Debates of Feb. 28th, 2022

Russia's Attack on Ukraine

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

A lot has been said this evening with respect to the various measures that Canada has put in place to help Ukraine and about coming together with the world in our response to the outrageous aggression that is coming from Russia right now, and particularly to Putin. I think it is very important to put on the record, at least from my perspective, that I do not believe the Russian people are bad. I just think that Vladimir Putin is a monster.

We have talked about the various things that have been put in place, whether it is sanctions, money that has flowed to Ukraine or the personnel sent over as part of Operation Reassurance. What we know from the history over the last decade or so of Canada's involvement is that there has been an opportunity to really help Ukrainian people prepare for what has unfortunately come to pass.

What I want to talk about in the short amount of time I have is the incredible resolve that we have seen from the Ukrainian people. The member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman talked in his speech about the manner in which Ukrainian people were responding to what is going on. He compared it to the manner in which we are witnessing Russian troops engaging.

The member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman specifically said when someone is under a dictatorship and they are being told what to do, they are never going to have the same resolve as those who are fighting for something they believe in and that they are so passionately pursuing.

It reminds me of when I was on the defence committee and travelled to Ukraine as part of a study we were doing on Operation Unifier and Operation Reassurance. The member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman was there as well. He would remember that at one point we went to meet with the new police chief of Kyiv. We met him in the centre of town, and he could not have been more than 35 or 37 years old. It was remarkable to listen to this young individual talk about the future of Ukraine.

Indeed, what we know is that in 2014, the revolution that took place was led by future generations. It was led by the youth. It was a youth movement that changed the course of Ukraine back in 2014. What we heard from this young police chief is that things were done differently in the past.

Remnants of the former Soviet Union still existed in Ukraine, and they literally had to fire almost every police officer who was over the age of 40 just because they did things differently, and that is not the future that the younger generations wanted. They knew what they were going for. They knew how to chase after it. They knew it had to be done.

If we want to talk about the resolve of the Ukrainian people versus the resolve of those who are under a dictatorship, look no further than one of the former presidents of Ukraine, Yanukovych, who was president during the uprising. What did he do? He fled the country as a result of a youth revolution. He literally got up and left because of what was going on.

We can compare that to the president of Ukraine today, President Zelensky. He will not go anywhere. He is steadfast in his commitment to staying with his people and staying in Ukraine to see this through to the end. Nothing can show the difference that the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman was talking about in his speech more than the approach by the two different presidents, one who was a puppet of Putin and one who is for the people.

I genuinely believe that regardless of what happens, regardless of the wars that are fought today, the battles that might be won or lost today, at the end of the day the Ukrainian people are going to get what they want. They are going to get this freedom because they have been fighting for it for a long time and they have the resolve to see this through to the end. It is clear that they will win their freedoms at the end of the day, regardless of these temporary impositions that Putin is putting in the way.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Madam Chair, it is really great to see the very civil discourse tonight. This is probably the most civil I have seen any debate in the House in my few years as a parliamentarian. I thank the hon. member for those efforts.

I would like to ask the member what his thoughts are on Europe's dependence on Russia for gas. What does he feel the impact of that is on Europeans and their ability to support Ukraine? Does he feel Canada has a role to play in providing energy resources to Europe?

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Chair, the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands answered this very well through her question, which basically indicated that even if Canada was to try to take on that role it would be a long time in the making. It is not something that is going to be able to correct and help immediately.

Regarding dependence on a nation like Russia, in particular for Europe, should we be doing what we can to assist in ensuring that does not happen? Yes, absolutely. We can also do what we are doing now, which is putting tough sanctions on Russia to make sure Putin is crippled to the point where he is unable to do anything globally. We know that the economy is so dependent on the global movement and interchange of goods and services. If we can bring him to his knees in this regard, we certainly would be doing the world a favour and, in my opinion, helping Europe as well.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Chair, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, here in Canada we have the largest Ukrainian population in the world outside of Ukraine. There are 141 countries in the world that offer Ukrainians visa-free travel, yet Canada does not. At this time especially, is there any way the government can, at least temporarily, give Ukrainians the right to visa-free travel so they can get here as safely and quickly as possible?

