Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Michael Chong, Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, issued the following statement on the adoption of his motion at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, which condemns President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation for their unprovoked attack and invasion of Ukraine:

“Today, at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, I introduced a motion to condemn President Putin and the Russian Federation for their unprovoked attack and invasion of Ukraine. The motion was strengthened by amendments introduced by Liberal MP Rachel Bendayan.

“The following is the text of the motion adopted by the Committee:

That, given the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development report to the House of Commons that it:

a) Condemns this unjustified and unprovoked attack, which was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as a clear violation of international law, the UN Charter, and the rights of Ukraine to sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and democracy;

b) Condemns the illegal recognition by the Russian Federation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as so-called “independent states”, and the 2014 invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and their illegal annexation of Crimea;

c) Calls upon the Russian Federation to immediately end the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including, hospitals and schools.

d) Call upon the Government of Canada, and all parties in the House of Commons, to support:

• The continued imposition of severe economic penalties, including sanctions, targeting President Putin’s inner circle, including Russian oligarchs, and those who have supported this egregious violation of international law; and
• The provision of support to the Government of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine; and
• The issuing of an order of general application directing the CRTC to a new broadcasting policy that would remove state-controlled broadcasters that spread disinformation and propaganda from the CRTC’s list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution, effectively removing Russia Today (RT) from Canadian airwaves; and
• The removal of Russia from the SWIFT payment system, a critical part of the global financial system, an action which must be pursued in collaborations with international partners.

e) Stands unwavering and united in our solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

“This motion was unanimously adopted by members of the Committee and will be reported to the House of Commons. This is the first motion adopted by the House of Commons and its Committees which condemns President Putin and the Russian Federation for their unprovoked attack and invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s attack is the most serious threat to the rules-based international order since 1945, threatening the longest period of relative peace and prosperity in modern history on which Canada’s security depends.

“Conservatives will continue to call on the government to take additional actions to strengthen Canada’s response to Putin’s actions. This includes expelling Russia’s Ambassador from Canada and recalling Canada’s Ambassador from Moscow, implementing visa-free travel from Ukraine to Canada, developing a robust plan to defend Canada’s Arctic, and reforming the pipeline approval process to make it possible to build new pipelines to tidewater, in order to support our European allies’ energy needs.

“Conservatives stand up for Canada’s defence and security, and with Ukraine, its people, and Canadians in the Ukrainian community here in Canada.”