Canada criticized for ‘soft, tentative language’ amid Ukraine-Russia crisis

The criticism comes from a former Canadian analyst in Europe who was on the diplomatic front lines of the political tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

As the Trudeau government wraps its cabinet retreat Wednesday, its handling of the Ukraine-Russia crisis faces growing criticism for being soft and superficial while rendering Canada missing in action with its allies.

The criticism comes from not only the Conservative Opposition but from a former Canadian analyst in Europe who was on the diplomatic front lines of the political tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government also faces pressure from Ukrainians of Canadian descent who are amplifying the requests by Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv for several key asks that he and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly have repeatedly deflected.

Those asks are to provide weapons to the Ukraine military, impose further sanctions on Russia and extend Canada’s military training mission of its forces beyond its expiry date at the end of March.

The requests have domestic political implications because Canada’s Ukrainian diaspora of 1.4 million people is one the most influential constituencies in domestic political affairs.

“For a country which professes to be one of Ukraine’s closest allies the soft, tentative language being used by Canadian officials such as Foreign Affairs Minister Joly is a real head-scratcher,” said Michael Bociurkiw, a Canadian who served as the spokesman for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe during the height of tensions following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

“Language such as ‘we are deeply concerned’ doesn’t reflect the outrage felt by most Ukrainian Canadians at what’s currently transpiring on Ukraine’s borders. This government’s modus operandi is repeat the right buzz words without actually saying anything substantial.”

That is unfortunate because Canada is well-positioned to provide a concrete response – including providing weapons – due to the expertise it has built up by deploying Canadian Forces personnel, RCMP officers and various diplomatic and development experts to Ukraine, said Bociurkiw, now a senior fellow with the Washington-based Atlantic Council.