Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending Canada’s decision to grant a Canadian company an exemption from federal sanctions that allows them to return turbines from a Russian pipeline that supplies natural gas to Germany.
The prime minister said that while it was a “very difficult decision” Russia was trying to “weaponize energy as a way to create a divide between allies” and that Canada’s move was made to help Germany in the short term as it and other European countries are working to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
“Canada has been one of the strongest countries in the world in support of Ukraine,” Trudeau said during a press conference in Kingston, Ontario. on Wednesday, pledging continued support such as sanctions, while citing billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid offered so far.
The turbines, part of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, were sent to Siemens Canada in Montreal for repairs, but after the federal government imposed sanctions on Russian state energy company Gazprom, the company was restricted from sending the equipment back.
On Saturday, Canada announced it had decided to grant a “time-limited and revocable permit” to allow the equipment to be returned.
Canada faced pressure from both Russia and Germany to return the turbines to Germany, fearing the risk of further energy instability. The energy giant claimed it needed the turbines to keep supplying Germany after it had already significantly reduced the flow of gas through the pipeline, prompting Germans to express concern about a lack of back-up supplies.
“Countries in Europe, especially Germany, have massively stepped up their support for Ukraine as well, and we have to stick together, especially in the face of Russia’s attempts to weaponize energy policy, to divide us,” Trudeau said, adding that Canada’s sanctions were designed to target and punish “Putin and his cronies”, not other allied countries.
“And that is exactly why we have taken this difficult decision, to stand by our allies to ensure that in Europe – not only governments, but also the population – they remain steadfast and generous in their support for Ukraine.”
UKRAINIAN CONGRESS TRYING TO REMOVE AUTHORIZATION
The controversial decision – although supported by the US and the EU – was strongly condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as federal opposition parties. And now it faces a legal challenge.
On Tuesday evening, the World Ukrainian Congress announced that it had filed for a judicial review of the decision in the Federal Court, arguing that the granting of the permit was “not reasonable, transparent or properly authorized.”
“Over the past few days, the Ukrainian World Congress along with the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress have been pleading with the Government of Canada to reverse the exemption… To date, our efforts have been unsuccessful and we have no choice but to take legal action,” the Congress said in a statement.
“This is not just about a turbine, or possibly many turbines, to support Russia’s energy exports, it’s about continually giving in to Russian blackmail. This could be Siemens’ moment,” Ukrainian World Congress President and CEO Paul Grod said of the permit revocation effort.
Zelensky said Canada’s decision was more than a wrong decision to hand over the turbines, but was an “absolutely unacceptable exception to the sanctions regime against Russia” that set a troubling precedent.
Although initially billed by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson as a “time-limited and revocable permit”, the deal allows the operation of six turbines, which his office says “follow a regular maintenance schedule” that can be followed for two years , with the possibility of the permission being revoked at any time.
Backing Canada’s decision to return the turbines, the European Commission said it “removed one of the excuses used by Russia for reduced gas flows”.
“The Commission continues to work closely with its international partners, including Canada and the United States, to ensure Europe’s energy security for the coming winter,” the Commission said.
Along with the decision to return key pieces of pipeline infrastructure, the federal government announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas sector, with Trudeau promising on Wednesday that “increasingly tough” sanctions are to come.
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