(OTTAWA) Moscow warns that relations with Canada are “on the verge of being severed” after the Trudeau government decided to confiscate a huge Russian cargo plane.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Ukraine over the weekend, where he announced that Canada had officially seized a plane that had been parked on the tarmac at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport since February 2022.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in an English-language statement, released on Tuesday, that Moscow was ready to retaliate and that the decision “will lead to the most serious repercussions for Russian-Canadian relations.”
Canada is the first G7 country to enact legislation that allows Ottawa not only to seize assets held by sanctioned individuals, but also to confiscate the money and distribute it to victims of a sanctioned regime.
Trudeau said Ottawa plans to begin the process of confiscating the plane and using the funds to support Ukraine, which could be the government’s first use of this law.
A Senate report last month warned that the legislation could endanger Canadian businesses overseas and could undermine the rule of law if the provisions are not enforced through due process.