Marco Levytsky, Western Bureau Chief
The next initiative that Canada will be pushing ahead is getting tougher with Russian oil, says Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“The time has come for us to be decisive about pushing Russian oil out of the world market,” she said during her keynote speech at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Alberta Provincial Council, November 9.
“We’ve taken significant steps to push that Russian oil out of the world market. Now, we need to move further and work harder. And I believe, Canada believes, that now is the moment to undertake that work with our allies. And I’m glad to be saying that to you here at UCC Alberta because Canada as an energy power, Alberta as an energy power, has a real voice and a real role to play in making it possible for us, as the G7, to really push Russian oil out of the global market,” she added.
“Now is a consequential moment in the world and I think now is a moment when it is more important than ever for Canada to be very clear that we support Ukraine, to be very clear that Ukraine must be victorious, and that Putin must be defeated. To be very clear that we’ve supported Ukraine from the beginning. Let’s not forget: Canada has been training Ukrainian troops since 2015 with Operation UNIFIER. We are there today, and I really hope you will join me in sending the strongest possible message to Ukraine that we will be there in the future. They’re counting on us,” Freeland continued.
“And so I do want to say, Canada recognizes that the fight in Ukraine is a fight between light and darkness. This is a fight between good and evil. This is a fight between democracy and dictatorship.
“It is only Ukrainians who are putting their lives on the line, who are fighting and who are dying. But they are fighting for our democracy. They are fighting for the rules-based order that guarantees the sovereignty of every single country. And that is why we are so clear and so firm in standing with Ukraine today and in standing with Ukraine tomorrow and in standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she noted.
Freeland said that the economy is also a battlefield, and we should do our part.
“And so we did something that people thought could not be done before, and that was freezing the assets of the Russian Central Bank. But that was just the first step.
“It costs a lot of money for Ukraine to fight this war. It costs a lot of money to keep the economy going. And there were $300 billion of frozen Russian assets. There, frozen on the accounts of Western banks, even as Russia was doing devastating damage to Ukraine—killing people, destroying infrastructure, destroying power stations.
“And I am so proud, and frankly, so relieved that we succeeded as a G7 in taking a hugely important step this year. And that is that we are extending $50 billion to Ukraine, secured against those frozen Russian assets.
When Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022, world leaders underestimated Ukraine’s resolve.
“I remember, and I am not alone, every single Western leader, every single leader of a NATO country was briefed. They said: ‘The Ukrainians probably won’t last for a week, three weeks at most. That would be really good if they can hang on for three weeks.’ And I listened to that because you have to listen to it. You have to listen to the advice of experts but that little girl who went to Delwood and was quite literally raised by many of the people here, I didn’t believe it. I knew. Our people had hung on for a long time and this community knew that somehow, Ukraine would fight back. That Ukraine would find a way to keep going. That President Zelenskyy would say, give me ammunition—not a ride. That they would be there.
“And it’s so terrible that it’s been two and a half years now that they have had to keep on hanging on and keep on fighting. But I think we all also need to recognize and salute the courage, the bravery, the intelligence, the resilience, the determination, which the people of Ukraine are showing every single day. And I think everyone here knows they are going to keep on fighting. I think everyone here knows that they are going to win, and Putin will be defeated.”
Freeland commended the UCC for the organizational work it has done for the past 40 years.
“We actually have and have had for decades and decades now in Alberta, Ukrainian-English public schools. And that doesn’t happen by accident. That happens very specifically because of the people in this room.
“I know you. I remember your organizational efforts. I was a small child, but I remember the work that happened to make those schools a reality. I remember the work that happened to be sure that we had the textbooks and the resources. I remember the work that happened to drag your—okay, I’m going to admit it—sometimes reluctant children, not only to bilingual school during the week but to Ridna Shkola on Saturday.
“So I really just do want to start by recognizing, with the deepest gratitude, the generations of work that have gone to building this community, to make it possible for this community to build Canada. And the fact that having started in 1891, we are still here and we’re still sending our poor, complaining children to Ridna Shkola on Saturday and to bilingual school during the week.
“And that work, it has built Canada. It has built Alberta. It has built our Ukrainian Canadian community. It has also played a central role in building multicultural Canada. The Ukrainian Canadian community really has helped to blaze a trail for how you can be a strong community, a community with a deep knowledge of and love of its heritage and its history, with deep community connections and institutions, and at the same time be 100 per cent—that’s not even enough—I’m going to say 1000 per cent Canadian. And that has not always been taken for granted. That’s not how a lot of other countries work. And that’s how Canada works, and it works that way for Ukrainian Canadians and for so many other communities in our amazing country,” she said.
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