Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poièvre stands during a question session in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on December 13, 2023.Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press
One of the most prominent Ukrainian-Canadian organizations has condemned Conservative Party leader Pierre Poièvre for voting against a package to help Ukraine resist Russian military attack, but the party has criticized its own actions. continues to position itself as opposition to liberal climate and economic policies.
The Ukrainian Canadian Federation, founded in 1949, sent a letter to Poièvre last month accusing the government opposition of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This fall, Conservatives voted against a modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) and a series of government spending estimates, including additional funding for Operation Unifier, an effort by the Canadian Armed Forces to train the Ukrainian military. also voted against. Conservative votes did not derail these policies, as other opposition parties supported the Liberals.
But the LUC told Poièvre that it had concerns about the party’s actions.
“The 1.36 million members of the Ukrainian-Canadian community take it for what it is: a vote against Ukraine’s victory and a vote for Putin’s victory,” LUC President Boris Mikhailets said. said Director-General Orest Steciu in the letter.
“If the Conservative Party of Canada is going to continue to make decisions that abandon Ukraine in its most desperate situation, it should tell its voters.”
Steciu said in an interview Thursday that the issues raised in the letter continue to concern his organization.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper was an ardent supporter of Ukraine, announcing a unified operational training mission to the European country and starting negotiations on a free trade agreement after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
“Today’s Conservative Party certainly doesn’t seem to be Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party, and that’s worrying,” Steciu said.
The ruling Liberal Party, which is lagging behind the Conservatives in opinion polls, is attacking the issue. Last fall, they ran an ad claiming that Mr. Poièvre’s party was “abandoning Ukraine” in the 18th Conservative-sponsored election.
The Conservatives reject accusations of being soft on Russia and claim the Liberals are trying to politicize the Ukraine war by labeling their vote pro-Moscow.
“Conservatives have long stood as strong supporters of Ukraine. We created United Operation in 2015 and continue to support the Ukrainian people in defending their homeland from Vladimir Putin’s illegal aggression,” opposition leaders said. said Sebastian Skamski, director of media relations at the agency. in a statement Thursday.
Poilievre’s party is challenging the wording of CUFTA over its references to promoting carbon pricing, which includes taxing fossil fuels.
Explaining his party’s collective vote against the CUFTA bill in November, Poièvre said lawmakers could not support a deal that would impose a carbon tax on Ukraine. However, the Embassy of Ukraine in Canada denied this, saying the revised free trade agreement does not include “tax instruments” to reduce carbon emissions.
Skamski said that in the December spending vote, Conservatives did not vote against Operation Unity or other support for Ukraine, but rather against the Trudeau government’s economic policies.
“Last fall, the Conservative Party held a vote of no confidence in this Liberal government that has let Canadians down. Just as in 2015, the Liberal Party voted against the Conservative spending bill that funded the Ukraine aid. “As such, we voted against the entire Liberal spending bill.” “We continue to support Operation Unifier.”
Skamsky also criticized the Trudeau government itself for not doing enough to support Ukraine.
A study published last year by the Brussels-based Open Dialogue Foundation found that Russia was able to obtain more than 190,000 electric detonators in 2022 by circumventing Canadian sanctions. He also pointed out that the air defense system that Prime Minister Trudeau promised Ukraine in January 2023 has not yet been delivered.
“If this was about anything other than politics, Prime Minister Trudeau would actually deliver the air defense system he promised Ukraine last year, instead of breaking his promise while the Ukrainian people are under threat from Russian bombs and missiles.” I will.”
