Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was challenged on Thursday by her claim that the federal government made the decision to grant a two-year waiver from federal sanctions, allowing a Canadian company to return repaired turbines from a Russian-German gas pipeline, to ” call Putin’s bluff. .” “Russia has weaponized energy by cutting gas flows to Europe. We were hoping to use Canada’s role in maintaining the Nord Stream 1 turbines to do just that,” Joly said Thursday during her testimony at context of parliamentary hearings on Canada’s decision to return. Russian-owned pipeline components. The foreign minister said that before Canada’s decision was made, both she and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson discussed the issue with Germany and Ukraine, encouraged discussion between the two countries and tried to find alternatives, including an ultimately deemed unsustainable route for natural gas. flow through Ukraine. “Knowing that the wind turbines are being repaired in Canada, the German Chancellor contacted us directly begging us to call Putin’s bluff,” Joly said, continuing an effort to tout Canada’s efforts to support Ukraine to date, from highlighting the range of sanctions imposed on the various tranches of military, economic and humanitarian aid. But opposition MPs were quick to question that reasoning, pressing the minister with questions about why the idea of calling it “Putin’s bluff” had only recently been floated and why Canada didn’t think it would be foreseeable that Russia would continue to use energy as a weapon no matter what happened to the turbines.
“This whole decision was based on the idea that there is any confidence, any belief that Putin would actually continue to supply gas to Germany… He’s lying. We know Putin is lying… Why call the bluff as you say, when realistically, he’s already told us, he’s already told the world what he’s up to?” asked NDP MP and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson. “We already knew the bluff was there. So now what we’ve done is we’ve weakened the sanctions regime, we’ve weakened Canada’s stance with Ukraine and yet we haven’t actually helped the gas get to Germany.” Wilkinson testified alongside Joly at the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday, talking about the events that unfolded before the decision, including the idea that Canada’s sanctions regime was intended to directly punish Russia and not indirectly endanger European economies. “The trap Putin was trying to set with the Nord Stream pipeline was obvious. Do not return the turbines so that Canada and the West are likely to be blamed for reducing the flow of natural gas to Europe and risk splitting the alliance or return the turbine and the risk of a perceived weakening of the alliances’ resolve on sanctions,” Wilkinson said. During a heated exchange in which Conservative MP and ethics critic James Bezan suggested Putin was “playing chess” while Canada’s government “played checkers” and “overplayed,” Wilkinson denied Canada was allowing Gazprom to put more money in Russia. war machine.” “I think Mr. Bezan you misunderstood a lot of the things that were going on,” Wilkinson said, asking what the Conservatives would have done differently. “It’s very easy to make those kinds of comments.” Before two of her ministerial counterparts took the hot seat, Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Thursday that the federal government supported Ukraine “fully” despite the controversial move. “I’ve been in touch [Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov] this morning and we continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and our counterparts in the Ukrainian government,” Anand said. “They recognize that we stand with Ukraine shoulder to shoulder, period.” After announcing that Canadian Armed Forces personnel will deploy next week to take part in a training mission for Ukrainian soldiers in the UK, Canada’s defense minister was asked about Canada listening to Ukraine’s requests for military aid while still returning it parties, which the Ukrainians have will indirectly allow Russia to continue funding its war. “We will continue to impose severe costs on the Russian regime in response to Putin’s illegal and unprovoked war on Ukraine. At the same time, it is important for us to support our European friends and allies as they work to end their dependence on Russian gas imports as quickly as possible,” Anand said. Committee members voted in July to launch a special summer study into the federal government’s decision to circumvent Canadian sanctions, expressing a desire to hear from those involved in the decision about how it was made and what its implications and ramifications are. . Canada’s decision to allow the return of these turbines has been met with mixed reviews. While it has been supported by allies such as the US and the EU, it has been roundly condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as the federal opposition parties that pushed for these hearings.
PRINCIPAL DIPLOMATS TESTIFY
Testimony continued Thursday afternoon, with Ukrainian Canadian Congress Speaker Alexandra Chyczij voicing her longstanding opposition to Canada’s decision, suggesting the granting of the permit has given Russia leverage it will continue to try to exploit in the energy sector. “I think it’s always been about sanctions, not about the pipeline or the turbine. And we allowed ourselves, Canada allowed itself, to participate in the blackmail that resulted in the lifting of those sanctions,” he told the committee. Her organisation, working alongside the Ukrainian World Congress, sought to challenge the decision in the Federal Court, arguing that the granting of the license was “not reasonable, transparent or properly authorised”. Next, MPs will hear testimony from the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Yuliia Kovaliv, the Ambassador of Germany to Canada Sabine Sparwasser and the Ambassador of the European Union to Canada Melita Gabric. It is likely, given Germany and the EU’s positions on the issue, that Sparwasser and Gabric will offer insight into the reasoning behind their support for Canada’s decision, which they have previously expressed as a short-term necessity as Germany and other European countries are working to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and natural gas. Instead, Kovaliv plans to restate Ukraine’s position that Canada is setting a dangerous precedent and renew calls for Kiev to overturn the decision, according to the Canadian Press.