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Chair, there are two things. The first is we certainly have put in place, and I am sure the member is aware of it, various different measures for those who are already here to make sure their stays are extended, whether it is a student visa or people who are travelling, to ensure they do not have to go back to Ukraine right now.

To the point the member and others have been bringing up today about visas, I have not given it much thought yet. Personally when I think about it, yes it makes a lot of sense. I also know these decisions are made by weighing a whole host of different variables. I have not heard the other side of it, but the question being asked is a good one and it warrants discussion. If it is one way we can assist and it proves to be a safe and effective way, then I personally would not have anything against it.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, I echo the comments of the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul. It is certainly a wonderful thing when we can come together and unify around a common cause, which is to defend the people of Ukraine against an aggressor, which I do not think is the nation of Russia, but increasingly seems to be its leader. He is unconcerned with the fate of his own people as well as the people of Ukraine.

I ask our hon. colleague if he has any thoughts on how we can reach out to the people of Russia who are bravely standing up in peace marches to encourage them to fight against Putin.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Chair, it certainly is encouraging to see people who are standing up and protesting in a country where we know things can happen to those who are very loud and vocal about their opinions. They are still doing it, so that is all the more inspirational.

What can we be doing? We can be giving them the tools to make sure their voices are heard. We can be communicating through various technologies we have today to make sure the right information is coming forward.

When President Zelensky specifically spoke to the Russian people in Russian, that was incredible, but we know that is not going to be played on RT, Russia Today. We need to make sure we are doing our part to get messages like that in front of the Russian people, because they are being oppressed. The manner in which they are being pushed down is the exact same thing Putin wants to do to Ukrainians. Whatever we can do to make sure that message gets through is something we should be doing.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, I rise tonight in a debate that is of historical importance because the world has changed. I know that is an overused phrase, but we are not in the same place we were a week ago, because Vladimir Putin is even threatening the use of nuclear weapons after an illegal, appalling, aggressive assault on a democracy that did not threaten him.

One can look back and ask what we should have done at different points in the history of the relationship of the former Soviet Union with the west. When the Soviet Union fell, I remember wondering in that moment, “Where is the Marshall Plan? What are we going to do for the former states that were once the USSR, Russia and its neighbours?”

Clearly they needed help. We did not offer. We were in a triumphal mood of western capitalist hegemony and we just abandoned the people of Russia. We essentially abandoned them to organized crime. Capitalism maybe, democracy not much, but there was a lot of plutocracy in natural resources. The people of Russia had reduced life expectancy in this time, and still do to this day. Their quality of life after they got rid of the USSR went down. That should never have happened. We should have been wishing for the peace dividend. We have been waiting for the peace dividend. We stopped putting so much money into budgets in the United States and all around the world for the military-industrial complex because we did not need it any more. There was no more USSR—but no, we found other enemies. We decided we did not need a peace dividend. We kept investing in war and we missed the chance.

This is probably the biggest chance we missed, because Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan started down the path of global nuclear disarmament, and here we stand as Canada: We have a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons, and Canada is not even a signatory. We need to pay attention to this, but we thought that nuclear weapons were in our rear-view mirror. They are not. They are in stockpiles and in missiles, and we need to pay attention again to the threat of nuclear war.

In tonight's debate, which has been mostly very much on the same theme, I need to address the more than occasional misplaced notions that now we need to build more pipelines and that Europe needs more fossil fuels. If we listen to what the leaders in Europe and in Ukraine are saying, we do not hear these calls. In fact, the Energy Commissioner for the European Union, Kadri Simson, said this: The crisis in Russia means that we have to “boost renewables and energy efficiency as fast as technically possible.”

