Garnett Genuis, Conservative Member of Parliament for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB, has introduced Bill C-388. The short title is: Boosting Canadian Energy and Mining Projects and Ukraine’s Munitions Supply Act. As implied, the goal is to ship weapons and energy to Ukraine. It’s been promoted on Twitter.
However, the Bill is so lacking in details and specifics that it’s unsettling where this will end up. It comes across as a way to endlessly throw money away on a foreign conflict. Not once does Genuis mention any safeguards that would be put in place.
Genuis also wants Canada’s “outdated” or unneeded equipment to be sent off as well. Apparently, the Canadian Forces won’t use them, but they’ll help fight off Russian aggression. It’s never explained or implied how this will happen. To summarize:
- Canada has made promises to send weapons to Ukraine and not fulfilled them
- Canada has weapons that are “surplus, and no longer useful” here
- Canada should be sending equipment to Ukraine that it no longer uses
- Canada should be buying new equipment here, or making more weapons
- Canada should fast track gas and energy and mining projects to Ukraine
- Energy and mining growth will help Canadian economy
Dealing with energy and mining first:
Plan to Fast Track Energy and Mining Projects
Preparation of plan
2 (1) Within 60 days after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister of Natural Resources must, in collaboration with representatives of the provincial governments responsible for natural resources, prepare a detailed plan to fast track energy and mining projects, including those related to liquefied natural gas and civilian nuclear energy, that includes measures to displace energy exports from hostile countries and support energy cooperation with allies and partners.
Genuis’ legislation would compel Ottawa to come up with a plan to fast track various energy exports to Ukraine. But this is still very broad, and doesn’t give any numbers or targets.
There’s also nothing in the Bill that would require that energy sales take place at fair market rates. Yes, he pitches the “benefits” to the Canadian economy, but how much could a country at war for 2 years afford? The Bill doesn’t specify any of this. Would these be (forgivable) loans? To what degree would the public be forced to subsidize this?
Bearing in mind that Genuis has openly supported and endorsed the Paris Accord, he wants to ramp up production in Canada anyway. This isn’t so that Canadians can have cheap fuel and energy prices, but so that Ukraine can. Interestingly, he doesn’t seem concerned about potential Carbon taxes when it applies to energy shipments abroad. This was from 2017, but a revealing clip, assuming he still holds the same views.
Would the details be worked out behind the scenes by anonymous bureaucrats?
Now, getting to the munitions part:
Genuis is extremely vague on which “munitions” would be sent to Ukraine. He implies that it’s older equipment that the Canadian Forces wouldn’t need. In that case, why would Ukraine need it? Are these guns? Body armour? Explosives? Vehicles? Surveillance equipment?
Genuis doesn’t specify if he expects the “unneeded” weapons to be sold to Ukraine at fair market rates (or close to it). If the Trudeau Government is so wasteful and incompetent, isn’t he concerned they’ll simply be given away, or sold for next to nothing? Is he worried that the munitions will end up in the hands of a hostile power?
And if these are things the Canadian Forces are unlikely to ever use, are they obsolete to the point that they’re useless in war? This isn’t clarified.
Changes To Other Acts As Well
Purposes
10 (1) The Corporation is established for the purposes of
(a) supporting and developing, directly or indirectly, domestic business, at the request of the Minister and the Minister of Finance for a period specified by those Ministers;
.
(b) supporting and developing, directly or indirectly, Canada’s export trade and Canadian capacity to engage in that trade and to respond to international business opportunities; and
.
(c) providing, directly or indirectly, development financing and other forms of development support in a manner that is consistent with Canada’s international development priorities
Section 10(c) of the Export Development Act will be altered to make include this subsequently: “the Corporation shall give preference to the development of munitions manufacturing capacity in Ukraine.”
Genuis’ Bill, if implemented, would give priority to shipping weapons to Ukraine over other foreign “development”.
The Defence Production Act would have Section 16 amended to include this:
16.1 For as long as any territory of Ukraine is occupied by armed forces of the Russian Federation, the Minister of National Defence must periodically review Canada’s inventory of defence supplies, and the Minister must offer to donate to Ukraine any defence supplies that, in the opinion of the Minister of National Defence, are surplus or no longer useful to Canada.
The Business Development Bank of Canada Act would be amended to give Ukraine priority to develop munitions. In other words, preference with tax dollars will be given to a foreign country.
The Export and Import Permits Act would be amended to treat weapons exports to Ukraine the same as exports to the United States.
As with most Canadian legislation, there are built-in regulations which give almost unfettered power to bureaucrats. This would alter several Acts, but do nothing to ensure accountability. The whole thing comes across as a means to endlessly take from taxpayers, under the guise of preventing Russian aggression.
For all that Genuis — and Conservatives in general — rail against Trudeau waste and corruption, there’s nothing in Bill C-388 that would prevent more of the same. Are we to be skeptical domestically, but not internationally?
(1) https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bills
(2) https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-388
(3) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/garnett-genuis(89226)
(4) https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-388/first-reading
(5) https://twitter.com/GarnettGenuis/
(6) https://twitter.com/GarnettGenuis/status/1786470255960744343
(7) https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-20/page-1.html#h-211513
(8) https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/d-1/
(9) https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/b-9.9/index.html
(10) https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-19/
Private Member Bills In Current Session:
(1) Bill C-206: Decriminalizing Self Maiming To Avoid Military Service
(2) Bill C-207: Creating The “Right” To Affordable Housing
(3) Bill C-219: Creating Environmental Bill Of Rights
(4) Bill C-226: Creating A Strategy For Environmental Racism/Justice
(5) Bill C-229: Banning Symbols Of Hate, Without Defining Them
(6) Bill C-235: Building Of A Green Economy In The Prairies
(7) Bill C-245: Entrenching Climate Change Into Canada Infrastructure Bank
(8) Bill C-250: Imposing Prison Time For Holocaust Denial
(9) Bill C-261: Red Flag Laws For “Hate Speech”
(10) Bill C-293: Domestic Implementation Of Int’l Pandemic Treaty
(11) Bill C-312: Development Of National Renewable Energy Strategy
(12) Bill C-315: Amending CPPIB Act Over “Human, Labour, Environmental Rights”
(13) Bill C-367: Removing Religious Exemptions Protecting Against Antisemitism
(14) Bill C-373: Removing Religious Exemptions Protecting Against Antisemitism 2.0
(15) Bill S-215: Protecting Financial Stability Of Post-Secondary Institutions
(16) Bill S-243: Climate Related Finance Act, Banking Acts
(17) Bill S-248: Removing Final Consent For Euthanasia
(18) Bill S-257: Protecting Political Belief Or Activity As Human Rights
(19) Bill S-275: Adding “Sustainable And Equitable Prosperity” To Bank Of Canada Act