Canada's Conservative Party blocked the renewal of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, citing concerns over a carbon tax;
Prime Minister Trudeau dismissed this reason as "absurd" and suggested that the Conservatives' decision was the result of
"right-wing influence" from the United States on Canadian politics.
This week, lawmakers from
Conservative Party lawmakers blocked an updated bill on the Canada-Ukraine
free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine - allegedly out of concern that the agreement
will burden the war-torn country with a carbon tax. У
response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that this explanation
is an "absurd excuse" and noted that "right-wing" thinking has infiltrated
from the United States into Canadian politics and made the Conservatives "turn away" from Ukraine. This was reported by UNN with reference to Fox News.
Details
In Canada, 109
Conservative lawmakers this week blocked an updated law on the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement.
Leader of the
of the Conservatives of Canada, Pierre Poitier, said that his party voted against the agreement only because the Conservatives realized how catastrophic
carbon taxes could be.
We voted against Justin Trudeau's introduction of a carbon tax in the existing agreement
In response,
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau called the Conservatives' opposition to the deal "frankly absurd",
and also stated on Friday that "all Canadians should be concerned when
Conservative Party of Canada and Pierre Poilievre turn their backs on history."
The real story is the rise of MAGA-influenced right-wing American thinking that has caused Canadian Conservatives, once among the staunchest defenders of Ukraine... to turn their backs on something that "Ukraine needs in its hour of need,"
In turn, Poulievre
said in a comment to CBC that in his opinion "Trudeau is pathologically obsessed with a carbon tax
that, although the knife is at the throat of the Ukrainians, he will use it."
Background
The trade agreement
contains a section that obliges both sides to coordinate "bilateral work
and in international forums to address issues of mutual interest,
as appropriate, to... promote carbon pricing and measures to mitigate
to mitigate the risks of carbon leakage". Ukraine has had a carbon tax since 2011.
since 2011, and is in the process of modifying the tax as it seeks
to become a member of the EU.