Opposition lawmakers demanded on Friday that senior Liberal ministers appear at a special meeting of the foreign affairs committee next week to explain Canada’s controversial decision to send repaired parts of a Russian gas pipeline back to Germany.
The Liberals, who have faced heavy criticism from Ukraine for exempting the turbines from sanctions against Russia, quickly agreed to have Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson answer questions on the issue.
Ontario Liberal MP Robert Oliphant said there was “full will” and “no hesitation” on the part of ministers.
The Foreign Affairs Committee voted unanimously to request the presence of Jolie and Wilkinson until July 22, subject to their availability and “noting the urgency of the situation”.
WATCH | Problems continue with the release of the turbines from Ottawa
Problems continue with the release of the turbines from Ottawa
Ministers Melanie Joly and Jonathan Wilkinson are set to testify before a special meeting of the foreign affairs committee next week as controversy continues over Canada’s decision to send turbines back to Germany and exempt them from sanctions against Russia.
The committee will also invite testimony from the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress and the ambassadors of Ukraine, Germany and the European Union to Canada.
Conservatives on the committee also called on Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to testify and said the Liberals were trying to block her testimony because she might disagree with the export decision.
Their attempt to add her to the witness list was rejected, but committee members will have more opportunities to add names to the list and the matter could be discussed again.
Freeland is in Indonesia attending a meeting of G20 finance ministers and was unavailable for comment.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Christia Freeland speaks at a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday, April 7, 2022. On Friday, Conservative members of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee pushed for Freeland to testify on the government’s decision to return gas turbines to Europe, but the move was defeated. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The whole issue stems from a government decision last week to exempt six Siemens Energy turbines that were being serviced in Montreal from economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian World Congress is petitioning the Federal Court to uphold the sanctions regime and halt the shipment, saying in a statement that “we cannot provide a terrorist state with the tools it needs to finance the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people.”
Russian state energy company Gazprom cut gas supplies from its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs to northeastern Germany, by 60 percent last month, citing technical problems with the turbines.
The decision evokes support, condemnation
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week the decision to bring back the turbines was made so Canada could support European allies facing energy crises as Russia restricts access to its oil and gas supplies.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the move, saying energy supplies kept Germany in a position to support Ukraine with humanitarian, financial and military aid.
And the US State Department issued a statement supporting the decision, saying it would help Europe increase its energy security and resilience and counter “Russia’s efforts to weaponize energy”.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the decision as “absolutely unacceptable” earlier this week in a video and written statements.
“The decision to exempt from sanctions will be perceived in Moscow exclusively as a manifestation of weakness. This is their logic,” he said. “And now there can be no doubt that Russia will try not just to limit as much as possible, but to completely stop the supply of gas to Europe at the most acute moment.”
In her motion to initiate the commission’s inquiry, NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said she was “appalled” by the government’s decision and said it suggests Canada’s sanctions regime is “basically pointless” if they can exceptions are made when officials feel “uncomfortable”. “
Conservative MP Garnet Genuis called it “a slap in the face to the Ukrainian people” and said it smacked of “the logic of appeasement or compromise with a violent aggressor”.
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