(Ottawa) Ignoring numerous criticisms, the Conservative Party of Pierre Poilievre maintained its opposition to Bill C-57 aimed at implementing the new free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine.
Under the jeers of Liberal ministers and MPs in the House of Commons, the elected Conservatives therefore stood up one after the other to vote against the bill during the third and final reading in the House of Commons on the grounds that The treaty introduces the concept of a carbon tax to Ukraine – an argument that has been undermined by Ukraine’s pro-deal government itself.
Thanks to the support of Bloc Québécois and NDP MPs, the bill was easily adopted by a vote of 214 to 116.
For several weeks, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have accused the Conservative Party and its leader Pierre Poilievre of turning their back on Ukraine by opposing this free trade agreement and of indirectly supporting Russian aggression carried out by the President Vladimir Putin.
Again on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau challenged Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives to pull themselves together at a time when Ukraine more than ever needs the solidarity of Canada and democratic countries to push Russia outside its borders.
“Conservatives continue to oppose Ukraine. It’s inconceivable. Inconceivable,” insisted Justin Trudeau at the end of the question period.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress praised the MPs who voted in favor of the free trade treaty. “We thank all MPs who supported this important bill. We are disappointed that the vote on this bill was not unanimous,” said CUC President Alexandra Chyczij in a written statement.
“The CUC will continue to work to ensure that courageous Ukrainians receive the support they need and deserve during this existential battle against Russia’s genocidal aggression. We urge all Canadians and all political parties to do the same,” she added.
The vote on Bill C-57 came on the same day that a poll conducted by the Angus Reid firm revealed that a growing number of Canadians believe that the Trudeau government is doing too much to support Ukraine.
Faced with these results, federal ministers took turns to reiterate on Tuesday that Canada’s solidarity with Ukraine must remain unshakeable.
“I think that the Ukrainians know that they can count on Canada and the Canadians know very well that the Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom, but also ours,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, before participating at a cabinet meeting.
“I think that Canadians, too, know very well that Canada will always be there, as long as it takes,” she added.
His colleague Marc Miller added that “Canadians expect this [qu’Ottawa] keep a firm hand on it.” “Our government’s support will not waver,” he added.
In the morning, the Angus Reid Institute reported that, according to a recent survey, 25% of Canadians are of the opinion that Canada offers too much support to Ukraine, which has been facing, for about two years, the Russian invasion. According to the polling house, the proportion stood at 13% in May 2022 and 17% in February 2023.
The poll largely attributes the drop in support among the Canadian population to Conservative voters. According to the published results, 43% of respondents who believe that Canada is doing too much are Conservative voters, compared to 10% for Liberal supporters and 12% for those of the New Democratic Party.
The Liberal House leader, Steven MacKinnon, believes that there is a link to be made between these results and the decision of the Conservative Party to oppose the bill aimed at implementing the free trade agreement with Ukraine.
“When Mr. Poilievre shows failing leadership in the face of such a moral imperative, you can obviously expect that those who follow him will begin to falter as well,” he said in the press scrum.
The Conservatives say they are against the wording of the agreement that the bill aims to modernize and which stipulates that the two countries will “promote carbon pricing”. They affirmed that they did not, however, reject the idea of modernizing this agreement.
While in Montreal on Tuesday morning, Mr. Poilievre, like the Liberals, reaffirmed that his caucus believes “we must support Ukraine.” Iaffirmed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a “big talker, little doer” since, according to him, measures of support for the Ukrainian people announced for a long time are still awaited.
The Conservative leader argued in favor of exporting Canadian natural gas to Europe to reduce energy dependence on Russia. He added that missiles being destroyed in Canada should be sent to Ukraine.
With the Canadian Press