After banning Russian planes from entering Canadian airspace, Ottawa now bans Russian-owned or Russian-registered ships from operating in Canadian waters and ports.
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“Russia must be held accountable for its invasion of Ukraine,” said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
A government source said three Russian vessels are currently under surveillance off the country’s east coast, one of which is a freighter.
Alghabra acknowledged during a scrum that “few ships” come to Canada directly from Russia, but a number of Russian-registered vessels were making stops in Canada, mostly in the east of the country.
The government had not provided a specific figure on the arrivals of Russian ships in the country’s ports at the time of this writing. The ban is expected to come into effect later this week through orders issued under the Special Economic Measures Act.
A spokesperson for the Port of Montreal indicated in an email that “the announcement made by the Minister of Transport of Canada will have little commercial impact on the Port of Montreal, as Russia represents less than 2% of our containerized volumes. annuals”.
Also on the sea front, the three largest shipping companies, namely Maersk, of Denmark, MSC, of Switzerland, as well as CMA-CGM, of France, announced on Tuesday that their ships will stop serving Russian ports.
“As the stability and security of our operations are already directly and indirectly affected by the sanctions, new Maersk sea and land bookings to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended,” the company said in a statement. .
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on countries around the world to ban Russia from “all ports, all channels and all airports in the world”.
The United Kingdom is another country that has banned Russian ships from using its ports.
On Sunday, Canada announced a ban on Russian planes entering its airspace, a measure that was announced simultaneously with a host of European countries.
The United States resists the idea of closing its skies to Russian planes. The country has called on Americans in Russia to leave as quickly as possible due to airspace that is becoming increasingly inaccessible to Russian aircraft.
• With the collaboration of Martin Jolicoeur, Journal de Montréal
Ottawa to donate $100 million in humanitarian aid
Ottawa announced $100 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and neighboring countries which have been the scene of a growing humanitarian crisis and refugee crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This aid will provide emergency health services (including trauma care), protection, support to displaced populations and essential life-saving services, including shelter, water and food. sanitary facilities, as well as food,” Global Affairs said in a statement.
Canada had provided $25 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of 2022, including $15 million “granted to experienced humanitarian partners in Ukraine”.
Added to this is the promise to provide up to $620 million in loans to ensure Ukraine’s financial viability.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine could create the largest migration movement since the Syrian crisis in 2015, and could even exceed it.
The most recent information on the ground indicates that 500,000 refugees have left Ukraine less than a week after the start of the invasion.
Canada is preparing to facilitate the process for Ukrainian immigrants trying to settle in the country.
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Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com