Mr. Chair, as the Conservative member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I am proud to recognize the contributions that Canadians with Ukrainian heritage have made to Canada, including former governor general Ramon Hnatyshyn and the Hon. Michael Starr, the first Canadian cabinet minister of Ukrainian descent. He was a member of the government of the Right Honourable John Diefenbaker who gave Canadians the Bill of Rights.
It bears repeating that Canada enjoys a special relationship with Ukraine. Almost 1.4 million Canadians can claim membership in the Ukrainian diaspora, the largest outside Ukraine and Russia. It is ironic that this debate is taking place while average Canadians have started a popular movement, the “Freedom Convoy”, to gain back freedoms Canadians enjoyed prior to the Liberal Party lockdown mandate.
It is ironic because the roots of the current crisis in Ukraine date back several years to the popular uprising that took place in Ukraine's capital of Kiev. The Ukrainian revolution of the Maidan was the outpouring of people longing for freedom, democracy, the rule of law and the dream of a better future, which is the same thing our truckers want for all Canadians.
Canadians cheered the Orange Revolution and cheered again the revolution of the Maidan. Canada was the first western nation to recognize Ukraine's independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Ukraine's citizens look to the west to realize their dreams. They are still looking for Canada.
At first, the revolution of the Maidan was met with brutal violence and aggression. The pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych used the same kind of language to describe Ukrainian protesters as Canadians are hearing from the Prime Minister and certain members of his ruling clique to describe the Freedom Convoy. This eventually led the pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Yanukovych, who had been president of Ukraine, to abdicate, going into hiding and fleeing the country.
It was during this time of turmoil and chaos that Russian President Vladimir Putin seized the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea. Next came the taking of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Historians make the reference to the events that preceded World War II and the seizing of territories from adjacent countries by Nazi Germany using the same excuses as the Russian President is using to seize Ukrainian territory.
Compounding today's crisis, America suffers from a domestically unpopular President whose policies have divided America. Power abhors a vacuum. There is no shortage of nations that are ready to exploit American weakness, such as China and Russia. That leads to the situation the world finds itself in today. Since 2014 and the Russian seizure of Crimea, almost 14,000 people have lost their lives. Many children have been maimed by land mines. There are a million and a half displaced persons.
Now is the time for diplomacy and diplomatic language. Lives are in the balance. What was the Prime Minister thinking when he signalled the state broadcaster, CBC, to float a wacky Russian conspiracy theory? Was he trying to discredit the Canadian freedom protesters with his clumsy attempt at disinformation? It failed.
Once again, the Prime Minister is the object of scorn and derision, not just among Canadians but around the world. All the world is watching Canadians and the protest outside. So far, the Russian media have been content to ridicule the leader of the Liberal Party. The people of Ukraine do not need the Prime Minister saying or doing something foolish. We know from the experience of World War I how quickly a seemingly minor, unrelated action can trigger a chain of events too horrible to think of.
There is no denying that we live in disturbingly anxious and contentious times. Apocalyptic assertions of climate change by the environment minister and ignorant tirades, public shaming tactics, and crude weapons of moral accusation by the Prime Minister have increasingly taken the place of rational discourse.
Even before the shamefulness of the Afghanistan debacle, there has been a disgust with the self-serving incompetence of the current government and its lack of a coherent foreign policy. The time for half measures has long past. Ukraine needs Canada's support. The Prime Minister and his deputy have let Ukraine down.