The world watches as Canada moves to seize a Russian cargo jet for Ukraine
CBC
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefed reporters in Kyiv last weekend on plans to seize a Russian cargo plane that has been stranded on the tarmac at Pearson International for over a year, he merely confirmed what trade lawyers and aviation industry watchers had been expecting for weeks.
When Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal got back from meetings in Canada with Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in April, he took to his Facebook page to point out how Canada's latest sanctions targeted Volga-Dnepr — a Russian cargo airline a Ukrainian court had already grounded for alleged safety violations.
"Preparing for the confiscation of the [Antonov-124] plane and other assets of the aggressor in Canada and [transferring] them to the benefit of Ukraine," Shmyhal wrote.
Canada added both the Volga-Dnepr Group and Volga-Dnepr Airlines to its list of sanctioned Russian entities on April 5. But officials said very little about seizing this cargo plane — until Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed Canada's intentions as part of another assistance package for Ukraine announced during Trudeau's recent surprise trip.
"Should the asset ultimately be forfeited to the Crown, Canada will work with the Government of Ukraine on options to redistribute this asset to compensate victims of human rights abuses, restore international peace and security, or rebuild Ukraine," says a news release issued Saturday by Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
Notwithstanding this apparent slow walk to an official announcement, Trudeau said his government's plan is to make this forfeiture happen "as soon as possible."
"We are one of the first countries to bring in specific legislation that allows us not just to ground this plane but to actually seize it and ensure that it is never used by Russia again in the war effort or any other efforts," Trudeau told reporters.
"There is a process. This is one of the early processes we're going through. I can tell you the Ukrainians are very pleased that the path is started, not just for Canada but hopefully for other countries as well."
The federal government gave itself the power to seize and sell Russian assets through budget implementation legislation a year ago.
At the time, Freeland was told the seizure powers could be risky for Canada.
Some warned that the new powers played a bit loose with international law. Some predicted that selling off or transferring Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine (or pursue other worthy causes) would open the door to hostile governments retaliating by liquidating Canadian-owned assets — putting the foreign investments of Canadian citizens and companies at increased risk whenever foreign relations turn sour.
Canada didn't use its new powers immediately.
Its first move came last December 19, with an order-in-council to seize $26 million US in financial assets held by Granite Capital, a company believed to be owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Saturday's order seizing Volga-Dnepr's Antonov-124 is only Ottawa's second use of this power.
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