Politics Briefing: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces new sanctions in response to Russian attack on Ukraine - The Globe and Mail | Canada News Media
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russian President Vladimir Putin has “launched the greatest threat to European stability since the Second World War” with his invasion of Ukraine, and announced new sanctions in response.
“Canada is unequivocal in our condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on the sovereign, democratic state of Ukraine,” Mr. Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.
He said he had just spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and told him about the “strong action” announced in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister said new sanctions will target 58 individuals and entities, including “members of the Russian elite” as well as the Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor with close connections to the Kremlin, as well as major Russian banks.
He also said Canada will sanction members of the Russian Security Council, including the ministers of defence, finance and justice.
Mr. Trudeau also said Canada is ceasing all export permits for Russia – a measure that Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says is worth $700-million – and cancelling existing permits.
The Prime Minister said the “wide-reaching” sanctions “will impose severe costs on complicit Russian elites and they will limit President Putin’s ability to continue funding this unjustified invasion.”
Asked about directly sanctioning President Putin, Mr. Trudeau turned the question over to Ms. Joly, who did not directly answer, but said more sanctions are coming. “It is important for us to act as one,” she said.
Canada is also moving to arrange safe passage for Canadians and permanent residents and their families at land borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldava and “urgently issuing” travel documents for affected Canadians, permanent residents and their immediate family members.
Mr. Trudeau also said Canada is prioritizing immigration applications for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada.
In a statement, Conservative Party Leader Candice Bergen, leader of the official opposition, said President Putin’s “contemptible aggression” and invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable.
“Autocrats like Putin should and will be judged harshly. Conservatives stand ready to defend the rules-based international order against these grievous violations of international law.”
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
UKRAINE
CANADIAN DIPLOMATS EVACUATED – Canada has evacuated all its diplomats from Ukraine, including ambassador Larisa Galadza, as Russia’s invasion proceeds. Story here.
UKRAINIANS FLEE AS INVASION BEGINS – The highways out of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were jammed with traffic on Thursday, as thousands of Ukrainians fled their homes in the first hours after a Russian invasion of their country began. Story here.
UKRAINE INVASION FUELS INFLATION – The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent energy and agricultural prices soaring, adding to global inflationary pressures and putting central banks around the world in a delicate position as they embark on a much-anticipated rate hike cycle. Story here.
CANADA’S SANCTION TOOLKIT – Earlier this week, Canada warnedit had a package of additional sanctions ready to impose on Russia if Moscow proceeds with a further invasion of Ukraine. Story here.
PLANNED SANCTIONS BOOST SOME FORTUNES – Planned sanctions against Russia are boosting the fortunes of domestic farmers, miners and fertilizer producers. Story here.
UPDATES – Watch here for the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
PROTESTS
USE OF THE EMERGENCIES ACT ENDS – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is ending the use of the Emergencies Act because the federal government has been assured that police have sufficient tools to deal with any further challenges. Story here.
BANK ACCOUNTS UNFROZEN – Canada’s banks have unfrozen most accounts belonging to customers who were linked to illegal blockades, an industry group said, restoring access to financial services that was cut off for dozens of people under emergency powers last week as a tool to put pressure on protesters to leave downtown Ottawa. Story here.
MEANWHILE
MILITIARY OFFICER FACES SEX-ASSAULT CHARGES – A senior military officer in Ottawa has been charged with five counts of sexual assault against at least four alleged victims, according to court documents obtained by The Globe and Mail. The documents say Lieutenant-Commander Robert Waller is charged in connection with alleged incidents in Ottawa and the United States between April, 2016, and the spring of 2018. Story here.
CALL FOR MEETING AFTER ATTACK ON B.C. PIPELINE WORKERS – A group of nearly 120 members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in British Columbia are calling for an emergency meeting with hereditary leaders after last Thursday’s attack on workers at a construction camp for a controversial natural gas pipeline in the north of the province. Story here.
MORE MONEY FOR ALBERTA HEALTH: KENNEY – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the provincial budget will include an unprecedented blitz of health-care spending powered by a roaring, re-energized economy. As he announced $1.8-billion in long-term spending Wednesday to increase beds, operating rooms and labs at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, he said the announcement is the vanguard of a monumental health-spending package coming Thursday in the 2022-23 budget. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – The House is adjourned until Feb. 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPS DOWN – Justice Michael Moldaver is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada on Sept. 1. “Justice Moldaver has made exceptional contributions to Canadian jurisprudence, particularly in the area of criminal law,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner said in a statement announcing the resignation. “Canadians have benefited from his humanity and deep commitment to fair and just results. His colleagues and I have profited from his wisdom, warm collegiality and wit. We wish him a very happy retirement.” Justice Moldaver was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2011.