What is Germany saying? Germany just axed its biggest carbon project with Russia. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been cancelled, and what did Robert Habeck, the economy and climate minister, who happens to be a Green Party co-leader, say in Scholz's government? He said, “Now is the time to accelerate” and shift to renewables. It's being a petrostate and having dictators of petrostates that makes the world less safe.

Some of the big oil companies are saying they have to get out of Russia. Shell and BP have pulled their projects out of Russia, but look at Exxon. It is still in there. Let us ask Exxon in every way we can why it is still invested in Russian oil and gas. The French company, TotalEnergies, is also still invested in Russia.

The most compelling information about what should we do about fossil fuels in this crisis is to listen to the head of the IPCC Ukraine delegate, the scientist Dr. Svitlana Krakovska, who said while bombs were falling near Kyiv, “We will not surrender in Ukraine and we hope the world will not surrender in building a climate resilient future.” She added, “Human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots—fossil fuels—and our dependence on them.”

I want to thank our Deputy Prime Minister. We are unique in the world that our Deputy Prime Minister happens to be an expert on Russia. She wrote the book Sale of the Century about the plutocracy and organized crime that took over the former USSR. I know that her background and the unique honour of being personally banned from Russia by Vladimir Putin equips her well to lead the fight to get the SWIFT financial resources taken away from Russia.

My time is up. I look forward to questions.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Chair, I knew the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands was going to be speaking about fossil fuels, but I am very happy that she brought up nuclear weapons and Canada's inaction on the nuclear treaty ban.

I would like to give the member more time to respond to some of the Conservative calls for Canada to export more oil and gas to Europe, and some of the logistical problems with that even being contemplated.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, to my hon. colleague for South Okanagan—West Kootenay, if President Zelensky was saying “Canada, send your oil”, and I have a really had time saying that, as I do not think I could say no to President Zelensky for anything I am so inspired by him, but that is not what he is saying.

It is not what Germany is saying. It is not what the EU is saying. It is what Alberta is saying, and I think taking advantage of a crisis to promote one's own product is not a good look.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Madam Chair, I want to build on the comment from the NDP member and talk about that. I mean, the line is the logistical challenge of Canada providing, for example, natural gas to Europe, but the other logistical challenge we have, and that Europe faces, is that they are reliant on Russian energy at this point. Part of the opportunity, as we look at the perspective we have as Canadians, is the attention to the human rights and a global perspective in what we are seeing here. Our record on the environment, our record in the international community, stands much better than Russia's.

I would like the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands to talk about the logistical reality of Russia having Europe caught in a bind when it comes to natural gas. Can Canada not play a better role?

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, all of the commentary I have been looking up today on the German discussion about what to do now that it is cutting off Russian natural gas is discussions about the fact that natural gas that comes from fracking has the same carbon footprint as coal, so they are actually discussing whether in the short term they should use a bit of coal as a bridge until they get to renewables, which is the only reason they were going to use natural gas.

Obviously, the propaganda around natural gas has been very effective, because I know a lot of people honestly think that it is a low-carbon fuel, but when we look at the whole upstream, fracking and massive releases of methane, it is a climate killer.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, it is always nice to hear the different views of the parties in the House on issues that are a bit more divisive.

One of the things we discussed tonight is what to do about Russian diplomats in Canada. Do we expel them or not?

I agree that they are contributing to the disinformation. Even today, it was claimed that the demonstrations endangered the lives of diplomats, even though they were extremely peaceful.

I am curious to hear the views of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands on those diplomats.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague.

I think that is a good idea. The government has said that all options are on the table.

