Mining The Deep Sea

"Seabed mining should only take place if effective protection of the marine environment is provided through a rigorous regulatory structure, applying precautionary and ecosystem-based approaches, using science-based and transparent management, and ensuring effective compliance with a robust inspection mechanism."

[Canada would negotiate in] good faith on regulations to ensure that seabed activities do no harm to the marine environment and are carried out solely for the benefit of humankind as a whole."

"There is a paucity of rigorous scientific information available concerning the biology, ecology and connectivity of deep-sea species and ecosystems, as well as the ecosystem services they provide."

Jonathan Wilkinson, Natural Resources Minister

Joyce Murray, Fisheries Minister , Canada

A new species of a new order of cnidaria, a type of invertebrate, was found 4,100 metres down in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, where it lives on sponge stalks attached to polymetallic nodules. (Craig Smith and Diva Amon/Abyssal Baseline Project)

 

"That was no surprise to anyone. We are not interested in that. We are only interested in our licence areas, which is in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, a thousand miles off the coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean."

There is a crowd of people that like to get together and oppose new industries and new ideas. Some of the faces that were opposing the nuclear industry back in the '70s and '80s are showing up in this industry as well. That's what happens, unfortunately."

"You either go with a low impact and no impact on human lives, or you go with an enormous impact on the ecosystem and environment of human lives."

"The argument that we don't know enough is propagated by opponents who like to say we know more about the moon than we know about the deep ocean."

"In this particular part of the deep ocean, the CCZ, we know an awful lot. The other thing is, how much more do w e need to know? Because climate emergencies don't wait around."

Gerard Barron, chief executive, The Metals Co. (TMC) Vancouver

A sea cucumber is seen on the deep ocean floor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area of the Pacific Ocean where mining companies want to exploit polymetallic nodules rich in cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese. (Diva Amon and Craig Smith/Abyssal Baseline Project)

Canada's Liberal government has issued a decree that mandates a move away from gas-burning vehicles entirely. According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, electric vehicle sales starting in 2026 are to predominate in new vehicle sales. By 2030, the mandate will hit 60 per cent of all sales and by 2035, every passenger vehicle sold in Canada will need to be electric. A primary difficulty to overcome is the shortage of the metals and minerals required to produce those electric vehicles.

 

There is a move to begin mining deep under the sea for minerals and metals. There has even been talk in the United States of mining meteorites in deep space. Russia and China have expressed interest in the potential for mining in the Arctic undersea. Territorial claims by Russia in the Arctic are spurred by both military-linked territorial advantage and the prospect of future undersea mining there. The federal government's recent position statement on undersea mining relates to its own sovereign jurisdiction.

 

Mining company The Metals Co. is not contemplating mining in Canada's territorial waters, but seeking licencing to mine off the coast of Mexico. Its CEO speaks the language of sanctimony in citing the need to respond to an environmental emergency in reference to Climate Change and the need to reduce humanity's environmental imprint. By mining undersea rather than on land, he contends, there is less environmental disruption. And the need to acquire the needed mineral/metals extraction to enable the electrical vehicle revolution is paramount.

 

Cloaking himself and his company in the white-knight costume of environmentalist, not mining entrepreneur anxious to rape the ocean and reap the rewards inherent in a profitable enterprise, claiming no harm would be done to the oceanic ecosystem. This emerging subsector of the mining industry has critics decrying the  hollowness of the federal government's order. Government is just skirting the issue of deep-sea mining and the prospect of environmental degradation that comes with it. Canada will not allow deep-sea mining in its territory, but a Canadian company mining elsewhere is another story.

 

A sea cucumber nicknamed the 'gummy squirrel' found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. While there isn't a lot of biomass in the abyssal ocean, the zone contains many species scientists have never seen before. (DeepCCZ Project)

The focus is meant to be on neutralizing carbon emissions, as a priority, while TMC's Barron argues that the experimental deep sea mining is a necessity to respond to the world's increasing demand for the metals required to build electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure. Nickel, cobalt and copper mining under the sea is needed for the urgent work in tackling climate change, goes his argument. A superior method of mineral extraction that does not include "ripping up rain forests", "generating a lot of waste" and "pushing out Indigenous communities". Hitting all the sacred environmental bugbears as justification. 

 

Risks to natural habitat are as great underwater as they are on land. All the more so with the limited scientific knowledge available for a rigorous assessment. Deep-sea mining relates to the extraction of minerals from the ocean floor at 200-metre depths and even greater. This is still theoretical, it has never been done. Which hasn't stopped a number of mining companies from exploring regions to test the mining process with the use of robots to excavate the ocean floor and pump minerals up to a waiting ship.

