrainians the CRV7 missiles they require and the mobile hospitals that were purchased but not delivered. We can provide the 155-millimetre ammunition and the light armoured vehicles they require to push back against the Russian tide. This request came directly from Ukraine as well. It was the Ukrainian ambassador who took to our mainstream press. He went on our cable networks to demand that the government come to negotiate defence production and defence supply. I am encouraged to see it as part of the strategic partnership laid out here today, but I believe it is a Conservative government that would deliver the inventory and the defence production partnerships that Ukraine requires. Finally, there is compensation for Ukrainians as they pursue the difficult task of rebuilding their economy. We know that Russia has $300 billion of frozen assets across the western world, of which $200 billion resides in Europe and $4 billion in the United States. The requirement Ukraine will have to rebuild its economy is nearly $600 billion. Repurposing these assets for losses, injuries and damages caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine is a critical requirement. We are at the halfway mark of that, but would it not be wonderful to think of Canada as a centre of investment, of infrastructure and of the partnerships that are required to rebuild the Ukrainian economy and the world thereafter? We have all the know-how, the skills and the expertise across our cities and our people to be a critical part of rebuilding this vital democracy. Let me close with this. The democratic world needs to arrive at a shared understanding of the rivals we must now confront: rivals to our Atlantic alliance, most fiercely met by Ukrainian soldiers on the borders that they are fighting so hard to defend; rivals across the Middle East with our partners there, with borders that they deserve to maintain and with terrorist extremists that deserve to be defeated; rivals that are threatening the order of the Indo-Pacific region; and rivals that require deterrence to know that the resolve of the world is against their ambition to reorganize the world and that Canada would be a fierce and vital part of that partnership. I am thankful for the opportunity to provide some views in this debate. Conservatives support the strategic partnership with Ukraine as an important step forward, and we believe that our future Conservative government will deliver the energy, the munitions and materiel, and the compensation for investment and infrastructure that Ukraine requires.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:20:18 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am going to comment on the tail end of the member's statement. The Deputy Prime Minister, a strong and passionate person of Ukrainian heritage herself, has been a very strong advocate for securing Russian assets and establishing how the world can work with allied countries to build back Ukraine after we win the war. It is only a question of time, and I believe that this will happen. In the trade agreement, there was a framework that would assist in the rebuilding of infrastructure. I am wondering if the member is familiar with that aspect of the trade agreement, and if so, if he could comment on whether he thought that was a good part of the trade agreement.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:21:26 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is not taxes on the infrastructure that is required for the concrete and steel to rebuild Ukraine that will be the solution. Any drag on the kind of development Ukraine requires to succeed is going to inhibit its ability, however small it is today or increased through European designs in the future for tax plans or carbon-pricing schemes. In the good faith that the hon. member asked the question, the reconstruction plans that are beginning to be laid out by the Deputy Prime Minister are an encouraging first step, but they fall short in their capacity to be executed. Partners around the world on investment, whether it is the IFC, the World Bank, the major funds of New York, our pension funds or sovereign funds across capitals that have literacy, gas and agricultural development projects from early stage to later stage, or disruptive technologies that can help Ukraine leapfrog forward in its development for the European future it deserves and demands, are all available to them. While much of that project has become a focus of distraction for the Deputy Prime Minister through pandering to domestic politics in this country, it would be good for us to bring this country's consensus back on track toward the development of Ukraine and to succeed at a conversation around a concrete plan to rebuild Ukraine.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:22:52 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague spoke about the terrible decision made by the current government on the sanctions waiver for the turbine. For me, that was a horrible decision that was made by the government. In fact, it was me that called for an emergency debate in the summer, so that we could actually look at that issue and examine that quite closely. That was something that the Government of Ukraine had asked for. Of course, the Government of Ukraine, President Zelenskyy, has also asked for the Parliament of Canada to pass the free trade agreement. We just heard his answer on the free trade agreement, but during his speech he also talked about the need to rebuild Ukraine. One of my deep worries that I have right now is that the government has cut development assistance and the money that we use to help our allies around the world. The government has indicated that it will be cutting further. The implications for Ukraine are quite dire, but the implications for other countries around the world are also dire. I know that my colleague knows an awful lot about international development. Does he agree with his leader, who has made it quite clear that he wants to cut foreign aid even further? In fact, other members of his party have said that they would like to take the Government of Canada out of the United Nations. These are not serious foreign policy places to be. As a member of the opposition who wants to be the government, I am quite concerned when I hear things like that from his leader.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:24:27 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I stand by every syllable of my leader's requirement to ensure that not a single Canadian dollar goes to terrorists, to useless multinational organizations or to dictators, all projects that the hon. member across the way seems to be obsessed with funding in Gaza. In terms of reversing bad schemes that do not work for the development of the most impoverished, I stand 100%, four-square, behind the leader of His Majesty's official opposition. It is actually a fact, a sad fact, that under NDP-Liberals, official development assistance declined 10%. Not just that, but at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the increased war in Ukraine, what we saw was that the NDP-Liberal government dismantled the wide-ranging development assistance that Canada had been providing to Ukrainian civil society, the Ukrainian capital budget, its defence production and its training of its armed forces through Operation Unifier. The Liberals intentionally walked much of that back, dismantled it and weakened Ukraine just at the time when it needed to strengthen Ukraine for the oncoming anticipated offensive by Russia. I appreciate the perspectives the member has offered in this debate, but I am very proud to say that our party, our opposition, has exactly the right plan to help Ukraine win the war.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:25:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent speech and, certainly, for the wealth of wisdom and experience that he brings to the House. I would like to ask him, based on his knowledge and expertise, what the best way to isolate the Russian regime is and to hold the Russian regime accountable for the crimes that they have perpetrated. We have seen crimes committed in terms of the abduction of children, systematic sexual violence and the crime of aggression in general. What steps does he see as necessary to hold the Russian regime accountable?