However, perhaps the government wants to keep the lines of communication open. The only reason to protect Russian diplomats in Canada is that they might be sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause. If not, they should all be sent home.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Madam Chair, given the discussion that has been going on about Canadian oil and gas and the member's comments about it, I am wondering if she can give me her perspective on what she thinks is more realistic. Would it be a pipeline, which is supposedly now four times as much as it was before, being built to provide sustainable, carbon-based fuel to Europe, or a transition towards more renewables and electrification? What is more realistic?

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Chair, there is what is realistic and what is necessary. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report just today reinforces that we do not have a choice. If humanity wants to survive within a climate that sustains our lives and human civilization, we do not have a choice. We have to get off fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and the governments of Europe seem to see that this is an opportunity to move faster towards renewables, not to back into the fossil era.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Chair, tonight I rise in this place, only months after my arrival in this House, to discuss a matter of utmost importance and true urgency, albeit I wish this day would never have come. However, we all must rise to this occasion, a moment in our history, a moment for unity and a moment for all of us to stand with Ukraine at this time in its hour of most need.

Prior to moving to Edmonton, I grew up in a small Métis community in Alberta called Fishing Lake. Many who know that part of our province well know that there are largely two groups: many who are indigenous, like me, and Ukrainians, our neighbours for over 100 years.

The Ukrainians are the very same people who paint our fields gold each summer, a truly remarkable sight to see. Ukrainian families were some of the very first people to settle Treaty 6 territory. They were here long before Alberta was even a province. A true example of the spirit and intent of a treaty, many of these friendships still endure today.

Ukraine has shocked the world with its heroic resistance against Putin's war of aggression. President Zelensky and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have bravely resisted the Russian attack, even in the face of overwhelming odds. However, despite the brave efforts of Ukraine's military, the situation on the ground is dire, especially for the many civilians who are caught in the crossfire.

As we speak, Russian artillery and missile attacks are pounding Ukraine's cities day and night. Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, is under siege. Its three million inhabitants have been forced to take shelter in their homes, in Kyiv subways and in improvised bomb shelters. According to the UN Secretary-General, there are credible accounts of residential buildings, other civilian infrastructure and non-military targets sustaining heavy damage under Russian attack. He emphasized in his speech today that this escalating violence is resulting in civilian deaths, including children.

The people of Ukraine are no strangers to Russian imperialism. Putin's invasion is the latest in a long line of aggressive and illegal attacks on Ukraine's sovereignty. The escalating tactics that the Russian military is employing against Ukraine's military and civilians alike are in keeping with a long line of atrocities. As Amnesty International's secretary general recently put it, “The history of Russia's military interventions, be it in Ukraine or Syria or its military campaign at home in Chechnya, is tainted with blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.”

The Russian military repeatedly flouted the laws of war by failing to protect civilians and even by attacking them directly. Russian forces have launched indiscriminate attacks, used banned weapons and sometimes deliberately targeted civilians and civilian objects, a war crime.

While Russia's government and military and, above all, its president deserve our complete condemnation, it is vital that we recognize that the Russian people are far from united in this war. Many of them are showing incredible bravery by standing up to Putin and saying no to war.

Tens of thousands of ordinary Russians have stood up against this brutal war in the streets of cities across Russia, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. Night after night, they have flooded into city squares to call on the government to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and leave its people in peace. These brave protesters have put their freedom and their physical safety on the line to say no to war and no to Putin. The growing number of Russians who are bravely protesting against this authoritarian government understand a fundamental truth about this invasion: This is Putin's war.

To stop it, we must act aggressively with sanctions not only against Vladimir Putin himself, but also the wealthy class of oligarchs who support his rule over Russia. I strongly agree with the member for Burnaby South and experts like Bill Browder that the only way to truly deter them is by seizing the wealth they have hoarded from Russian people and stashed abroad in tax havens and luxury real estate.

Canada must immediately expand our sanctions and target the assets of Russia's ultrawealthy and act decisively to ban their financial transactions here in Canada and across the globe. We must ensure that those in Putin's inner circle are not able to hoard their wealth in luxury real estate in Canadian places like Vancouver and Toronto.

