Ottawa urged to expel Russian diplomats as Ukraine war anniversary nears

A House of Commons’ committee says Canada should expel Russian diplomats who are participating in activities not 'consistent' with their roles.

A House of Commons’ committee says Canada should expel Russian diplomats who are participating in activities not “consistent” with their roles — but whether Ottawa will commit to doing so is up in the air.

The Canadian government hasn’t expelled any Russian diplomats since Moscow’s full-scale war in Ukraine began nearly a year ago on Feb. 24, 2022.

In studying the war, the Foreign Affairs and International Development committee released a report last week detailing its impacts, and made 14 recommendations to the federal government on how it can continue to strengthen its support for Ukraine.

Among those was for the government “to expel Russian diplomats involved in any activities that are not consistent with their official diplomatic status.”

In March 2022, four European Union nations expelled several Russian diplomats accused of spying; the last time Canada expelled Russian diplomats was in March 2018, in lockstep with the United Kingdom over a nerve agent attack.

“There is no definitive stance on whether we’re going to accept all the recommendations and whatnot, or on each recommendation specifically, but what I can say is that on expelling Russian diplomats, our thinking hasn’t changed,” a government source, speaking on background, told Global News.

“The concept of reciprocity in diplomacy and the fact that what our folks in Moscow do is really important, that thinking hasn’t really changed.”

Grantly Franklin, a spokesperson with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), told Global News in an email that it’s “important” to maintain the Canadian embassy in Moscow.