By 2024, TMC hopes it can start mining a section of the seabed situated in an area between Mexico and Hawaii that it’s currently exploring for metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese — all key inputs in the making of batteries and other technology that will be necessary to electrify the economy. Photo by Handout The Metals Co.

Waste water and debris to be returned back into the ocean; the collected materials to be processed on land  TMC is currently exploring for metals; nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, key materials in the production of batteries and other technology critical to electrify the economy. The company awaits a permit from the International Seabed Authority, an autonomous regulating body under the United Nations for the exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals in international waters.

 

TMC already initiated the collection of thousands of tonnes of nodules; potato-shaped objects lying on the seabed sediment containing valuable metals. Environmentalists and scientists criticize the intention of authorities to sanction the new form of mining with the argument that insufficient research has been gathered, and more is required prior to the seabed being violently disturbed. Over 700 marine science and policy experts from 44 countries called for  'pause' to deep-sea mining citing "irreversible" loss that could be caused to the ecosystem.

 

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, a collective of 100 charities, is critical of Canada's deep-sea mining statement, urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be more rigorous in his approach to protection of the environment. At the International Marine Protected Areas Congress earlier in the month the statement by the federal government fell "short of that clarity and is thus potentially open to a much weaker interpretation" they pointed out.

 

Removing the nodules, pointed out MiningWatch Canada, which take millions of years to form, could "wipe out the life of the deep seabed" and create a dead zone Most scientific papers published on the issue agree "we have just barely scratched the surface" of understanding the species that exist in the deep sea; more years of dedicated research is required to gather information on its ecosystem. 

 

Polymetallic nodules are displayed at the booth of DeepGreen Metals, now called The Metals Company, at the annual prospectors convention in Toronto in 2019. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)

 

"These bacteria are critically important, plus they have not been studied at any extent and there's so much research now on the health implications of bacteria that are being discovered now on Earth."

"Just because it's small doesn't mean that it's not important [as part of the biological oceanic ecosystem]."

"[Allowing seabed mining would create the] largest contiguous mining area on Earth [and create a] dead zone [almost as big as British Columbia and Yukon combined]."

Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch  Canada

Little Trust in Turkish Gov't Through Earthquake Relief

?There is a lack of trust when it comes to these organizations [the Turkish government's own organizations receptive to receiving charitable contributions from citizens] and people gravitate toward organizations civilians are involved in."

Gulfem Saydan Sanver, expert, political communication, Turkey

"[The Syrian humanitarian response for the year is already] severely underfunded, [with only half of what is needed funded."

"The international community is called upon to urgently increase funding so that] those affected by this emergency, within an emergency, get the support they need."

International Rescue Committee of the UN

Civil defense workers and security forces search through the wreckage of collapsed buildings in Hama, Syria, on Monday. (Omar Sanadiki/AP)

When the first of the February 6 tremblors hit, the major impact was in southern Turkey, and that is where about 43,000 Turks perished. In northwest Syria, four million displaced Syrians were already living in deprived conditions as a result of the Syrian civil war, a sectarian conflict which saw Syrian President Bashar al Assad, an Alawite Shiite Baathist regime, targeting Syria's majority Sunni population considering the rebellious among them clamouring for equal treatment as citizens to be 'terrorists'.

And while international assistance along with the  country's emergency services sprang into action in Turkey, no government action was undertaken in Syria to aid the refugees living in tent camps, buildings that had been bombed by Syrian and Russian warplanes, and other makeshift settlements where medical aid and the basic necessities of life were in short supply. There, the Syrian White Helmets, a self-help charitable group, did their best with inadequate rescue equipment to free people trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. 

The international community responded to the catastrophe that struck Turkey, by sending out search and rescue teams, providing winter clothing, medicines, food, but little trickled through to Syria. Turks themselves were quick to provide funding to internal NGOs rather than to their government for the rescue of their fellow citizens, and the provision of emergency supplies of food and water to  the wounded and earthquake survivors. Many of the worst-hit zones were evacuated, people bused elsewhere for safety from robust after-shocks and the danger of more buildings collapsing.

Most people in the international community sent their charitable funds to help the stricken Turks through the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and other reputable aid agencies. Turks had an NGO that was initiated by a Turkish rock star, which raised a billion Turkish lira in donations, equal to $53 million US. to help the victims of the quakes. They were openly opposed to donate to state-operated organizations.

The country's state Disaster and Emergency Management Authority with its affiliation to the Interior Ministry saw criticism by people across the earthquake-hit south for tardiness in arriving and inadequate response. Accusations of incompetence abounded. The Authority claimed it provided the correct response immediately the earthquakes struck. On the other hand, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed his own view that rescue was incomprehensibly tardy.

