Roundup: Calls to further isolate Belarus

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The continued shelling of Mariupol marked day sixteen of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the Russians were aggressively pushing disinformation and propaganda about what happened there. It also looks like that long convoy on the way to Kyiv has broken up, and redeployed elsewhere. The US, European Union and G7 are all moving to follow Canada’s lead in revoking Russia’s “most favoured nation” trade status, while Belarus’ exiled opposition leader called for tighter sanction on that country, including having it removed from the SWIFT system as well, as she seeks diplomatic isolation of the Lukashenko regime, as well as Canadian recognition of her “government in exile.”

Justin Trudeau’s final stop on his European tour was in Poland, where he met with Ukrainian refugees who had fled across the border. Trudeau later said that Putin would lose the war, and that he would face consequences for his illegal war and the war crimes that come along with it. It has also been announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will likely address Canada’s Parliament on Tuesday, which is during the March Break, meaning that MPs and senators will fly into Ottawa for a day, then fly back out again.

Closer to home, the Chief of Defence Staff says that Russia’s re-occupation of its Cold War bases in its far north are of concern to Canada, and that we shouldn’t be complacent. General Eyre’s big challenge remains recruitment, however, which is not going to be an easy nut to crack, particularly as culture change is still underway within our military ranks. Of course, we should also remember that it’s extremely unlikely to face any kind of northern invasion because it’s simply not feasible. Seriously.

Good reads:

  • The prime minister’s national security advisor is warning about far-right extremism in Canada, that it is here to stay, and that the occupation was a symptom of it.
  • The Official Languages Commissioner said that PCO did not violate language laws in its role in nominating Mary May Simon for the post of GG (and seriously, guys).
  • A military search-and-rescue helicopter crashed at an air base in Newfoundland.
  • MDA has won a contract for the next phase of the Canadarm 3 programme as part of the Lunar Gateway project.
  • A coalition of advocates is calling for there to be no limit to decriminalising simple drug possession, as amounts can mean different things without trafficking.
  • Maclean’s has a longread profile of Pierre Poilievre, and tries to decipher what makes him tick (beyond pure partisan spite).
  • Jean Charest is now officially in the Conservative leadership race.
  • Patrick Brown is set to announce his leadership campaign on Sunday.
  • Leslyn Lewis is being sued by her former campaign manager for allegedly failing to pay him fully for his work on her previous leadership campaign.
  • Ousted Liberal-turned-Independent MP Kevin Vuong has been charged by the Royal Canadian Navy for failing to disclose his 2019 arrest on sexual assault charges.
  • The Line hears from freelancer Joti Heir in Kyiv about the situation on the ground.
  • Heather Scoffield reads the economic tea leaves to find hints that China may not be going all out to help Russia find a way around their Western sanctions.
  • Althia Raj details Jean Charest’s decision to come out opposing Quebec’s Law 21, which would put him offside from the rest of the MPs in the party’s Quebec caucus.
  • My Xtra column calls out the Conservatives for being useful idiots of the extremists who organised the occupation of downtown Ottawa.

Odds and ends:

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