TURBINE LICENSE ISSUED
The issue arose last month after Wilkinson announced that Canada would grant Siemens Canada a “limited and revocable permit,” allowing the company to return turbines — part of Gazprom’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline — that had been sent to Montreal for repairs. After the federal government sanctioned Russian state energy company Gazprom as part of a widening economic sanctions program in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, Siemens Canada was limited to sending the equipment back. As a result, Canada faced pressure from both Russia and Germany to return one of the turbines to Germany ahead of scheduled maintenance which has since gone ahead. Wilkinson said Thursday that in June, Siemens Canada submitted an application to Global Affairs Canada with an urgent request to continue scheduled maintenance on the turbines at its facility, saying it was the only facility in the world capable of providing the necessary service. Gazprom claimed it needed the turbines to continue supplying Germany after it had already significantly reduced the flow of natural gas through the pipeline. This prompted the Germans to express concern that Russia could use not having the turbines as a reason to further cut off gas supplies, leaving Germany without an adequate supply. But since the turbine was returned, Russia has further cut gas supplies and has not installed the key piece of pipeline infrastructure it said it needed. According to the Associated Press, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inspected the turbine on Wednesday in Germany and said there were no problems in banning the part from returning to Russia, except for a lack of information from Gazprom. “With the issue of turbine maintenance off the table, Putin has nothing to hide behind. When the gas flow slows down, the world now knows for sure that it was Putin’s decision alone,” he said Jolly on Thursday. Although it was not made clear by the Liberal government at the time the deal was announced, the permit allows six turbines to be sent back and forth for routine maintenance over the next two years, with the option of being revoked at any time. There has been no indication to date that Canada is ready to do so. Canada strongly defended the move, saying that while it was a difficult decision, it was necessary to push back Russia’s efforts to weaponize energy and sow division among Western allies, as well as to ensure that Germany and other European allies are able to “remain firm and generous in their support for Ukraine,” which would become more difficult if their economies felt the impact of dwindling energy resources.
title: “Russian Turbine Hearings Ministers Defend Permit " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “Thomas Coyt”
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was challenged on Thursday by her claim that the federal government’s decision to grant a two-year exemption from federal sanctions, allowing a Canadian company to return repaired turbines from a Russian-German gas pipeline, was done for to “call Putin’s bluff”. “Russia has weaponized energy by cutting gas flows to Europe. We were hoping to use Canada’s role in maintaining the Nord Stream 1 turbines to do just that,” Joly said Thursday during her testimony at context of parliamentary hearings on Canada’s decision to return. Russian-owned pipeline components. The foreign minister said that before Canada made the decision, both she and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson discussed the issue with Germany and Ukraine, encouraged discussion between the two countries and tried to find alternatives, including one that was eventually considered unsustainable pathway for natural gas. flow through Ukraine. “Knowing that the wind turbines are being repaired in Canada, the German Chancellor contacted us directly begging us to call Putin’s bluff,” Joly said, continuing an effort to tout Canada’s efforts to support Ukraine to date, from highlighting the range of sanctions imposed on the various tranches of military, economic and humanitarian aid. But opposition MPs were quick to question that reasoning, pressing the minister with questions about why the idea of calling it “Putin’s bluff” had only recently been floated and why Canada didn’t think it would be foreseeable that Russia would continue to use energy as a weapon no matter what happened to the turbines. “This whole decision was based on the idea that there is any confidence, any belief that Putin would actually continue to supply gas to Germany… He’s lying. We know Putin is lying… Why call the bluff as you say, when realistically, he’s already told us, he’s already told the world what he’s up to?” asked NDP MP and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson. “We already knew the bluff was there. So now what we’ve done is we’ve weakened the sanctions regime, we’ve weakened Canada’s stance with Ukraine and yet we haven’t actually helped the gas get to Germany.”
CANADA OVERCOME: THE CONSERVATIVES
Wilkinson testified alongside Joly at the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday, talking about the events that unfolded before the decision, including the idea that Canada’s sanctions regime was intended to directly punish Russia and not indirectly endanger European economies. “The trap Putin was trying to set with the Nord Stream pipeline was obvious. Do not return the turbines so that Canada and the West are likely to be blamed for reducing the flow of natural gas to Europe and risk splitting the alliance or return the turbine and the risk of a perceived weakening of the alliances’ resolve on sanctions,” Wilkinson said. During a heated exchange in which Conservative MP and ethics critic James Bezan suggested Putin was “playing chess” while Canada’s government “played checkers” and “overplayed,” Wilkinson denied Canada was allowing Gazprom to put more money in Russia. war machine.” “I think Mr. Bezan you misunderstood a lot of the things that were going on,” Wilkinson said, asking what the Conservatives would have done differently. “It’s very easy to make those kinds of comments.” Committee members voted in July to launch a special summer study into the federal government’s decision to circumvent Canadian sanctions, expressing a desire to hear from those involved in the decision about how it was made and what its implications and ramifications are. .
