SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Garnett Genuis

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Conservative
  • Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
  • Alberta
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24
Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Mar/20/24 9:39:52 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, Conservatives support a strong, free, independent Ukraine. We always have and we always will. This is Ukraine as defined by the borders agreed upon in the Budapest memorandum, which was signed by, among others, Russia. It is critically important, as we reflect on our support for Ukraine, that we not just speak of seeking victory eventually but speak of the urgency of victory, a victory as soon as possible. The Ukrainian people have shown incredible resilience, and democratic populations throughout the western world have been supportive of Ukraine. However, history teaches us that there is a time horizon after which support becomes more and more difficult to sustain. That is why we as leaders need to push for the continuation of that support, but we also need to push for victory as quickly as possible. That means not just expressing aspirations about things to be done eventually, but recognizing the real urgency in delivering to Ukraine the weapons and other things it needs urgently to defeat the Russian aggressors. As we talk about that support, I want to highlight in particular the issue of urgency. For too long, we have seen announcements made without follow-through. We have seen significant delays in Canada from the government, but in other cases as well, in delivering promised support. We, as the official opposition, have been continually pushing the government to get from announcement to results much faster. Earlier in this debate, I challenged NDP members over the comments they made before the further invasion, which were about delivering lethal weapons. They said that, of course, they took that position at the time because they wanted to pursue peace. I want to underline the critical importance of peace through strength. Peace through strength is something we need now more than ever in our more dangerous world, with more threats and with our new cold war adversaries working together to threaten our security. We need to have a strong military. We need to acquire the military equipment to give to our allies in need. We need to strengthen ourselves and our allies because it is through strength that we achieve peace. The doctrine of peace through weakness has always failed. Brian Mulroney, who we honoured in a particular way this week, understood that. He, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, working, in a different sense, with spiritual strength, with Pope John Paul II, stood up to the Soviet regime. They stood up through strength, not through weakness and compromise and not through failing to hand over the weapons that were required. They achieved peace through strength, and justice through strength. This is what we need. We need to strengthen ourselves and our allies and deliver the weapons that are required urgently. Since people are asking about the costs of this support, I want to say that the costs of inaction are much greater. I also want to highlight section N of the security agreement. We support the entire security agreement, and section N is about the seizure of Russian assets. One critical way that we can support Ukraine with its current needs and its future needs is by doing more to seize Russian assets and repurpose those assets to support Ukraine. This is a just and necessary way to support Ukraine in its time of need. Repurposing property from the Russian side can support the Ukrainian people. At this critical time in the world, a critical time in the struggle in Ukraine and a critical time in global security, it is time for us to recognize the urgency of action, the urgency of getting support to the front lines and the urgency of establishing the munitions manufacturing systems, moving forward with manufacturing the munitions here in Canada and getting them to the front lines as quickly as possible. We must recommit ourselves to peace through strength, recognizing that peace is never achieved through weakness, that we will only achieve peace through strength.
659 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border