The Liberals, who are facing sharp criticism from Ukraine for exempting the turbines from sanctions against Russia, quickly agreed that Foreign Secretary Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson would answer questions on the issue. Ontario Liberal MP Robert Oliphant said there is “full willingness” and “no hesitation” from ministers. The foreign affairs committee voted unanimously to request the presence of Jolie and Wilkinson by July 22, subject to their availability and “noting the urgency of the situation”. WATCHES | Fallout continues for turbine release from Ottawa
Fallout continues for turbine release from Ottawa
Ministers Mélanie Joly and Jonathan Wilkinson are set to testify before a special meeting of the foreign affairs committee next week as fallout 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 for Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to appear and claimed the Liberals were trying to prevent her from testifying because she might disagree with the export decision. Their attempt to add her to the witness list was voted down, but committee members will have more opportunities to add names to the list and the matter could be discussed again. Freeland is in Indonesia to attend the meeting of G20 finance ministers and was not immediately available for comment. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks at a news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, April 7, 2022. On Friday, Conservative members of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee pressed Freeland to testify about the government’s decision to return the gas turbines in Europe, but the motion was defeated. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) The issue stems from a government decision last week to exempt six Siemens Energy turbines, which were being serviced in Montreal, from economic sanctions it imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian World Congress is asking the Federal Court to maintain the sanctions regime and halt the mission, saying in a statement that “we cannot supply 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 deliveries from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline — which runs through northeastern Germany — by 60 percent last month, citing technical problems related to the turbines.
The decision draws support, condemnation
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week the decision to return the turbines was made so Canada could support European allies facing energy crises as Russia cuts access to oil and gas supplies. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the move, saying the energy supply keeps Germany in a position to support Ukraine with humanitarian, economic 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”. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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 solely as a sign of weakness. This is their logic,” he said. “And now there can be no doubt that Russia will try not just to cut back as much as possible, but to completely cut off the supply of natural gas to Europe at the most acute moment.” In her motion to launch the commission’s study, NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said she was “appalled” by the government’s decision and said it implied the Canadian sanctions regime is “basically irrelevant” if they can exceptions are made whenever officials feel “uncomfortable”. “ Conservative MP Garnett Genuis called it “a slap in the face of the Ukrainian people” and said it ran counter to “the logic of appeasement or compromise with a violent aggressor”.
