Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my leader, the member for Burnaby South, for his comments tonight in support of the Ukrainian community.
As many people have said before tonight, Canada has a very special relationship with Ukraine. Canada was the first country to recognize Ukraine as an independent sovereign country 30 years ago. There are over 1.4 million Canadians who identify as being of Ukrainian heritage in Canada, and while Ukrainians have chosen to settle in communities across Canada, nowhere else has their impact been as great as within the prairie provinces, such as my own home province of Alberta. Ukrainians have been instrumental in building our communities, our cities, our provinces and our country.
Edmonton has a strong, vibrant Ukrainian community. Recently, I visited one of my dear friends, Theodora Harasymiw. She is a Ukrainian artist. She makes unbelievably beautiful mosaics that celebrate the pride and the history of the Ukrainian people in Canada, and I am very proud to say that the New Democratic Party stands strongly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Over the years, my NDP colleagues have called repeatedly for greater support for Ukraine through increased development aid, for democratic and governance support, for Canada to extend visa-free travel to Ukrainians and for increased trade relationships, such as the 2016 Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Linda Duncan, my predecessor in this position, with whom many members have worked, was actually awarded the Executive Hetman Award for her support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Canadian community.
As the NDP foreign affairs critic and the vice-chair of the Canada-Ukraine Friendship Group, I will continue the work that has been done by my NDP colleagues to strengthen Canada-Ukraine relations, and it is that special relationship that has me rising to speak in the House today. At this moment in time, when Ukrainian Canadians are so worried about their friends and families, and people in Ukraine are increasingly being threatened by an aggressive and belligerent Russia, Canada must do more to work with its allies. We must work with the United Nations, we must work with the OSCE and we must work with NATO to find real diplomatic solutions to this looming crisis. Canada must not escalate and inflame an already precarious situation, but rather focus its efforts on diplomacy, non-lethal assistance and economic sanctions, including Magnitsky sanctions, to deter Russia from escalating this conflict.
I am worried about my friends, and I am worried about everyone in Ukraine. We cannot give Putin a further excuse to invade. We have to use every diplomatic tool we have, including sanctions, to prevent a devastating war that would cost lives. If Russia further invades into Ukrainian territory, Ukrainians would pay the price. Ukrainian civilians would be injured, displaced and killed. Children and women in Ukraine would bear the brunt of this violence, and those impacts would be felt for decades or longer.
UN Secretary General Guterres has urged the use of diplomacy, stating that there should not be any military intervention, but rather that diplomacy is the way to solve the problems. Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo repeated that any military intervention involving Russia or NATO alliance forces must be averted.
Canadian Global Affairs Institute fellow Andrew Rasiulis, a defence expert and former Department of National Defence official, has explicitly said that if Canada sends arms to Ukraine, it would aggravate the situation:
You’d be neutralizing your effect. If you put arms in and then try to negotiate—you could do both, there’s no law against it—but you’d be neutralizing your effect.
There is still time. Working with its allies, Canada can de-escalate this conflict. We can use economic sanctions. We can include removal of Russia from the SWIFT international payment system and place sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt. How we respond to this crisis and how we use diplomacy and sanctions to de-escalate this crisis will be an indication of whether Canada is indeed back on the world stage.