OTTAWA — The federal government is working with G7 allies to craft new legislation that would allow for not just the freezing of sanctioned Russian assets, but seizing them on behalf of Ukrainian war victims.
The recent federal budget declared Canada’s intention to pursue the seizure-of-assets route, which has been the subject of a bill by an Independent senator that is on the verge of being passed in the Senate.
The government’s budget implementation bill also lays out its intent to enact a law that would broaden Canada’s current sanctions regime to allow for the seizure and repurposing of assets.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday the bill seeks to create the “ability for the government to be able to sell the assets that were seized, and afterwards to use the profits and to compensate the victims of this war against Ukraine.”
She said because many Russians have assets in Europe and the United States, Canada wants to persuade other allies in the G7 to consider similar legislation.
Joly said the assets of Russian oligarchs in Canada are “substantial.”
“We know that Russian oligarchs tend to be in other jurisdictions than Canada, and particularly in Europe, because of the close proximity and because of their family links,” she said.
More money can be found in Europe “or sometimes in the United States,” she added.
“We’re looking at ways to further punish and seize things from people who have been sanctioned,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday. “But that is work that is ongoing along with our partners.”
Sen. Ratna Omidvar has a bill with that goal that is currently at third reading in the Senate. It would allow for the seizure of assets of rich Russian oligarchs loyal to President Vladimir Putin so that the money could be used to rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine.
Omidvar said Wednesday that she is pleased the Liberal government has included the “essence” of her proposed law, known as Bill S-17, in its budget implementation bill.
“Parliamentarians need to act swiftly by passing these measures and applying it to the dire situation in Ukraine,” Omidvar said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion recognizing “that the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people.”
The statement put forward by NDP MP Heather McPherson cites evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out by Russian forces, including the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, systematic killing of civilians and desecration of corpses as well as torture and rape.
The United Nations definition of genocide includes a mental element, which is difficult to prove, that the acts must be committed with “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
Earlier Wednesday, Canada imposed sanctions on more than 200 people who are loyal to Putin in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Global Affairs Canada said the new measures target 11 senior officials and 192 other members of the People’s Councils of the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk for supporting Putin’s attack on the area.
Russian forces have been backing separatist rebels in the Donbas area for eight years following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
That Russian-backed separatist insurgency claimed 14,000 lives before the Feb. 24 start of Putin’s full-scale war to take over the country, an attack that has faltered in the face of a determined Ukrainian resistance backed with western weaponry.
Putin has now refocused his war on Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking eastern region, pulling back from an unsuccessful attempt to take the capital Kyiv and drive out the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Canadian sanctions are focused on the renewed Russian attempt to annex areas of the Donbas by targeting people attempting to support the next phase of the two-month-old Russian war on Ukraine.
“We moved forward as strongly as anyone else did on sanctions from the very beginning, and the key on the sanctions is that we are totally united across the West and determined to continue to put pressure on anyone who supported Vladimir Putin,” Trudeau said.
“We are all looking at ways of moving forward and every conversation we have is about how we can do more as western countries to demonstrate that Vladimir Putin made a terrible mistake. He needs to lose and anyone who supports him needs to face severe consequences.”
Canada has sanctioned more than 1,000 people or entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus since the Feb. 24 invasion, bringing to 1,400 the total that have been sanctioned since the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Joly spoke Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as the pair reaffirmed their ongoing support of Ukraine. And Defence Minister Anita Anand is in Washington for a rare meeting Thursday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Anand and Austin will continue the discussions they had earlier this week during NATO defence consultations in Germany, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
“As you’d imagine, there’ll be a lot of things to discuss,” Kirby said. “Obviously, what’s going on in Ukraine, but also our shared Norad responsibilities, the Arctic, the Indo-Pacific — there’s a lot on the agenda.”
Last week, Canada added 14 more Russians to its sanctions list, including Putin’s two adult daughters, Maria Vorontsova, 36, and Katerina Tikhonova, 35.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2022.
Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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