JOHN TURNER BIOGRAPHY IN THE WORKS – TVO anchor and host Steve Paikin has finished the first draft of a biography of former prime minister John Turner, who died in September, 2020, and turned it in to his publishers Sutherland House Press. The book is to be released later this year. “In a nutshell, the book tries to make the point that Turner was so much more than the 70-odd days that he was PM, particularly in the last decade of his life when he became one of Canada’s great champions of democracy,” Mr. Paikin, anchor of The Agenda on TVO, said in an e-mail exchange. “He had an utterly unique political career and life. Not three acts as most politicians have but more like six. I hope I’ve done his story justice.” Mr. Turner, who served as a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister himself from June to September, 1984. He was succeeded, as prime minister, by Brian Mulroney. Mr. Turner was also official opposition leader from 1984 to 1990. Mr. Paikin said there is no confirmed title yet for his biography. He noted that he knew Mr. Turner fairly well. “Our birthdays were two days apart so we celebrated together at an annual lunch. I covered his 1984 comeback into politics and was at the convention. So I have first person observations I think others may not have had.”
THE DECIBEL – On Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Atlantic Canada reporter Greg Mercer talks about the the inquiry into the mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia, that killed 22 people. Mr. Mercer will explain the criticism families and politicians have of the inquiry and what we’ve learned about the shooting and its perpetrator since it happened. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister participated in a G7 Leader’s meeting hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and held a news conference on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister was scheduled, in Edmonton, to participate in a roundtable with leaders from the Black community. Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault and Women’s Minister Marci Ien were also scheduled to attend.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet, in Quebec City, meets with Mayor Bruno Marchand, then holds a news conference at city hall.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Toronto, toured a United Association Local 46 Training Facility, held a press conference, and met with the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association. He was also scheduled to speak to a meeting of the NDP federal council.
No schedule released for other party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon the Emergencies Act ending not with a bang, but with a whimper: “The Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, nearly a week and a half ago, may have been a mistake. It may have been unconstitutional. It may have been an attempt to turn crisis into political opportunity, and it may have gone beyond what was required to keep the peace and uphold the law. For years to come, people will debate whether there was an emergency on Feb. 14. But there can be no doubt that, by the start of this week, it was over. As such, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did right by the country, and saved himself a world of political pain, by abruptly revoking powers his government had given itself nine days earlier, and which it had pushed through the House of Commons just 44 hours earlier.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is eager to stop talking about the Emergencies Act and talk about blockades instead: “From a purely political perspective, it was obvious that Mr. Trudeau had to revoke the Emergencies Act orders quickly. With each passing day, the political debate was more about the Emergencies Act, and potential overreach, and less about what the Liberals want it to be about: the blockades and whether they had to be broken up. Most Canadians, opinion polls told us pretty convincingly, were against the blockades, and wanted police to shut them down. But using the Emergencies Act? That’s likely to have more opponents. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, the front-runner for the party’s leadership, has de-emphasized his support for the convoys while working up social-media attacks on the Emergencies Act.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail)on the Emergencies Act as nine days that didn’t really shake the world all that much: “Federalizing the operation seemed to set in motion things that were not moving under either the city or the province. That’s unfortunate – we shouldn’t be invoking the Emergencies Act unless strictly necessary. Had the police acted before, it would not have been necessary. But they didn’t, so it was. Perhaps in the mandatory inquiry to follow we will learn why they did not act before; remedies can be put in place to ensure the feds do not have to step in again. But in the here and now that option was unavailable.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on how, ready or not, Canada must face the crisis in the Ukraine head on: “When Mr. Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, he could not possibly have imagined that he would preside over the greatest crisis since the Second World War: a pandemic that forced us into our homes and took tens of thousands of Canadian lives. In the main, his government handled that well. Now he faces a new crisis, one that challenges the unity of the Western alliance and our commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty, as we face a rogue Russia with nuclear weapons and bent on restoring its sphere of influence. Hard times are ahead.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on where the anger goes now that the trucks are gone: “Anger left unchecked tends to metastasize. The resentment that festered over U.S. President Barack Obama’s expansion of government programs and spending, most notably through the Affordable Care Act, birthed the Tea Party movement, which morphed into the Donald Trump movement (which is ironic, since Mr. Trump went on to massively increase government spending as president). The Yellow Vest protests of 2018 and the United We Roll convoy of 2019 can be viewed in hindsight as precursors to the recent trucker convoy; Tamara Lich, who was recently denied bail for her organizational role in the convoy, was also involved in both prior events.”
John Manley (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on Canadian collectivism prevailing in the midst of cries for individual `freedoms’: “I was proud of my fellow citizens for blocking the protest on a street not far from my home. But it should not be necessary that brave citizens risk personal harm to do what we have authorized and empowered law enforcement agencies to take care of. The confrontation could have ended badly, and vigilantism is not something we want to encourage. But this is what can happen when governments – which we elect and empower to make the rules, and to which we bestow the right to use reasonable force when necessary – fail to act.”
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Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
