Conservatives would renegotiate trade deal with Ukraine: MP
OTTAWA — A Tory member of Parliament says a future Conservative government would renegotiate Canada’s trade deal with Ukraine so it contains no reference to carbon pricing.
A government bill ushering in a modernized version of the deal passed the House of Commons last week, and the Opposition Conservatives were the only party to vote against it.
That’s not because they don’t support Ukraine, according to MPs, but because the deal says both countries will promote carbon pricing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly attacked Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives for their position, accusing them of mimicking Republicans in the U.S. who want to slash Ukraine aid.
Poilievre has denied the party’s support for Ukraine is waning, and instead accused Trudeau of using the issue to distract from the mounting economic concerns on his plate.
In the face of sustained criticism, Conservative MPs — many of whom hail from Western Canada, a region home to many Ukrainian Canadians — have been pushing in recent weeks for more weapons to be sent to Ukraine.
Manitoba MP James Bezan touted that support during a recent interview to a network that serves the Ukrainian Canadian community.
He explained that the reference to carbon pricing in the trade deal was a Liberal “poison pill” Tories couldn’t support.
“We will not enshrine carbon tax in any of our trade deals, including the one with Ukraine,” Bezan, the party’s national defence critic, told Kontakt Ukrainian TV.
“We form government in the next election, we will renegotiate that free-trade agreement.”
He said the new and “better” agreement would also “make sure” that there is more “insurance in there as well.”
A future Conservative government would also ensure that Canada and Ukraine’s defence systems can better collaborate, Bezan said, so Ukraine has the capacity to build its own weapons.
After last week’s vote, Poilievre said Conservatives wouldn’t honour what he called a “carbon tax amendment,” but stopped short of outlining what he planned to do about the deal.