TORONTO, March 1 (Reuters) – Canada ratcheted up pressure on Russia on Tuesday for its invasion of Ukraine by shutting ports to Russian-owned ships and saying that holdings of all Russian oligarchs and companies in the country are under review.
Canada has announced a slew of measures to isolate Russia, including imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, closing Canadian airspace to Russian planes, banning oil imports and forbidding Canadian financial institutions from dealing with the Russian central bank, acting in tandem with other Western countries. read more
Ottawa expanded its crude oil import ban to include refined petroleum products and “other petroleum products from Russia,” the country’s natural resources minister tweeted on Tuesday night.
Earlier, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that while the number of Russian ships entering Canadian waters and ports is “small,” there will still be an impact, especially with other countries doing the same.
Russia represents less than 2% of Port of Montreal’s annual containerized volumes, and the ban will have little commercial impact, a port spokesperson said.
Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest, said the number of Russian-flagged vessels calling there is minimal. In the past, those have traded in crude oil, canola oil and copper concentrates, a spokesperson said.
Canada is tracking three Russian-flagged vessels off the East Coast, one of which is a cargo vessel, a government official told Reuters.
Canada is also scrutinizing holdings of all Russian oligarchs and Russian companies in the country, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Tuesday. “We are reviewing them and everything is on the table,” she added.
Canada is sending 1,600 bulletproof vests and almost 400,000 meal rations to Ukraine.
Canada imported C$2.14 billion ($1.68 billion) worth of goods from Russia in 2021, Statistics Canada data showed, with metals and minerals among the most valuable categories. It imported C$289 million worth of Russian energy products last year, according to the agency.
($1 = 1.2738 Canadian dollars)
Canada to refer ICC to probe alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly delivers a speech during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, following the Russian invasion in Ukraine, in Geneva, Switzerland February 28, 2022. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS
GENEVA, March 1 (Reuters) – Canada has decided to refer the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russian forces in Ukraine, its government said on Tuesday.
The office of the ICC prosecutor on Monday said it will seek court approval to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine, just days after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. read more
“We are working with other ICC member states to take this significant action as a result of numerous allegations of the commission of serious international crimes in Ukraine by Russian forces,” Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly, said in a statement.
“The ICC has our full support and confidence. We call on Russia to cooperate with the court.”
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation”.
The referral by a member state will fast-track an investigation by allowing the prosecutor to skip having to seek court approval, and according to a diplomatic source will shave months off the process of starting an investigation.
Joly earlier spoke to reporters in Geneva after taking part in a walk-out of a virtual speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the U.N. Human Rights Council, and had said that the country would petition the ICC against Russia. read more
The post Canada Shuts Ports to Russian Ships Over Ukraine Invasion, Wants War Crimes Probe appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.