Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Time in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 27, 2022. REUTERS/Blair Gable
April 27 – Canadian lawmakers voted unanimously on Wednesday to label Russia’s attacks in Ukraine a “genocide”, with members of parliament saying there was “ample evidence of systemic and massive war crimes against humanity” committed be committed by Moscow.
The Canadian House of Commons motion states that war crimes by Russia include mass atrocities, systematic killings of Ukrainian civilians, desecration of corpses, forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, torture, physical and psychological harm and rape.
Earlier this month Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “absolutely right” that more and more people were calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine genocide, backing an accusation made by US President Joe Biden a day earlier.
Biden had said earlier in April that the invasion of Ukraine amounted to genocide, but added that international lawyers would have to decide whether or not the invasion met the criteria for genocide.
Russia, which denies genocide allegations, has called its action in Ukraine a “special military operation” and said it was necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia. Moscow, in turn, accuses Ukraine of genocide against Russian speakers, an accusation that Ukraine dismisses as nonsense. Continue reading
Canada is among a number of countries to impose sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine on February 24. On Wednesday it imposed further sanctions on 203 people it says are involved in Russia’s attempted annexation of certain areas of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
Late Wednesday, Canada also updated its travel advice for Moldova, citing the risk of armed conflict in Transnistria, a breakaway Russian-held part of Moldova to the west.
The Canadian government urged travelers to exercise a high level of caution while in Moldova and to avoid all travel to Transnistria.
The Canadian government has also announced that it will amend its sanctions laws to allow funds or assets confiscated or sanctioned by Russia to be disbursed to help rebuild Ukraine or to those affected by the Russian invasion. Continue reading
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Edited by Sandra Maler and Jacqueline Wong