The proposal was initiated by NDP MP Heather McPherson after the question period. It is not binding and does not require the Canadian government to take action. The proposal states that the killing of Ukrainian civilians, the desecration of corpses, the violent transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian territory and the torture and rape committed by Russian soldiers constitute genocide. After the vote, McPherson said she was pleased to see her pass with the support of all parties and MPs in the Commonwealth. He said he introduced the proposal as a way to push the liberal government to take stronger action against Russia, especially through sanctions. “The sanctions were implemented very slowly, very, very slowly, … they gave the Russian oligarchs the opportunity to hide their wealth, so that they were not appropriate,” he said. McPherson also said she wanted to see more federal funding go to the International Criminal Court to ensure it has the resources needed to investigate atrocities in Ukraine. “From my point of view as a Member of the House of Commons, this is a tool to urge our government to do more,” he said. “This is a tool to say that the conflict in Ukraine is not over, that the support we provide was not enough and that we need to do more for the people of Ukraine.” NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona, Heather McPherson, raises a procedural issue to submit a proposal for Ukraine to the House of Commons on Wednesday. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden said Russia’s actions in Ukraine were genocide. He later stated that he did not give a legal opinion and that he would leave it to legal experts to make a final decision. Biden said he used the word “genocide” because it had become clearer that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to “eradicate the idea that he might be Ukrainian.” Reuters reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov told reporters during a teleconference that Russia “finds this kind of attempt to distort the situation unacceptable” and that such words are “hard to accept by a president of the United States, a country who has committed very good crimes lately “. Following Biden’s comments, Prime Minister Justin Trindade said he believed it was “absolutely right” that “more people” use the word “genocide” to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine. McPherson said she introduced the proposal because Trinto’s comments did not go far enough. “One of the things we see with this government is that they are very good at saying, ‘Well, you know, it seems it can be – it smells like, you know, anything.’ But no action was taken,” he said. “Today… they had to stand in Parliament and say that, yes, this is genocide.” ATTENTION: Former Ukrainian minister reacts to proposed changes to Canadian sanctions law

Canada urges G7 allies to enact sanctions that would allow the seizure and redistribution of foreign assets subject to sanctions

Former Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan joins Power & Politics to discuss the extent of the damage caused by Russia’s invasion of the country. 7:26
Earlier this month, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino announced that the RCMP was sending more officers to the International Criminal Court to help investigate allegations that war crimes and crimes against humanity are taking place in Ukraine. The seven special investigators were sent to the International Criminal Court [ICC] were in addition to the three RCMP special investigators already deployed to the ICC investigation teams, a government official told CBC News. The additional investigators were assigned at the request of the ICC prosecutor’s office for assistance.