Canada cutting off Moscow from "most favoured nation" status will mean its exports will face 35% tariffs into Canada.
Ottawa is encouraging other nations to do the same.
Canada is also creating a new fast-track line for Ukrainians who want to come to Canada. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says they've deployed biometric kits to speed up security screening, are giving work/study permits, and they've placed no limit on how many people can come.
Canada is sending more lethal aid: Up to 4,500 M72 rocket launchers and up to 7,200 hand grenades.
Canada is also providing $1 million for high resolution, modern, satellite imagery.
Why isn't Canada waiving visas — and dropping the security checks altogether?
Minister Fraser says they're worried that pro-Russian fighters and agitators may take advantage of then open door.
Here's the full rundown of the new visa measures.
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Yesterday I wrote on a fast-moving conspiracy theory that seeks to rationalize Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and marry it with a tangle of QAnon paranoia. foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/02/ukr…
Let's look at how this theory came to be — and how it's still being promoted by Moscow.
As early as April 2020, the Putin regime was advancing the idea that American biological research abroad posed some kind of risk to Russia.
Maria Zakharova, press secretary for the Russian foreign minister, said Moscow was paying particular attention to American labs "abroad."
Pro-Kremlin disinformation channels, like StalkerZone (linked to Oleg Tsaryov, a separatist leader in Donetsk) had been amplifying this narrative before the comments, and much moreso afterwards.
This is a perfectly valid and useful point, but I kind of take issue with this being journalistic malpractice.
The 'ghost of Kyiv' and Putin's mountain lair — both tales were challenged by journalists. Did some big names share it? Sure. But few media outlets did.
The Snake Island situation is really tough: We know that Russia did shell the island, so there was valid reason to believe there had been casualties. Russian channels had been sharing images of the captured sailors — but those channels can be incredibly hard to trust.
There's going to be a certain level of mistakes made in the fog of war. Media also reported Russia's claim that it had knocked out Ukraine's air defences — turns out we were wrong to take Moscow at their word. Best you can do is correct the record and move on.
"We must not allow the truth to - once again - become the victim of war," says the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial in Kyiv, today the target of a Russian bombing campaign
"We will thoroughly collect and record evidence of crimes against humanity committed by the Russian aggressors"
Putin's campaign against Ukraine has already targeted culturally, religious, and historically significant Jewish communities. Those Ukrainians say they will defend themselves and their heritage. foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/25/ukr…
President Zelensky reports there have been civilian deaths in the bombing of the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site.
The West has faced its "never again" test. Ottawa and London spent the past four days making sure it didn't fail. politico.com/news/2022/02/2…
"Measures that were described as a 'last resort' just days ago are now moving forward with consensus," Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said just now.
Joly says she has fielded requests from Ukraine for more equipment. "Today, we are announcing that Canada will send an additional $25 million worth of protective equipment to Ukraine. And let me be clear: We will send more."
I've seen this: I don't think this is an accurate read of the situation. Kadyrov repeatedly called for war in Ukraine in recent months, and he has been gleefully cheering on Chechen troops in Ukraine in recent hours.