Canadian members of Parliament voted unanimously on Wednesday to label Russia’s attacks in Ukraine a “genocide.”
The vote was triggered after NDP MP and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson presented a motion asking that the House recognize that “the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people.”
MPs agreed that there is “clear and ample evidence of systemic and massive war crimes against humanity” being committed by Russian Armed Forces directed by President Vladimir Putin and others within the Russian Parliament.
Those crimes include, among other offenses, mass atrocities, systematic instances of willful killing of Ukrainian civilians, the desecration of corpses, forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, torture, physical harm, mental harm, and rape, the motion reads.
Russia’s invasion of the eastern region of Ukraine began on Feb. 24. There have been widespread accusations of war crimes since then, with some leaders going as far as to say that the situation amounts to genocide.
International law defines genocide as the deliberate killing or causing other serious harms “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it’s “absolutely right” the term genocide was being used to describe Russia’s conduct. His comments came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden used the term in reference to the Ukrainian invasion.
However, Trudeau was quick to note there are “official processes” in places to formally apply that designation.
“As President Biden highlighted, there are official processes around determinations of genocide,” Trudeau said at the time. “But I think it’s absolutely right that more and more people be talking and using the word ‘genocide’ in terms of what Russia is doing.”
Days later, Defence Minister Anita Anand said there is a “strong argument” to be made that Russia’s “atrocities” amount to genocide.
“I believe that if you take the definition of genocide, which includes the intent to wipe out a nation in part or in whole, there is a strong argument to be made, even without the use of chemical weapons, that a genocide is occurring,” Anand said during an interview on CTV’s Question Period.
Canadian MPs most recently declared China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslims a genocide. However, Trudeau did not participate in the vote. Then-foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau abstained on the record while the rest of cabinet was absent.
On Wednesday, Trudeau was present in the House of Commons for question period but, it is unclear if he was still there for the vote on this motion.
Canada is a signatory of the United Nations’ Genocide Convention, which codifies genocide as a crime, requires members states to prevent and punish it, and triggers legal consequences against perpetrators.
In this set of circumstances, former justice minister and ambassador to the United Nations Allan Rock said Canada is fulfilling its duty.
“You could say that we’re doing what we can to prevent it, by providing arms to Ukraine so it can defend itself and repulse the Russian attack,” Rock told CTVNews.ca.
“We should be, as we are, contributing to the effort to track the atrocities of Russian forces, amass evidence against them, and be prepared to cooperate and participate in any prosecution of those responsible.”
In March, the Canadian government referred the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“We are working with other ICC member states to take this significant action as a result of numerous allegations of the commission of serious international crimes in Ukraine by Russian forces, including war crimes and crimes against humanity,” reads a statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
“The ICC has our full support and confidence. We call on Russia to cooperate with the court.”
Canada has sent 10 RCMP officers to the ICC to aid in the investigation.
Rock noted, however, that the ICC acts as a backstop, only if the country with primary jurisdiction – Ukraine in this case – is unable or unwilling to prosecute.
“It’s the Ukrainian courts that have jurisdiction and will want to exercise jurisdiction. But we don’t know what’s going to happen over the course of the coming months in the conflict. It may be that over the months to come, the capacity of Ukraine to investigate and mount a prosecution might be diminished,” he said.
As it stands now, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova is working alongside the ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan in a joint investigation with other European representatives.
With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello
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NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
