Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development

Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du développement international

For immediate release

Ottawa, February 14, 2023 -

Today, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development presented an interim report to the House of Commons entitled, The Russian State’s Illegal War of Aggression Against Ukraine.

This report is the culmination of work that began in early February 2022. As the war that Russia unleashed on Ukraine reaches its one-year mark, the central message of this report is that Canada must continue to provide significant military, financial, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine for as long as the country must defend itself against Russian aggression.

Specifically, the report calls on the Government of Canada to work with Ukraine and other international partners to prosecute the individuals principally responsible for Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine by supporting the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, or another similar mechanism. More generally, the report recommends that Canada continue to play a leading role in the pursuit of justice and accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that have been committed against Ukraine, while supporting the documentation and prosecution of sexual- and gender-based violence.

Additionally, the report examines the sanctions Canada has imposed on Russia. The Committee wants the Government of Canada to work with its partners to improve the coordinated implementation and enforcement of those sanctions, by identifying all assets connected to designated persons and closing any loopholes that may exist. Furthermore, the Committee is calling for enhanced transparency in relation to Canada’s sanctions policy.

Regarding steps that need to be taken within Canada, the Committee is calling on the Government of Canada to expel Russian diplomats involved in any activities that are not consistent with their official diplomatic status.

The Committee is also recommending that Canada list the mercenary Wagner Group as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code.

The full report – and all its recommendations – may be read on the Committee’s website.

As this is an interim report, the Committee intends to remain seized with these issues.