Even after the invasion of Ukraine, many oligarchs with well-documented ties to Putin's regime are not the subject of Magnitsky sanctions. This must change and it must change now.

Canada cannot stop there. We must do everything in our power to ensure that Ukrainians fleeing this horrific war find a safe haven here in Canada. Even before Putin's invasion, Ukraine was already facing a truly massive refugee crisis. According to the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, approximately one and a half million people were internally displaced after fleeing the conflict in Donbass and from Russian-occupied Crimea. Now, thanks to Russia's invasion, millions more refugees are fleeing Russian air strikes, missile attacks and military columns. They need our help, and they need it now.

As the proud home to the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world, Canadians, including my constituents in Edmonton Griesbach, are ready to step up, but the reality is that the federal government can do much more as well. Despite years of calls from the Ukrainian community and the NDP, Ukrainians still do not have visa-free access to Canada. This must change. Ensuring that Ukrainians have visa-free access to Canada is truly the bare minimum, but IRCC's response today at the foreign affairs committee on the visa requirements was not encouraging. When asked about the Ukrainian visa requirements, the director general of immigration program guidance at IRCC said, “We're going to continue to look for ways as the situation evolves to make that facilitated, but the Ukrainian visa requirement is not currently under review.” This is not acceptable.

The Liberal government needs to immediately remove the Ukrainian visa requirement. While Putin was amassing troops in Belarus and on the borders of Ukraine, my colleague the member for Edmonton Strathcona and I wrote to the Minister of Immigration urging him to take action to prioritize family reunification and ensure that Ukrainians are not caught in the years-long IRCC backlog. IRCC has been broken for years and now more than ever. We need a massive investment in human resources and personnel to process the many people who are fleeing wars and seeking safe haven in Canada.

While we must act decisively to ensure that Ukrainians find refuge in Canada in the coming days and weeks, we must not also turn our backs on those who have already been fleeing from wars in other regions. In particular, I am thinking of the people of Afghanistan. The House should not forget that the fall of Kabul took place just over six months ago and Afghan people who fled the Taliban are extremely vulnerable. Canada must make sure we have the resources to help everyone who is fleeing conflict.

I want to thank my hon. colleagues from all parties in the House. What I have witnessed this evening has been truly a pleasure to see. When the world needs Canada, this House is united in doing what is right. Although there is much work ahead, I remain hopeful that our unity here will ensure Ukraine's freedom, sovereignty and security.

Lastly, it is in the spirit of hope and unity that I want to share with the House what I experienced just three days ago. I stood at the Alberta legislature with Ukrainians from across Alberta. There were Ukrainian friends like Marni from my community who are in pain but whose strength has shone through these truly dark times. I heard the Ukrainian national anthem. It touched my heart and I was moved by the many who joined in the beautiful harmony, the song of a people united and strong, as we all must be here in the coming weeks.

“Upon us, fellow kin, fate shall smile once more.”

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Chair, the member's speech was very thoughtful, measured and passionate. Like him, in my riding of Vancouver East, the Vancouver branch of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians also stands with the people of Ukraine and has been calling for a peaceful resolution. Their hearts bleed for the fact that their family and friends are in this horrible situation.

The Canadian government has taken action with our allies. I am wondering whether the member thinks that the day will come when there will be a peaceful resolution and this violence will end.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Chair, peace is more of a process in many ways than it is a goal. We must continuously protect and safeguard the principles that make our society truly free and democratic. We have to ensure that we can protect those who are most vulnerable and ensure that our country and our society are protected and safeguarded against true evil tyrants and oligarchs like the ones we see with Putin and his gang of thugs.

