Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Trudeau calls on EU to further aid Ukraine

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Mar, 2022 09:54 AM
  • Trudeau calls on EU to further aid Ukraine

BRUSSELS - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making a plea to European leaders to come together as democracies in the face of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and tackle rising uncertainties citizens have about the future.

Speaking to European parliamentarians this afternoon, the prime minister says those economic uncertainties have percolated for years, but are now stoked by rising global inflation.

Trudeau says economic frustrations are threatening the stability of the world and driving a deep uncertainty about the future and distrust of government.

He also says democracies face a new threat from Russian President Valdimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.

Trudeau says Canada stands with the people of Ukraine as Europe confronts its biggest security threat since the Second World War.

He says Western countries must collectively provide more humantarian aid for families affected by the war, send military equipment and lethal aid to Ukraine, and further tighten economic sanctions on Putin and his enablers in Russia and Belarus.

The speech comes on the first day of a whirlwind trip to Brussels and Trudeau's second visit to the continent this month.

The speech is Trudeau's second to European parliamentarians, following a 2017 address that was meant as a shot in the arm for a continent reeling from Britain's vote a year earlier to leave the European Union amid the election of Donald Trump in the United States.

Two weeks ago, Trudeau developed a similar theme in a speech to an international audience at the Munich Security Conference, where he called for a recommitment to democracy in the face of rising authoritarianism.

The speech was a sequel of sorts to the 2017 address the prime minister gave in Hamburg, Germany, that outlined his foreign-policy vision and his often professed faith in the rules-based international order.

Trudeau will join other NATO leaders on Thursday to co-ordinate the military alliance's response to Russia's attack on Ukraine and will meet with fellow G7 leaders before returning to Canada on Friday.

Trudeau toured Europe two weeks ago, where he held meetings in London, Berlin, Warsaw and Poland, and visited Canadian troops leading a NATO multinational battlegroup in Latvia.

Trudeau will face pressure to boost Canada's defence budget, which according to NATO estimates stands at 1.39 per cent of the country's gross domestic product in 2021.

"Ukraine is helping to make spending on defence more palatable for Canadians," said Andrea Charron, director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba.

"I think we need ground-based, anti-aircraft defence capabilities desperately and a replacement for the (CF-18 fighter jets)."

Prior to leaving Ottawa on Tuesday, Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about "further international assistance ahead of the upcoming NATO and G7 meetings," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

"Both leaders called on Russia to stop targeting civilians, to withdraw its military forces from Ukraine, and to engage in diplomacy with Ukraine."

In a tweet, Zelenskyy said he specifically spoke about the "humanitarian catastrophe" unfolding in the besieged city of Mariupol, and "the importance of effective security guarantees" for Ukraine.

MORE National ARTICLES

Transit Police investigate after bus operator bear sprayed in Vancouver

Transit Police investigate after bus operator bear sprayed in Vancouver
The driver was immediately overcome by the effects of the spray as his ability to breathe became impaired. He was treated on scene by the Vancouver Fire Department and while he did not suffer any serious physical injuries, the incident continues to have an impact on his mental well being.    

Transit Police investigate after bus operator bear sprayed in Vancouver

Courts will have to consider COVID delays: experts

Courts will have to consider COVID delays: experts
The pandemic halted in-person court proceedings for months in many provinces over the last two years and put jury trials on hold for long periods of time, exacerbating existing backlogs. Measures such as virtual hearings were implemented to minimize the impact of the pandemic, though not all cases could proceed remotely.    

Courts will have to consider COVID delays: experts

689 COVID19 cases over 3 days

689 COVID19 cases over 3 days
There are 359 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 51 are in intensive care. In the past 72 hours, 14 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,946.

689 COVID19 cases over 3 days

New EV registrations hit Canadian record in 2021

New EV registrations hit Canadian record in 2021
Statistics Canada says 65,253 new battery-only and plug-in hybrid electric cars were registered in the first nine months of 2021, more than the number registered across 12 months in any previous year.    

New EV registrations hit Canadian record in 2021

B.C. aims to curb catalytic converter thefts

B.C. aims to curb catalytic converter thefts
The Insurance Corporation of B.C. says converter theft claims have climbed from 89 in 2017 to 1,953 last year, totalling more than $4 million in claim costs for 2021.

B.C. aims to curb catalytic converter thefts

Pandemic stalls B.C. associate physician plan

Pandemic stalls B.C. associate physician plan
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia proposed the new role of associate physician in April 2020 to address the province's health-care needs, allowing doctors who weren't eligible for a full licence to work under physician supervision.    

Pandemic stalls B.C. associate physician plan