Mr. Speaker, I have had many good discussions with the member for Lanark—Frontenac in other committees we served on together for some time.
I would like start by reiterating our government's total support and commitment for Ukraine, a cause that, unfortunately, my Conservative colleagues across the way have chosen not to support. I watched them stand up in the House and vote against the interests of Ukraine on numerous occasions, which shocked and surprised me. Perhaps it should not be a surprise today that they seem to want to reverse course on sanctions and tariffs toward Russia.
Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus, is a violation of international law and threat to the rules-based international order. Our government understands Ukraine is once again at the front line of the struggle for democracy and freedom, and at this critical time, Canada continues to be a steadfast ally in Ukraine's relentless pursuit of freedom.
I remember getting to meet President Zelenskyy and actually shaking his hand, and I reiterated to him that we would never stand down, that we would always be there to support Ukraine. It is unfortunate; I watched my Conservative colleagues have a change of heart in the House of Commons in the past Parliament.
Just last week, our colleague, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, chaired a virtual meeting, during which G7 finance ministers agreed to bolster coordinated measures to increase pressure on Russia to end its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.
I am proud to say that since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Canada has committed nearly $22 billion in multi-faceted assistance for Ukraine, including over $12.4 billion in direct financial support. That is the largest per capita direct financial contribution among G7 countries. This is one of the ways we are supporting Ukraine and its ongoing efforts to defend itself from Russia.
Canada took immediate action to ensure countries that violate the rules-based international order cannot economically benefit from it. That is why in March 2022 Canada withdrew on a temporary basis the most favoured nation status for tariff treatment of imports from Russia and Belarus. Since that time, the general tariff of 35% has applied on virtually all imports from these countries.
The government moved forward to make this change permanent, as announced in budget 2023 and enacted in June 2023. This permanent withdrawal reflects the enduring nature of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, with support from Belarus.
It is important for the Government of Canada to send a signal to Canadian importers to incentivize sourcing away from these two countries. To reiterate, the general tariff of 35% continues to apply to virtually all imports from Russia and Belarus, including imports of fertilizers.
As such, I would like to note there have been no commercial imports of Russian fertilizer since June 2022. That, to me, speaks of the effectiveness of this measure. This means Canadian importers have indeed moved away from Russia to alternative sources of supply.