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  • Mar/20/24 10:26:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, at present, the government is still slow to sanction all aspects of Russian energy production and supply chains around the world. We are seeing Russian oil refineries being attacked, appropriately so, as a means to starve its capacity to fund its war machine. We see Russia today searching for specialized parts to rebuild these energy resources for itself, and it is suffering under the yoke of that. Enhancing it is a critical part of ensuring that Russia is incapable of accessing the resources it requires. I thank the hon. member for the question on how that can be done. Twenty thousand-plus Ukrainian children have been spirited into Russia to be reprogrammed in what must be amounting to a cultural genocide of the Ukrainian people. One thing that can be done is for all Russian families participating in this unjust, horrific conquest of Ukrainian lives to be added to sanction lists with Magnitsky sanctions. These are all areas where forensic work can be done until these children are repatriated back to their families. Finally, the supply chains being provided to Russia by the People's Republic of China and other bad actors should be sanctioned as well. We should be building an economic blockade against the kind of encroachment that Russia, China and others are pursuing in the conquest of the western world and of Ukraine. I think there are many ways that imagination could come to choke the Russian regime from its capacity to wage this war.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:28:36 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I have a very short question for the member. He just talked about how he is deeply worried about the children who have been stolen by Russia, and I understand that, because for me, that is one thing that makes it very clear there is a genocide happening against the Ukrainian people. However, I wonder why he is not able to see that the 13 innocent children who have been killed in Gaza or the children who have died in other places around the world matter just as much. For me, a child is a child is a child. I look at every single child and I think about their human rights and why they deserve to be reunited with their families, why they deserve to live and why they deserve to thrive. I wonder why he feels that Palestinian children are Hamas instead of just children.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:29:30 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, these beautiful Palestinian children and babies who have been murdered in these last months deserve better than to be a political project for domestic pandering by the hon. member. Those children are being offered up by Hamas as human shields rather than being sheltered in the tunnel networks that Hamas has built to support its terrorism, which are multiple times the size of the New York subway or the London underground. The hon. member's focus is an obsession with the democratic State of Israel, which is trying to liberate not just the babies and hostages held by Hamas today in Israel but also Palestinians from the yoke of tyranny that Hamas and its Iranian sponsors have been putting Palestinians through. Rest assured that our commitment to every child everywhere in this world is steadfast and strong today.
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  • Mar/20/24 10:30:33 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge. As we speak, the Ukrainian people are risking everything and sacrificing their lives to defend themselves against Russia's genocidal war, and despite being outmanned and outgunned, the Ukrainian people have shown great courage and resolve in defending their homeland and fighting for all of us. Notwithstanding that courage and resolve, the situation in Ukraine is more dire by the day, and the consequences for us, and globally, are more dire by the day. Russia is committing war crimes and genocide every day. Hundreds of millions of people in the global south are facing food shortages and famine because of Russia's attacks on Ukraine's agriculture sector. The war is one of the primary causes of food inflation and energy inflation here in Canada and around the world that Canadians and others face when they fill up at the pump or they buy food at the grocery store. The war poses an existential threat to Canada's security and to global security. Our government has said that Canada will stand with the Ukrainian people until they win and that victory is the only option. Victory is the only option for Ukraine, but it is also the only option for Canada. Victory is the only option for Canada because Ukraine's victory is vital to Canada's security. If Russia wins, it will not stop at Ukraine. If Russia wins, Canada, Europe and the U.S. will be the next to defend themselves against Russian aggression. Every Ukrainian solider on the front lines today is one fewer Canadian who will have to fight in the future. Every dollar we spend in Ukraine today is millions of dollars less that we will have to spend in the future. Our government understands this, and that is one of the reasons Canada has been a global leader in supporting Ukraine. Canada has provided approximately $13 billion in support of various kinds, whether that is financial aid, military aid, immigration assistance or humanitarian aid. We are leading in the seizure of Russian assets globally and in the initiative with Ukraine to bring the deported children back to Ukraine from Russia. Yesterday we passed the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, and there are many more things. These are important contributions, important steps, but it will not be enough until Ukraine decisively wins the war. If we want to stop global food shortage and inflation, and if we want to ensure our own security, we need to ensure that Ukraine achieves a decisive victory. This means that Ukraine wins the war by recapturing every inch of its territory, but it also means that Ukraine must win the peace, which includes many things. To me it includes that Ukraine is secure as part of NATO, that there is justice for Russian war crimes, that we help Ukraine rebuild and that Russia pays for that rebuilding. As my colleagues will know, and I see some colleagues here who worked with me on the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group, I have worked very hard to advocate for these measures, and I have also worked very hard to ensure that our support for Ukraine extends across all parties in the House of Commons. It really used to, but that has changed. Under the Conservative leader, the Conservative Party has abandoned Ukraine. I am not concerned about the members of the House as much; I am concerned about their leader. It is what he does not say and how he forces the members to vote when it matters. As another member mentioned a moment ago, it is not even the words that concern me as much; it is the actions. Their voting three—
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