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The Russians are spending big on infrastructure to absorb occupied Ukraine – CBC.ca

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Armies rarely measure their success by the roads they’ve paved or the rail lines they’ve laid down — but that may be the metric Russia is using in occupied portions of Ukraine, where major infrastructure projects are underway or are being planned.

Over the last few months, Moscow-based media have reported on the construction of a new railway line between Rostov-on-Don in Russia, near the Sea of Azov and the border with Ukraine, and Yakymivka, about 10 kilometres north of the Crimean peninsula.

Experts in both Europe and North America describe it, and other potential public works projects, as part of a far-reaching attempt by the Kremlin to bind the territory it has captured more closely to Russia — something to which western nations backing Ukraine need to pay close attention.

Although details are scarce, the new rail line would mainly go through occupied Ukrainian territory — the southern regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia — and past the key cities of Mariupol and Melitopol.

The Russian and Ukrainian armies may be locked in a death struggle with little movement of the frontlines, but the bricks and mortar work behind those lines (and the economic consolidation that comes with it) is becoming increasingly important, said one expert.

“I think Putin can still win the war, in the post-fighting period,” said Matthew Schmidt, an expert on Eastern Europe at the University of New Haven Connecticut.

“If Ukraine doesn’t become a modernized, economically stable and prosperous country, then eventually Putin can exert the kind of political control over Ukraine that he was trying to do by military means and failed to do.”

Schmidt said the consolidation underscores how “countries like Canada and the United States have to absolutely come through [on] supporting Ukraine economically with donor funds, and with support for large-scale foreign direct investment.”

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada Yuliya Kovaliv has for months been making the same argument to political and business audiences — most recently when she defended the modernization of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement.

Yuliya Kovaliv, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, has been pushing for aid and investment to restore her country’s shattered infrastructure. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

“This stability and security will serve as a catalyst for increased investment and economic co-operation, which will create jobs in both countries,” Kovaliv told the House of Commons standing committee on international trade.

She noted that Ukraine is starting with an infrastructure deficit, due to the widespread destruction caused by Russian bombs and missiles.

“Infrastructure is one of the sectors that suffered the most in terms of damages, including the critical infrastructure,” she testified.

“Only last winter, 50 per cent of all of the electricity grids, part of the critical infrastructure in Ukraine, has been damaged. This paves the way for the structural rebuilding of the sectors, and we would welcome Canadian companies to cooperate with Ukrainians in the rebuilding of the infrastructure sector.”

A view of Podil district during a blackout after a Russian rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. (Andrew Kravchenko/Associated Press)

The $107 billion the United States has sent to Ukraine makes it by far the country’s largest donor of economic and military aid, according to tracking carried out by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

On Friday, the United Kingdom announced a package of mostly military aid worth $4.2 billion Cdn. The government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is, however, among the top contributors to Ukraine, with overall assistance pledges amounting to $15.8 billion Cdn.

Canada, meanwhile, has contributed $4.85 billion in loan assistance to Ukraine in addition to $2.4 billion in military aid.

Allies’ aid pledges have started to dwindle

But analysts at the Kiel Institute have noted that allied pledges have seen a steep decline as the war has dragged on.

“Newly committed aid has reached a new low between August to October 2023 — an almost 90 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2022,” said a report by the German-based institute dated Dec. 7, 2023.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (IFSW) has also noted Russia’s increased investment in the occupied regions.

“Russian regional and occupation authorities continue infrastructure programs designed to integrate occupied Ukraine into Russia,” the IFSW said in a situation report.

Oleksandr Musiienko, the head of the Center for Military and Legal Studies in Kyiv, said there’s a clear-cut military imperative for Russia to construct a rail line through occupied regions of Ukraine.

“They’re thinking about alternative routes to the Kerch Bridge,” Musiienko told CBC News, referring to the parallel bridges — one a four-lane road and the other a double-track railway — that connect occupied Crimea with Russia.

Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia after a truck exploded near Kerch on October 8, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)

Much of Moscow’s war materiel is funnelled over the bridge, which has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces.

“They’re scared what could happen if Ukrainians have success” in destroying the structure, Musiienko said.

Musiienko said it’s also clear the Kremlin wants to demonstrate to the people in the occupied regions how they would “rebuild and restore” the territories.

The flip side, he said, is that whatever Russia tries to build, Ukraine will try to knock down with long-range missile and drone strikes.

Speaking before the House of Commons defence committee in December, Rand Corporation expert Howard Shatz said the West is a unique position to give Ukraine a leg-up in terms of investment.

Historically, the kind of aid the United States, the U.K. and Canada have been providing only moves the investment needle so far.

“Private investment that Ukraine mobilizes from new and existing foreign investors, residents and even — or especially — the Ukrainian diaspora will be essential to successful reconstruction,” Shatz said, noting that investment needs to be coupled with western security guarantees.

“The only thing I’ll say about security now is that durable security arrangements, supported by the West, will help Ukraine deter and defend against future Russian attacks. However, they’ll do more than that. Historically, we have seen that such arrangements give investors the confidence to take risks and make long-term commitments.”

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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