Russia lists another 100 Canadians it’s banned
MOSCOW • Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday that 100 Canadians have been added to the list of people banned from entering the country in response to sanctions against Russia by Canada.
A ministry statement said author Margaret Atwood, actor Jim Carrey and Amy Knight, a noted historian of the KGB, were on the banned list.
The ministry said they and the other 97, many of whom are connected to ethnic Ukrainian organizations, were banned because of involvement in “formation of (Canada’s) aggressively anti-russian course.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Monday announced new sanctions against 23 Russians whom she says have violated the human rights of opposition leaders.
She also announced $500 million for Ukraine’s military, including surveillance and communications equipment, as well as fuel and medical supplies.
The $500 million doubles the amount Ottawa announced in its budget this past spring.
“Our goal is to make sure that the troops in Ukraine on the ground have access to additional military support soon, and we’ll have more details to provide in the coming days and weeks,” Joly said.
Canada’s stance on Russia is at odds with some other G20 states, which want to maintain ties in spite of the invasion of Ukraine. China, India and South Africa have abstained from United Nations resolutions condemning Russia.
“My focus is going to be making sure that the world comes together to reinforce that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin made a terrible, terrible choice when he decided to invade a peaceful neighbouring country,” Justin Trudeau said Sunday.
Trudeau is attending the
G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. As the summit host, Indonesia has asked leaders to focus on shoring up health systems and boosting food and energy security, and has stressed the importance of focusing on consensus instead of division.
Indonesia has reportedly asked G20 countries who have been vocal against Putin to tone down the rhetoric in order to forge consensus on other issues.
“Indonesia is between a rock and a hard place,” Joly said.
“Canada’s work is to always make sure that we can bring countries along; that we can find ways to address even difficult issues, and that’s why we’ve been having many ongoing conversations with Indonesia.”
Meanwhile, the Trudeau government won’t say whether it asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet with Trudeau.
“Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine is creating food and energy crises. It’s disrupting supply chains and raising the cost of living,” Trudeau told business leaders in a Monday speech in Bali.
“Families are worried that they’re not going to be able to put food on the table, or won’t be able to heat their homes during winter.”
Trudeau was in Indonesia to meet with the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies. That includes Xi, who is making his first trip outside China since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Xi met Monday with U.S. President Joe Biden, and has announced plans to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
China’s Foreign Ministry said that between the G20 summit and the Asia-pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Thailand, Xi will also meet the leaders of Senegal and Argentina “among others, upon request.”
Trudeau and Joly would not say whether they sought a meeting with Xi.