We have a lot more work to do and in terms of the work that has to happen at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I know that the member for Vancouver East and I will work as hard as we can to ensure that those fleeing conflict get to safety.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Madam Chair, I just want to thank all the members today who have participated in tonight's conversation. It was not much of a debate, because we are all standing in unity here with Ukraine and with one another in the face of the terrible atrocities that are being committed by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

I do appreciate the member for Edmonton Griesbach for pushing the issue of making travel from Ukraine to Canada visa-free. It is the same thing the European Union has done, and we know the European Union is taking in massive numbers of Ukrainians who are fleeing. They do not have to apply for refugee status to enter into the European Union, so we need to, first and foremost, establish our own visa-free travel to Canada for everyone who needs to get out of harm's way in Ukraine, and secondly, we need to support the European Union nations who are currently housing and feeding those Ukrainians who have gotten to safety and left behind their loved ones.

I was wondering if the member would like to elaborate on that. What types of humanitarian efforts are going to be under way to support those in the European Union who are dealing with the frontline trauma coming across the border from Ukraine?

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Chair, I truly want to thank all members of the House for what I found to be a truly uniting discussion at a time when our country truly needs to see leadership. We have many people across the globe that look to Canada as a leader, not just in peace and security but also in our ability to provide support to others. The humanitarian crisis that is happening and unfolding in Ukraine and across Europe right now is truly tragic. We need a global approach to ensure that level of human suffering does not get worse.

It is up to each and every one of us here and, truly, our colleagues across the world in all free, democratic societies to safeguard that and ensure we provide that support, that we do not simply measure our actions by words but measure them truly by the people we support. I am confident with what I have heard tonight from the House that we will truly achieve that.

I want to thank the hon. member again for his steadfast commitment to Ukraine and the people of Ukraine.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his speech.

As I said just now to the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, it is interesting to hear all the party members' points of view that may be a little different. This evening, though, there is a broad consensus.

We like using discussion as a way to determine our positions. To help me make up my mind, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the possibility of sanctioning Russia by sending Russian diplomats home.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Chair, we have to really seriously consider the role that diplomacy can play and whether or not Russia is truly a country that can or is willing to negotiate.

I think that is the question we have to debate in this house and it is still up for debate. I think there are attempts, especially after I have seen Ukrainian officials meet with Russian officials. I thought that was a hopeful sign that diplomacy is still alive.

However, I remain very cautious and very, I would say, nervous for the actions that are unfolding right now across Europe, in particular with security in Ukraine. I think that, as tensions continue to rise, diplomacy will become less and less of an option. When it is very clear that diplomacy is no longer an option, we must expel the ambassador. However, to this point, I do believe there are still opportunities to ensure we have a discussion and that Russia has a moment to still prove to us that they can, in fact, be reasoned with.

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleague from Edmonton Griesbach for his speech and his point of view.

I put this question to my colleague from Montarville. I am sure my colleague from Edmonton Griesbach also agrees that we need to push back against the idea that might makes right in international relations.

Does he agree with me that economic sanctions are more effective than military force at getting Russian oligarchs to see that enough is enough, that they like all their pretty things and that they would prefer peace to continuing the invasion of Ukraine?

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for his question and for really highlighting a problem that exists right now in the world. We have a very small group of people who are oligarchs, meaning they have tremendous power and wealth. They are controlling systems around the globe, not just in Russia.

I believe that Russia is one of the most aggressive countries that has found and manipulated ways to use capital, to use that capital to create pain, and particularly to hide that capital as well. What we are seeing in countries all over the world are these safe havens for the terrible amount of wealth that truly goes into fuelling a war machine. That is what is happening right now. A select few, very wealthy people are using their means to create harm: to murder innocent people and create division across what was historically, in the last 75 years at least, a peaceful Europe.

What we are seeing is the use of terrible capital that is harboured even in Canada, right now, in places such as Toronto and Vancouver. In real estate, people have been able to harbour this wealth. We have roles to play in order to target that wealth, sanction those individuals and truly bring them to justice. This is not a war against the Russian people. This is a war against tyrants like Putin and the oligarchs who support him and his efforts.