‘CALLED THE WRONG BLUFF’: UCC CHAPTER
The marathon committee hearing continued after the ministers’ testimony, with Ukrainian Canadian Congress President Alexandra Chyczij explaining to MPs her organization’s opposition to Canada’s decision, suggesting that granting the permit has given Russia leverage that will continue to trying to exploit in relation to energy sector. “I think it’s always been about sanctions, not about the pipeline or the turbine. And we allowed ourselves, Canada allowed itself, to participate in the blackmail that resulted in the lifting of those sanctions,” he told the committee. Chyczij questioned whether the federal government did – as it claims – everything possible to avoid the lifting of sanctions on Gazprom, and whether there is justification for continuing the license given Russia’s continued stranglehold on energy supplies. “It is absolutely clear that Russia engineered the Nord Stream 1 disaster to test the resolve of Germany, Canada and our sanctions allies. And we failed that test. Germany and Canada did not understand what the test was . This is about sanctions. section on sanctions, not just about Nord Stream 1… So when Chancellor Scholz says he called a bluff, he called the wrong bluff.” Her organisation, working alongside the Ukrainian World Congress, sought to challenge the decision in the Federal Court, arguing that the granting of the license was “not reasonable, transparent or properly authorised”.
AMBASSADORS EXPRESS DIFFERENT VIEWS
Canada’s decision to allow the return of these turbines has been met with mixed reviews internationally. While it has been supported by allies such as the US and the EU, it has been roundly condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Further examining the differing views on the issue, MPs also heard testimony from Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada Yuliia Kovaliv, Germany’s Ambassador to Canada Sabine Sparwasser and European Union Ambassador to Canada Melita Gabric. Both Sparwasser and Gabric offered insight into their rationale for supporting Canada’s decision as a short-term necessity as Germany and other European countries work to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas. “We appreciate Canada’s investment in European security and its commitment to a rules-based international order,” Gabrich said. “With the return of this section, one of the excuses used by Russia for reduced gas flows has been removed.” Sparwasser told the committee that while the debate going on about turbines is important, with valid arguments on both sides, it should not be forgotten that it is a debate between allies who are united in their overall goal of not allowing Russia to win the war in Ukraine. “No decision is perfect. None was easy. It was only after much soul-searching that Germany asked Canada to allow a waiver of its national sanctions regime. And the Canadian government did, after difficult discussions. We are very grateful about the decision,” said the German ambassador. Instead, Kovaliv reiterated Ukraine’s position that Canada is setting a dangerous precedent and renewed calls for Kiev to reverse the decision, arguing that Ukraine would be able to provide substitute natural gas despite being attacked. “This waiver is not a one-time decision. Maintaining all six wind turbines in Canada will strengthen Russia’s ability for years to come to harness energy and derail efforts to address climate change, and will be done with the blessing of Canada,” Kovaliv said. . “It is now more than clear that the additional five turbines allowed to remain in Canada will be turned by Russia into tools of humiliation.” “We urge you: don’t take the bait. You didn’t have to waive sanctions to call the Putin regime’s bluff… You can just Google the story. This logic of appeasement has already failed to prevent war in Ukraine,” the ambassador said of Ukraine. .
“PUTIN HAS NOTHING TO HIDE BEHIND”
The issue arose last month after Wilkinson announced that Canada would grant Siemens Canada a “limited and revocable permit,” allowing the company to return turbines — part of Gazprom’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline — that had been sent to Montreal for repairs. After the federal government sanctioned Russian state energy company Gazprom as part of a widening economic sanctions program in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, Siemens Canada was limited to sending the equipment back. As a result, Canada faced pressure from both Russia and Germany to return one of the turbines to Germany ahead of scheduled maintenance which has since gone ahead. Wilkinson said Thursday that in June, Siemens Canada submitted an application to Global Affairs Canada with an urgent request to continue scheduled maintenance on the turbines at its facility, saying it was the only facility in the world capable of providing the necessary service. Gazprom claimed it needed the turbines to continue supplying Germany after it had already significantly reduced the flow of natural gas through the pipeline. This prompted the Germans to express concern that Russia could use not having the turbines as a reason to further cut off gas supplies, leaving Germany without an adequate supply. But since the turbine was returned, Russia has further cut gas supplies and has not installed the key piece of pipeline infrastructure it said it needed. According to the Associated Press, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inspected the turbine on Wednesday in Germany and said there were no problems in banning the part from returning to Russia, except for a lack of information from Gazprom. “With the issue of turbine maintenance off the table, Putin has nothing to hide behind. When the gas flow slows down, the world now knows for sure that it was Putin’s decision alone,” he said Jolly on Thursday. Although it was not made clear by the Liberal government at the time the deal was announced, the permit allows the movement of six turbines to be sent back and forth for regular maintenance…
