FAAE Committee Report

The Conservative Party is pleased to fully endorse the main committee report. There are three areas in which we wish to go further than the rest of the committee in terms of supporting international peace and security. These areas are (1) contributing to global energy and food security (2) combatting foreign interference and (3) recognizing the failure of the Gazprom turbine policy. We also wish to use this opportunity to suggest areas of future discussion and study for the committee related to the Russian state’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Canada’s Potential Contribution to Global Energy and Food Security

Canada has the potential to play a unique and critical role in the alliance of democratic nations. While many of our democratic partners are geographically small and densely populated nations who are reliant on energy imports, Canada is relatively sparsely populated and resource rich. We have the capacity, therefore, to ramp up energy production, including LNG exports, in order to fill the energy needs of our allies, ending their dependence on hostile actors such as the Putin regime. Displacing Russian energy in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific will provide our partners with security and will starve the Russian war machine. When our allies purchase Russian gas, they are fueling Putin’s aggressive war. Canada can provide an alternative.

With this in mind, Conservatives recommend that the Government of Canada fast track energy projects that our allies need to reduce their reliance on Russian gas and repeal bills like C-48 and C-69 that limit the production and export of Canadian energy.

Canada can play a similar role displacing instances of global reliance on Russia for fertilizer and food. Our size and resource abundance gives us a unique opportunity to support the response to the global food crisis. This crisis has been exacerbated by the actions of the Putin regime. In order to support efforts to respond to the global food crisis, the government should reverse their broad suite of policies that have been harmful to Canada’s agricultural sector.

Combatting Foreign Interference

During its initial hearings on Ukraine, the committee heard about the security risks associated with the Russian embassy in Canada. This testimony has not been fully reflected in the main committee report. Conservatives noted, for example, the testimony of Mr. Orest Zakydalsky, Senior Policy Advisor of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, who told the committee, “In Ottawa, at the embassy, people got out of what appeared to be a Russian diplomatic car and vandalized a blue and yellow painted bike that was placed outside the embassy, on public property. The bike was spray-painted and destroyed by what appeared to be people who emerged from a car that was later seen on the property of the Russian embassy”.

Conservatives have been raising concerns about foreign state-backed interference for a long time in various fora, and yet this Liberal government has not expelled any diplomats involved in foreign interference. The Canadian Government should have zero tolerance for foreign diplomats involved in intimidation or interference operations and should expel any who cross the line.

In an effort to combat foreign interference and money laundering and to enforce sanctions, Conservative also recommend that the government expand the beneficial ownership registry to include provincially incorporated corporations.

Recognizing the Failure of the Gazprom Turbine Policy

This Liberal government’s decision to grant a sanctions waiver for the export of Gazprom turbines was deeply misguided. It could have provided the means for continuing Russian energy exports and energy blackmail, it showed profound disregard for concerns raised by the Ukrainian government, and it sent the wrong message about the consistent application of sanctions. The main committee report recognizes that the government was right to eventually cancel this waiver, however we would add that the waiver never should have been issued in the first place. We will continue to push for the consistent application and effective enforcement of sanctions going forward.

Areas of Future Work

As the developed democratic world has united to oppose Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, we have seen expanding outreach and influence operations by the Russian government in Africa and throughout the Global South. One form of such engagement has been through the deployment of the Wagner Group. Notably, many developing countries have been severely negatively impacted by this invasion because of the impact that it has had on global food supplies. Conservatives are pleased to see the inclusion of a recommendation in this report to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. Going forward, more work is required to understand the Putin regime’s activities in the Global South and to mount a strong response. More broadly, work is required on the impact of this invasion on global food, fuel, and fertilizer supply. The broadening of the negative impacts of this invasion underlines the importance of Ukraine achieving a decisive victory as soon as possible.