Zelenskyy to address Canadian parliament
Ottawa sending $50M more in military aid
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address Canada's Parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday, as he pledged more weapons to Ukraine for its battle against Russia.
Trudeau was in Germany for a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of a tour of European countries that will take him to Poland on Thursday before returning home to Canada. The Prime Minister's Office said Trudeau will also be meeting with U.S. Vice-president Kamala Harris in Poland on Thursday evening to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
In Berlin, Trudeau announced Canada would be sending an additional $50 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine, including Canadian-made cameras for surveillance drones. He said the world needs to do as much as it can to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, because it represents a much broader threat.
“He represents a threat to democracy, to security and to peace in Europe and around the world,” Trudeau said.
Canada previously said it was shipping non-lethal equipment such as body vests and helmets, as well as more than $10 million in weapons such as machine-guns, rocket launchers and hand grenades.
Trudeau said while there have been challenges getting the aid to Ukraine he is confident allies can find ways to keep the supplies going.
“There are challenges at the borders in terms of getting equipment securely across and into Ukrainian hands, but we are working through that with partners alongside all allies who are facing the logistical challenges that are real but not insurmountable.”
From Berlin, Trudeau spoke by phone to Zelenskyy to inform him of additional aid Canada is sending. The prime minister said Zelenskyy accepted an invitation to address Parliament. Zelenskyy addressed the British Parliament virtually Tuesday.
The House of Commons is currently not scheduled to sit until March 21 and there were no details yet on precisely when Zelenskyy would speak to MPS.
On Twitter, Zelenskyy said the conversation with Trudeau focused on how to increase sanctions and pressure on Russia.
“Agreed on further diplomatic steps,” he said. “Canada stands with Ukraine. We feel it every day.”
It was Trudeau's first conversation with the Ukrainian leader in six days.
“President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people who are demonstrating so much courage and resilience — they're not only defending their country, they're defending the democratic values that are so important to all of us,” said Trudeau in a speech to the Munich Security Conference, a Berlin-based international think-tank.
“They're standing up to authoritarianism. And Canada and Germany stand with them.”
At the press conference in Berlin, Trudeau was asked about supplying Germany and other European nations with more oil and gas to reduce their dependence on Russia. Even as the conflict rages in Ukraine, Germany is still buying oil and gas from Russia and Scholz has said there is no viable alternative in the short term.
Trudeau said they discussed energy, but also talked about both countries broader goals to reach net zero over time.
“We know there is a continued need for oil and gas that has been heightened because of the conflict with Russia,” he said. “We also talked about ways where we can partner not just in the short and medium term on energy supplies, but also staying focused every step of the way on that transition towards renewables, towards hydrogen, towards cleaner sources of energy, which is something that Canadians are committed to, something that Germans are committed to.”