There was an alternative that most people in Turkey turned to with infinitely more confidence that their donations would reach those badly in need of assistance. The NGO AHSAF founded by musician Haluk Levent. Turkey's government has expressed its doubts over how the NGO plans to use those donations, and questions its mission. In giving needed aid to survivors the funding given to the NGO will find ample good use.

The sheer scale of the disaster which killed over 43,000 in Turkey alone is a difficult number to comprehend. This was not supposed to happen. After the 1999 Turkish earthquake when 19,000 lives were lost, attributed largely to the poor construction of multi-story buildings in the country whose building codes were routinely flouted, Mr. Erdogan campaigned on a promise to ensure that all buildings would strenuously follow the code for earthquake safety.

One town directly in the earthquake zone did exactly that on the initiative of the municipality itself. As a result there were no buildings there that collapsed, and there was not one death that occurred from the earthquake, while all around the town mass destruction ensued. Corruption is endemic in the country and shortcuts in the construction industry led to poor construction, responsible for the thousands of buildings unable to withstand the effects of the earth movement.

Under President Erdogan's direction authorities have charged and arrested hundreds of owner of construction companies, engineers, company lawyers and others involved in the construction trade. Facing a spring election. the current president of Turkey is eager to ensure that the grumblings of anger assailing the government's inadequate response to citizens in their time of dire need, don't stick too closely to him personally. But his office is where such decisions to enforce laws are carried out and the calamitous situation that ensued befouls him as the nation's executive administrator.

Millions of Turks are now without homes. The Turkish Red Crescent and the government AFAD received donations from within and without the country, as did smaller local charities and international organizations. 115 billion lira was raised through a television campaign and public institutions like the Central Bank and public banks turned in another 80 billion lira.

Turkish Red Crescent volunteers hand out hot drinks and food to people affected by the 6 February earthquakes. Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers arrive in an ambulance to provide urgent health assistance to those injured. Photo: Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent

The Russian Public's View of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

"We ate from the same plate, fed from the same table . . . Now we are soullessly bombarding each other."

"Streams of dirt are pouring from both sides."

Elena, 40, insurance clerk, Moscow

"Would a normal person go up in arms against his brother? . . ."

"What if the red button is pressed."

"Do you think  they won't press it?"

Tokhir, 39, janitor, Moscow

"What can be the feeling when  you see entire systems falling apart before your eyes?"

"The scale and seriousness of the crisis is distressing."

"Less contacts, less chance of running into another clash of opinions. Less chance that they will get into your soul and stab you in the back."

Yuri, 59, university lecturer

"Our people could have bought the Donbas, given everyone citizenship and still had money left over for black caviar."

"What was the point of striking first?"

"1,300 people worked at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine before the start of the special operation. Who are these people?"

"I don't want this fate for my country. And I don't want it for Ukraine. It truly hurts for every victim."

Kristina, 55, financial analyst, Moscow

A view shows an apartment block with a mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Oct. 6, 2022. (Evgenia Novozhenina/REUTERS)

Some experience heartfelt regrets of two nations with intertwining cultures, religious devotion, history and pride at war with one another. Few would question the interpretation of the expressed propaganda reasons given by their president to justify the unprovoked invasion. In their collective opinion it was an event that was provoked by the underhanded actions of the United States and NATO, seeking to -- as President Vladimir Putin put it -- destroy Russia, a competitor for power as Russia takes its rightful pride of place as one of two global superpowers.

 

To these Russians those of their compatriots who have fled their country of origin are contemptible, rather than be forced  into a combat role as a dispensable conscript, dying daily by the hundreds on the field of battle. Some were initially incensed by the invasion of Ukraine, that kinship had been set aside for aggression. They take care to suppress their emotions for fear of drawing attention. They may fear the Kremlin, but they loathe the United States' influence on the world community.

 

Not for them the principle that led other Russians, in the arts and sciences, those whose names are well known at home and abroad, to condemn their country for its brutality and illiberalism. They feel genuine regret and shame at the position their country now holds in the regard of the world community. They cannot express their outrage while in Russia, and cringe at the thought of how they are regarded as Russian nationals by civilized nations of the world. 

 

Public disclosures of their sympathies ensures they cannot return to their country of birth as long as Vladimir Putin is president. None have a wish to join Alexei Navalny in prison under laws that justify imprisonment for 'traitors' or those who criticize their government's decision-making in non-stop bombing of a country they value kinship with. 

 

There is no complete concensus within the Russian population, itself comprised of a minority of close to a million Ukrainians, with another 2.9 living in Russia as refugees. .There are wide-varying views on the situation among Russians, revealed in part by a recent poll of the Levada Centre. Among the population there are many who live with fears of an escalating situation with the potential of a world war looming.

