QUESTION PERIOD — Global Affairs
Canada-Russia Relations
June 19, 2025
Senator Gold, Canada’s ambassador to Russia Dr. Sarah Taylor recently tweeted a commemoration of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R., Stalin’s repressive totalitarian regime responsible for the deaths of millions in gulags and the mass starvation known as the Holodomor.
Among others, human rights activist Marcus Kolga objected to the Canadian ambassador’s tweet, saying:
. . . my grandfather was among thousands of Estonians imprisoned in the Soviet GULAG — targeted for who they were and what they believed. Hundreds of thousands of others — Ukrainians, Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians — were swept up too. Many never came home.
Senator Gold, Russia’s current murderous dictator, Putin, has sustained his brutal invasion of Ukraine for three years. The killing and crushing misery continue daily. Putin has stated his intention to reclaim Ukraine and other now-sovereign territories and absorb them into a new, unified U.S.S.R. Why on earth is Canada’s ambassador celebrating this?
This government and previous governments have been strong and unwavering in their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unjustified war of aggression.
The government demonstrated that support clearly through its invitation to Prime Minister Zelenskyy to the G7 and equally — if not more importantly — with the strong sanctions that it has introduced against over 3,000 individuals and entities, including Mr. Putin himself, his inner circle, Russian banks and members of the Russian Security Council and nuclear sector.
Exactly. This chamber has also passed motions decrying Putin’s Russian invasion. Senators have given impassioned speeches supporting Ukraine and its fight for freedom. If freedom and democracy are truly integral to Canadian foreign policy, our taxpayer-funded ambassador should not signal support for a regime that has killed millions of people. Given Putin’s bloodthirsty tyranny, it is increasingly difficult to justify even having our ambassador in Russia.
Could she at least refrain from implying that Canada might support this Russian madman’s imperial ambitions?
There is no question about where Canada stands with respect to the current government and its actions in Russia. There is no equivocation from this government in its ongoing support for Ukraine and those suffering under actual aggression or threats of it from Russia.
