MP McPherson and Foreign Affairs Committee to hear from Ukrainian Canadian Congress

Heather McPherson requested the committee include testimony from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress which has been actively monitoring the situation on the ground in Ukraine and the ramifications of a Russian invasion of Ukraine

On Thursday this week, the Foreign Affairs and International Development committee will continue its study on the evolving situation at the Russia-Ukraine Border and implications for peace and security when it hears from representatives from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. Russia has amassed more than 1300,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, threatening another front in its ongoing invasion of the Eastern European country that began in 2014.

Heather McPherson, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Strathcona and the NDP Critic for Foreign Affairs and International Development called for the committee study in December. Her motion explicitly requested the committee include testimony from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress which has been actively monitoring the situation on the ground in Ukraine and the ramifications of a Russian invasion of Ukraine for Canada and the Canadian Ukrainian community.

“Canada must do more to promote peace and de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine,” McPherson said. “It’s vital that we hear from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and other experts on how to support a diplomatic solution to prevent war and protect the lives of Ukrainians.”

McPherson and federal New Democrats have urged Canada to focus its efforts on diplomacy, non-lethal assistance, and economic sanctions against Russia, including Magnitsky sanctions, as a deterrent to war.

“We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” said McPherson. “Canada was the first country to recognize an independent and democratic Ukraine. We must not abandon Ukraine now.”