Debates of March 20th, 2024

Canada—Ukraine Relations

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Mr. Chair, I stand by every syllable of my leader's requirement to ensure that not a single Canadian dollar goes to terrorists, to useless multinational organizations or to dictators, all projects that the hon. member across the way seems to be obsessed with funding in Gaza. In terms of reversing bad schemes that do not work for the development of the most impoverished, I stand 100%, four-square, behind the leader of His Majesty's official opposition.

It is actually a fact, a sad fact, that under NDP-Liberals, official development assistance declined 10%. Not just that, but at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the increased war in Ukraine, what we saw was that the NDP-Liberal government dismantled the wide-ranging development assistance that Canada had been providing to Ukrainian civil society, the Ukrainian capital budget, its defence production and its training of its armed forces through Operation Unifier. The Liberals intentionally walked much of that back, dismantled it and weakened Ukraine just at the time when it needed to strengthen Ukraine for the oncoming anticipated offensive by Russia.

I appreciate the perspectives the member has offered in this debate, but I am very proud to say that our party, our opposition, has exactly the right plan to help Ukraine win the war.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent speech and, certainly, for the wealth of wisdom and experience that he brings to the House.

I would like to ask him, based on his knowledge and expertise, what the best way to isolate the Russian regime is and to hold the Russian regime accountable for the crimes that they have perpetrated. We have seen crimes committed in terms of the abduction of children, systematic sexual violence and the crime of aggression in general. What steps does he see as necessary to hold the Russian regime accountable?

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Mr. Chair, at present, the government is still slow to sanction all aspects of Russian energy production and supply chains around the world. We are seeing Russian oil refineries being attacked, appropriately so, as a means to starve its capacity to fund its war machine. We see Russia today searching for specialized parts to rebuild these energy resources for itself, and it is suffering under the yoke of that. Enhancing it is a critical part of ensuring that Russia is incapable of accessing the resources it requires. I thank the hon. member for the question on how that can be done.

Twenty thousand-plus Ukrainian children have been spirited into Russia to be reprogrammed in what must be amounting to a cultural genocide of the Ukrainian people. One thing that can be done is for all Russian families participating in this unjust, horrific conquest of Ukrainian lives to be added to sanction lists with Magnitsky sanctions. These are all areas where forensic work can be done until these children are repatriated back to their families.

Finally, the supply chains being provided to Russia by the People's Republic of China and other bad actors should be sanctioned as well. We should be building an economic blockade against the kind of encroachment that Russia, China and others are pursuing in the conquest of the western world and of Ukraine.

I think there are many ways that imagination could come to choke the Russian regime from its capacity to wage this war.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Chair, I have a very short question for the member.

He just talked about how he is deeply worried about the children who have been stolen by Russia, and I understand that, because for me, that is one thing that makes it very clear there is a genocide happening against the Ukrainian people. However, I wonder why he is not able to see that the 13 innocent children who have been killed in Gaza or the children who have died in other places around the world matter just as much.

For me, a child is a child is a child. I look at every single child and I think about their human rights and why they deserve to be reunited with their families, why they deserve to live and why they deserve to thrive. I wonder why he feels that Palestinian children are Hamas instead of just children.

[Shuv Majumdar, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Mr. Chair, these beautiful Palestinian children and babies who have been murdered in these last months deserve better than to be a political project for domestic pandering by the hon. member. Those children are being offered up by Hamas as human shields rather than being sheltered in the tunnel networks that Hamas has built to support its terrorism, which are multiple times the size of the New York subway or the London underground.

The hon. member's focus is an obsession with the democratic State of Israel, which is trying to liberate not just the babies and hostages held by Hamas today in Israel but also Palestinians from the yoke of tyranny that Hamas and its Iranian sponsors have been putting Palestinians through.

Rest assured that our commitment to every child everywhere in this world is steadfast and strong today.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge.

As we speak, the Ukrainian people are risking everything and sacrificing their lives to defend themselves against Russia's genocidal war, and despite being outmanned and outgunned, the Ukrainian people have shown great courage and resolve in defending their homeland and fighting for all of us. Notwithstanding that courage and resolve, the situation in Ukraine is more dire by the day, and the consequences for us, and globally, are more dire by the day.

Russia is committing war crimes and genocide every day. Hundreds of millions of people in the global south are facing food shortages and famine because of Russia's attacks on Ukraine's agriculture sector. The war is one of the primary causes of food inflation and energy inflation here in Canada and around the world that Canadians and others face when they fill up at the pump or they buy food at the grocery store. The war poses an existential threat to Canada's security and to global security.

Our government has said that Canada will stand with the Ukrainian people until they win and that victory is the only option. Victory is the only option for Ukraine, but it is also the only option for Canada. Victory is the only option for Canada because Ukraine's victory is vital to Canada's security.

If Russia wins, it will not stop at Ukraine. If Russia wins, Canada, Europe and the U.S. will be the next to defend themselves against Russian aggression. Every Ukrainian solider on the front lines today is one fewer Canadian who will have to fight in the future. Every dollar we spend in Ukraine today is millions of dollars less that we will have to spend in the future. Our government understands this, and that is one of the reasons Canada has been a global leader in supporting Ukraine.

