Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP, Carol Hughes writes a regular column about provincial initiatives and issues impacting our community.
Last week, the world watched in horror as Russia invaded Ukraine. This week a Take-Note Debate ensued in the House of Commons and all political parties strongly condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s flagrant aggression against Ukraine and stand in solidarity with Ukrainians as they defend themselves from this unprovoked attack against their sovereign nation.
As we see images of civilians being killed, people sleeping in Kyiv’s subway systems to escape bombing raids, others fleeing their homes with their children, and tanks rolling towards major cities, we must do all that we can to provide the Nation of Ukraine with humanitarian aid, help those fleeing violence, and clamp down on Russia’s invasion campaign.
We must always remember that Putin has a significant history as a tyrant and that his invasion of Ukraine is both in step with, and an extreme escalation of, his thuggish, autocratic behaviour. This includes the Russo-Georgian War of 2008. In 2011, Russia and China vetoed UN Security Council Resolutions demanding an end to the civil war in Syria.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, which led to their expulsion from the G8 (which also led to calls from the NDP to halt all arms sales to the country). Add to these the imprisonment and poisoning of Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny, widespread allegations of tampering in democratic elections (most notably the 2016 U.S. presidential election), and a number of other issues frankly too long to list in a column. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not surprising, but it is extremely disturbing.
To this end, we have seen western nations, including Canada, impose severe economic and political sanctions against Russia, and they are having the desired effect. The ruble, Russia’s currency, has cratered and is now worth only about one Canadian cent. Canadian banks and financial institutions are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the Russian Central Bank. We’ve banned Russian energy imports, and perhaps strongest of all, we’ve worked with our allies to remove Russia from the SWIFT banking system. The United Nations General Assembly also voted to demand Russia withdraw troops from Ukraine, in a vote of 141-5, with only Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Eritrea voting against the motion after the first Emergency Meeting of the UN since 1997.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed the European Union to accept Ukraine as a member nation of the EU, and the presidents of eight EU member states, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and the Republic of Slovenia, have signed a joint letter asking for the immediate candidate status of Ukraine to join the EU as a method to begin formal membership talks. These are important measures that must be considered by the EU, and these discussions will continue in the days and weeks to come.
Canada has been a friend to Ukraine for generations and the first western nation to recognize Ukraine as an independent nation on Dec. 2, 1991. Our country has the largest Ukrainian population, outside of Ukraine itself, with 1.3 million people identifying as Ukrainian-Canadian, according to the 2016 census. It is vital that we support our friend and ally, but there is much more we can do.
We must listen to experts such as Bill Browder, one of the key architects of the Magnitsky Act, and sanction Canadian assets of Putin’s closest oligarchs. Ukrainians who are fleeing their nation as refugees must be given a chance to settle in Canada, and all opposition parties in the House of Commons, in step with calls from prominent Ukrainian-Canadian leaders, are pushing the government to offer visa-free access for Ukrainian refugees.
Canadians who are witnessing the Russian invasion of Ukraine are likely wondering what they can do to support humanitarian efforts.
There are a number of significant charitable organizations that provide humanitarian aid. Additionally, the Federal government announced last week that they will match donations to the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal, up to $10 million, to provide humanitarian support to Ukrainians.
It’s clear that the Western world is standing with Ukraine as they fend off Russian aggression, but there is still more that can and must be done to support their efforts.