Hon. Brent Cotter: Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold. It concerns the illegal war being waged against the people of Ukraine, “a threat to each and every one of us,” as Ambassador Rae said yesterday. This situation calls for Canada to do everything it can, even if those demands require commitments from each of us.

My question relates to the need for the imposition of sanctions on Russian businesses in Canada, not just freezing their bank accounts. That may involve some sacrifice from us. A specific example in my province is EVRAZ. EVRAZ is a Russian steel manufacturer with significant operations in Western Canada, and it is controlled by four Russian oligarchs close to Mr. Putin.

My question is this: Are we imposing constraints on companies like EVRAZ and doing so in ways that share the burden among all Canadians without punishing the good, hard‑working employees of those companies who had no say in their companies coming under Russian control?

Senator Cotter: My second question is specifically about EVRAZ, coming from a different direction.

Canada operates the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, which, over the last five years, has distributed $5 billion to a hundred different projects, one of those in Saskatchewan. The fund contributed $40 million to EVRAZ. Does EVRAZ need the money? EVRAZ last week reported profits in excess of $3 billion and a whopping 60% of the share price paid out in dividends. Who are those shareholders? Four Russian oligarchs own two thirds of those shares.

I could go on at length with the question, but what has the Government of Canada done to get our $40 million back?