Canada has provided approximately $13 billion in support of various kinds, whether that is financial aid, military aid, immigration assistance or humanitarian aid. We are leading in the seizure of Russian assets globally and in the initiative with Ukraine to bring the deported children back to Ukraine from Russia. Yesterday we passed the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, and there are many more things.

These are important contributions, important steps, but it will not be enough until Ukraine decisively wins the war. If we want to stop global food shortage and inflation, and if we want to ensure our own security, we need to ensure that Ukraine achieves a decisive victory. This means that Ukraine wins the war by recapturing every inch of its territory, but it also means that Ukraine must win the peace, which includes many things. To me it includes that Ukraine is secure as part of NATO, that there is justice for Russian war crimes, that we help Ukraine rebuild and that Russia pays for that rebuilding.

As my colleagues will know, and I see some colleagues here who worked with me on the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group, I have worked very hard to advocate for these measures, and I have also worked very hard to ensure that our support for Ukraine extends across all parties in the House of Commons. It really used to, but that has changed. Under the Conservative leader, the Conservative Party has abandoned Ukraine. I am not concerned about the members of the House as much; I am concerned about their leader. It is what he does not say and how he forces the members to vote when it matters. As another member mentioned a moment ago, it is not even the words that concern me as much; it is the actions. Their voting three—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is rising on a point of order.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, the member is violating the rules. He knows that it is unparliamentary to make implications about the presence or absence of members in the chamber. I hope you will call him to order.

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I really do not recall his actually saying whether he was here or not. I would say that we should be judicious in what we are saying and make sure we do not say whether someone is here.

The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I never mentioned anybody's presence or absence. What I talked about was the position of the leader of the Conservative Party. He required his MPs to vote three times against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement and against military aid for Ukraine. They voted to cut Operation Unifier. They voted against funding for Ukrainian immigrants settling here in Canada. Yesterday I personally went to the Senate and watched Conservative senators unanimously vote against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. The leader of the Conservative Party will not say whether he will support the security agreement with Ukraine that Canada signed.

What has happened to the Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney or John Diefenbaker? In summary, there is a far right movement in Canada, just like there is in the U.S., where it has taken over the Republican Party, that believes the pro-Putin propaganda and does not support Ukraine. There is a Putin wing in the Conservative Party, and the leader of the Conservative Party is seeking to earn its support. The Putin wing has taken over the Conservative Party.

The second thing that has happened is that he is trying to consolidate the PPC vote, and the PPC has always been pro-Putin and anti-Ukraine. He is pandering to the PPC vote and has given in to the Putin wing of the Conservative Party. That is what has happened with the Conservative Party.

We need to make sure that we stand with Ukraine until it wins, and for that to happen, the Conservative Party, and specifically the leader, needs to step up and start voting in favour of Ukraine. He needs to make sure his members step up, and make sure they start voting for Ukraine. That is how we are going to make sure Ukraine wins. That is how we are going to make sure we all win.

Slava Ukraini.

Unparliamentary Language

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Chair, what is absolutely disgraceful is the member sitting here and spewing mistruths in this chamber and sowing disinformation. Frankly, I do not expect anything different from the member.

What Ukraine needs right now is light armoured vehicles and rockets. What it needs right now—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on the same point of order.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Chair, all members in the chamber are honourable. I think many of the words the member used were borderline unparliamentary. I would just suggest—

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

I heard what the member opposite said. I have also been listening to what he is calling—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

We will just take a break here.

The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan is rising on the same point of order.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, members have been called to account before many times, on various sides, for suggesting that members of the House have sympathy with foreign authoritarian regimes.

The member who just spoke made an outrageous, verifiably false and unparliamentary claim. He accused members of being part of a so-called pro-Putin wing. He was not called to order by you, Mr. Chair. Now the Liberal member is continuing to cast aspersions.

Frankly, it is disgusting to see what the Liberals are doing here. They are trying to foment division when we should be trying to work together on this issue. I would ask you, Mr. Chair, to call these members to account for their unparliamentary language and their disgraceful conduct during this debate tonight.

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The Speaker has ruled on this. He has mentioned that members should be judicious in how we are being recognized here in Canada. What we do here is seen across the world. Saying that one is part of a certain group is incorrect and, I would suggest, unparliamentary in this case.

Therefore, I would ask the hon. member to hold back on the rhetoric a bit, rephrase and try to stay away from that.

On the same point of order, the hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Chair, we have to be very careful that we do not start saying that members cannot say a political entity in the House is affiliated with another type of organization. That is often referenced in many different ways. I am just raising that. I do not believe the member has to apologize—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

When someone in the House is saying that someone is standing with Putin, that is probably a little too far out on the edge, as the Speaker has ruled.

The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, I think if you check Hansard, you will find that I did not speak about individual members. I said that there is a pro-Putin wing in the Conservative Party, and that is not—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I think that is exactly what has been brought up here.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Chair, he was saying exactly the same thing about the NDP, so he should have to apologize.

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The member for Miramichi—Grand Lake was asked to apologize for saying something very similar to, I think, what the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona said.

The hon. member should retract that and apologize for it. Then we can go on and ask questions.

The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre.

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Chair, what I said was fact. What I said was not in breach of the Speaker's ruling—