Tories bristle at Liberal charge they're deserting Ukraine with vote against bill
Conservatives voted against update to Canada-Ukraine trade deal
Federal Conservatives are defending their decision to vote against a bill that implements an update to the Canada-Ukraine trade deal, saying they're allowed to oppose parts of the agreement and doing so brings no harm to the war-torn nation.
Tory members of Parliament mounted that argument as Liberals continued to charge that the Tories' vote signals their abandonment of Ukraine, and two national Ukrainian-Canadian organizations voiced their disappointment.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has insisted that the move to vote against the government legislation had everything to do with language in the negotiated agreement that says both countries will "promote carbon pricing."
He asserts that his MPs were not rejecting the very idea of upgrading the deal with Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion since 2022.
But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have alleged that the Tories are following in the footsteps of some U.S. Republicans who are signalling less support for assisting the Ukrainian war effort.
The acrimony continued on Tuesday when MPs on the House of Commons trade committee conducted a clause-by-clause study of the bill.
Conservatives took turns trying to amend the legislation to give Ukraine more access to exports of lethal weapons and nuclear equipment.
The attempts were rejected by the committee chair, and when Tories requested recorded votes, Liberal and NDP MPs voted them down.
Kyle Seeback, the Conservatives' international trade critic, said it was "shameful" for Liberals to liken their vote against the bill to support for Russia.
Their dissent "did nothing" to impede the bill's progress, he added. A majority of committee members voted on Tuesday to approve the bill and send it back to the House of Commons, though Tories again voted against it.
"Guess what? It just got out of committee," said Seeback.
"It's causing no harm whatsoever. We get to oppose bad pieces of legislation. We get to oppose your ideological obsession with carbon taxes, carbon prices and the misery they've imposed on Canadians."
Earlier in the meeting, Garnett Genuis, the Tories' international development critic, said it is also reasonable for people to disagree about parts of free-trade agreements.
Genuis is accusing the Liberals of engaging in "outrageous hyperbole" about the Conservatives' stance, saying that speaks to the governing party's "desperation."Canadian officials have said that the carbon-pricing language in the agreement, which Ukraine's president signed during his September visit to Ottawa, is not legally binding.
Ukraine has already had a carbon price in place for more than a decade, and its ambassador is asking that Canada pass the bill.
The national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an advocacy organization for local Ukrainian communities, says it hopes the Tories will reconsider their position.
"The Ukrainian Canadian Congress was disappointed that the official Opposition unanimously voted against legislation that would update the Canada Ukraine Free Trade Agreement," Alexandra Chyczij said in a statement.
"We call on the official Opposition to revisit this position before third reading."
On Tuesday, the organization posted on social media to encourage Canadians to contact their MPs to vote in favour of the bill.
"We need your help to make sure free trade modernization passes the House unanimously," it said on its website.
Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce president Zenon Potichny told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that he, too, hopes the Tories will revisit their positionso that Parliament can approve the updated agreement with unanimous support.
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