As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth day, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will make sure that Russia will “pay a price” for its military actions.
“Our goal, and I’ll be very blunt, is to suffocate the Russian regime,” she told CTV’s Question Period, which airs at 11 a.m. EST on Sunday. “Our best way right now is to put maximum pressure on the economy.”
Canada’s “first round” of sanctions against Moscow were announced Tuesday, when a Russian invasion appeared to be imminent. These sanctions ban Canadians from buying Russian sovereign debt or having have any financial dealings in the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine.
More sanctions were announced on Thursday, after Russia’s attack began. These sanctions affect dozens of Russian oligarchs, banks, the paramilitary organization Wagner Group, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“We are continuing by really looking at many, many options because we want to make sure that we’re isolating Russia,” Joly said.
On Saturday, Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and EU also agreed to cut off several Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system and place restrictions on US$600 billion in assets owned by Russia’s central bank.
“It will isolate Russian banks. They won’t be able to communicate with the other banks in the world. So, the impact of SWIFT is really important,” Joly said. “Not only is it important, it is immediate, because when we put sanctions in place, we know that the impact of it takes a couple of weeks. But this is really, really immediate.”
Aside from sanctions, Ukraine is asking for financial aid and weapons in order to defend itself against the Russians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained in Kyiv, rejecting U.S. offers to help him evacuate the capital and instead asking for “ammunition, not a ride.”
So far, Canada has sent the Ukrainians $7 million worth of lethal aid. When asked about whether Canada would send in more arms, Joly said Minister of Defence Anita Anand is “looking at different options.”
“We’ve already sent lethal weapons … they have been successfully delivered. But also … what I’ve been doing is making sure that we have a strong relationship with Poland, because any form of delivery needs to go through Poland,” she said.
The Conservatives have called on the federal government to expel Russia’s ambassador to Canada and recall Canada’s ambassador to Russia. However, Joly said Canada will continue to maintain a diplomatic link with Moscow.
“I summoned the Russian ambassador, I looked at him in the eyes and I told him exactly what I thought was Canada’s position. And at the same time, I’ve been in contact with our own ambassador to Russia,” Joly said.
“We believe that it is important to keep a diplomatic link because there’s hope with the Russian people themselves right now who are, bit by bit, understanding what is happening in Kyiv,” she added.
Joly also said Canada is looking into potentially revoking the Canadian broadcast license for RT, a Russian state-controlled news channel that has long been described as a propaganda outlet for the Kremlin.
Earlier this month, German authorities banned the transmission of RT’s German-language channel. Telecom regulators in the U.K. are also considering removing RT’s broadcast license over concerns that the outlet would spread “harmful disinformation” about the conflict. YouTube and Facebook owner Meta have also blocked RT from monetizing off of their platforms.
“We’re looking at RT. I’ve had many conversations with the Minister of Heritage Pablo Rodriguez. We know that RT has been banned in other countries, and that’s why we’re looking at many of our options,” Joly said.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
