A RESPONSE TO TRUDEAU’S ANNOUNCEMENTS AT WARSAW NATO SUMMIT
OTTAWA, ON- James Bezan, Official Opposition Critic for National Defence, issued the following statement in response to the government’s announcements at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland and from the Prime Minister’s trip to Ukraine:
“We support the signing of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement which was negotiated and concluded by the previous Conservative government. This deal will continue to strengthen the Canada-Ukraine partnership in peace and prosperity. The Ukrainian people continue to face enormous security and economic challenges, and Canada must remain a trusted and steadfast partner during Ukraine’s time of need, instead of moving to normalize and improve relations with Vladimir Putin.
“While we agree that Canada should take a leadership role among our NATO allies, it is shameful that it took repeated pressure from NATO and the United States for the Liberals to finally cave and agree to lead a battalion.
“The previous Conservative initiated Canada’s contribution to NATO assurance measures in Eastern in Europe within 24 hours NATO beginning to implement a series of military measures to reinforce NATO’s collective defence and demonstrate the strength of allied solidarity.
“In addition to providing support to NATO –led missions, the Conservative government was a world leader in providing support to Ukraine, contributing over $500 million in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, sanctioned over 270 individuals and entities, and deployed approximately 200 CAF personnel to deliver training and capacity-building programs for Ukrainian troops. Canada can and should do more to support all of our allies in the region.
“It is also disappointing that, despite a personal appeal from Ukraine’s President Poroshenko, Prime Minister Trudeau would not commit to extending Canada’s training mission in Western Ukraine. This training mission is an example of the strong bi-lateral relationship between Canada and Ukraine.
“We remain concerned over the Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister who believes that “It's terribly unfortunate that Canada has to deploy its forces in Latvia instead of having peacekeeping in Africa or in an area of the world where it's much more needed." Prime Minister Trudeau should continue the strong legacy of support for Ukraine initiated by the previous Conservative government and commit to supporting our allies in every way that Canada is able to. He should start by accepting President Poroshenko’s request to extend Canada’s training mission in Ukraine and by supporting my Private Member’s Bill, Bill C-267 (Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Act), to impose further sanctions on foreign officials responsible for gross human rights abuses in Russia and around the world.”
Bezan and Kent: Liberals are Stepping Back on Ukraine
OTTAWA, ON – James Bezan, the Official Opposition Critic for National Defence, and Peter Kent, the Official Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs, issued the following statement regarding the Liberal government’s failure to fully support our Ukrainian allies:
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent visit to Ukraine represented an opportunity to reinforce Canada’s support for Ukraine.Unfortunately, instead of taking the opportunity to announce that Canada would be doing more to support our Ukrainian allies, we have learned that Canada will actually be doing less.
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“The Liberal government also cancelled the supply of critical RADARSAT satellite imagery to the Ukrainian military, impacting soldiers on the frontlines.In 2014, President Poroshenko noted that the information sharing was helping to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians and thanked the previous Conservative government for its ongoing support.Cancelling this important service without notice or explanation is simply unacceptable, especially when International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said in 2015 that the Liberals would unreservedly support providing this information.
“Furthermore, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s decision to not join the Prime Minister in Ukraine represents a clear shift in Canada-Ukraine relations. The Minister’s absence resulted in the defence cooperation agreement, which originated under the previous Conservative government, not being finalized.
