OTTAWA – The House of Commons participated in a “take note debate” on Feb. 28 in which parliament discussed Canada’s response to the Russian attack on Ukraine.
It’s worth noting no decisions are made, but the special debate format allows members to speak widely on views of particular public policy.
Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong previously wrote to house speaker Anthony Rota on Feb. 28 requesting an emergency debate to discuss how the feds could address Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but later withdrew the request once consent was granted for the take note debate.
In the House on Monday, Chong stated that Russia’s attack on Ukraine threatens Canada as well and he urged the feds to do more, specifically calling for the removal of Russian Ambassador Oleg Stepanov and to bring back Canadian Ambassador LeClaire from Moscow.
Chong also said Canada should seek Russia’s removal from multilateral forums such as the G20 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
“Diplomatic isolation is needed because diplomacy did not work,” Chong stated.
The MP suggested the feds direct the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to “terminate licences of state-controlled broadcasters that spread disinformation and propaganda” specifically targeting RT, formerly Russia Today, a Russian state-controlled broadcaster which will be pulled from Bell, Rogers, Shaw and Telus channel lineups in Canada, according to news media reports, and has been taken off airwaves in Europe Union countries.
Chong also called on the government to “immediately” allow Ukrainians to come to Canada without a visa, echoing moves made by other countries such as Britain and those belonging to the European Union, where nationals can now stay for up to three years.
“We must be clear-eyed about these proposed measures,” Chong said, adding that a “middle power like Canada” can only do so much to counter Russia’s threat.
Energy and arctic defence
Chong said Canada’s actions won’t stop the invasion in Ukraine, but said the nation could have a role in providing natural resources to Europe — which relies on Russia to supply about 40% of its natural gas — providing stability and taking leverage away from Russia.
“Getting natural gas to Atlantic tidewater is vital not only to our economic interest, not only to our environmental interest, but it is also vital to our security interest,” he said.
Continuing, Chong also advocated for defending “Canadian Arctic sovereignty” by purchasing F-35 jets, spending money to upgrade NORAD’s early warning system, shoring up Canada’s shipbuilding program, joining ballistic missile defence and having closer cooperation with Scandinavian and American allies in the Arctic region.
“The world has irreversibly changed in the last week,” he said, calling on the government to “get serious” about threats from not only Russia, but China, too.
Chong said he believes China is carefully watching the western world’s response to Russia and said Canada’s actions now will “dictate the actions of the People’s Republic of China for years to come in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Foreign Affairs Committee motion passes
Also on Monday, Chong, a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, moved a motion that the committee condemn Russia’s “unjustified and unprovoked attack” on Ukraine.
An amended motion, passed unanimously with 11 votes in favour, called on the government to continue supporting “severe economic penalties,” ongoing provisions to Ukraine’s government and armed forces, and to support pulling RT from Canadian airwaves, and the removal of Russia from the world SWIFT payment system.