 

Mobilization in both Russia and Ukraine has raised Russian anxiety levels. Ukrainians are shrugging at the excesses of Russian attacks on civilian enclaves to demoralize Ukrainians to apply pressure on the Ukrainian government to stand down, vastly underestimating Ukrainian civilian resolve to resist the violence forced upon them by the Kremlin. In-person interviews have revealed that half the Russian population oppose their president's conflict in Ukraine, but are constrained by fear of speaking publicly.

 

The letter "Z" has come to symbolize Russia's brutal military invasion of Ukraine  Alamy Photo

The suffering of the Ukrainian people is affecting those in opposition to the war. But even while they silently contest their country's aggression in Ukraine, they are completely averse to the opposition of the West and in particular the United States, to their country's war initiative. Doubling the actual number of U.S. embassy employees in Kyiv to have it appear a more sinister presence related to the U.S. Secret Service spying on Russia convinces Russians that Russia was forced to act to counteract American plans.

 

There are also fears from within Russia itself that their government could make use of nuclear weapons if a breakthrough with conventional weapons fails. Older Russians see their retirement years stressed by conflict and an inevitable decline in economic stability. Some who have the means required to leave Russia hesitate in concern that they will be viewed as a pariah in a world that has become anti-Russian. "Run away to feel like a third-class person? The whole world hates us", said 36-yer-old sports equipment retailer Sergey, whose western-made products have been sanctioned.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to call up 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine, a sign of how much Russia’s military is struggling. A Moscow-based student who got his draft notice says he was shocked by the massive mobilization.

"The war was necessary, to shove U.S. interests far away."

"There was no other way out, nothing."

Denis, 42, car sales manager

 

"The United States want to maintain world dominance."

"We are taking them for a ride on their own roller-coaster."

Rodian, 41, loan adviser, Moscow

Ukraine: More Weapons to Deal With the Russian Invaders

"This is a drone war. Every drone is armed and they are used every minute of the day. Most deaths are from drones either directly or from corrective fire from mortars. We will not move without drone surveillance."

"If we didn't have them, we'd have lost already."

"I can't believe Canada opted not to send the best drones on the market and instead spent $400 million on NASMs [National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems]."

"Do you know how many drones they could have sent [instead]?"

"I know that when I see a drone with no munitions on it, the artillery is coming, so there is no standing still anymore. It has changed the art of defensive lines."

"The Russians are mobilizing and we have seen double [the numbers] in these past few days. This is a lot bigger than usual."

James Challice, Cdn.Forces veteran fighting with a Ukrainian Army brigade in the Donetsk oblast 

 

"Give us more military equipment, more weapons, and we will deal with the Russian occupier, we will destroy them."

"There were cases when anti-tank mines were detonated, and the soldiers only received contusions [in Bushmaster armoured vehicles]. There were no serious injuries to the soldiers. It has worked very well."

Dmytro, Ukrainian serviceman near Bakhmut

"Negotiations can begin when Russia withdraws its troops from the territory of Ukraine."

"Other options only give Russia time to regroup forces and resume hostilities at any moment."

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

"The American warmongers -- supply weapons in huge quantities, provide intelligence and participate directly in the planning of combat operations."

Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman

A general view shows an apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 19, 2023. REUTERS/Yevhen Titov

 

February 24 draws near, the one-year anniversary of Moscow's 'special military operation' violent invasion of Ukraine. There have been ample indications on the ground of yet another Russian buildup of troops and war machinery at the border with Ukraine, echoing the earlier strategy prior to the Russian invasion. Mr. Putin is restless and inwardly raging at the lack of progress at a tremendous cost in his goal of annexing Ukrainian territory into Greater Russia. 

The buildup presages a desperate ploy to overwhelm Ukrainian forces with the sheer volume of the Russian servicemen prepared to re-invade along with a renewal of gear and above all a suspected massive air assault dwarfing in numbers the aerial bombing that Ukraine's towns and cities and civilian infrastructure have already in the past year been bombarded with as Russia deliberately and with full malice targeted civilian enclaves and the nation's energy infrastructure. An energy-deficit siege as a winter gift.

 

Ukrainian troops are doggedly holding onto Bakhmut amid fierce Russian attacks BBC/Goktay Koraltan 

 

The strategic Donbas city of Bakhmut whose original 75,000 population has mostly fled, has been under siege for months by the Russian military, with Ukrainian soldiers fighting to hold off Russia's push. Pleas for more weapons from the world outside -- from nations supporting Ukraine's existential battle against a merciless Kremlin assault on Ukrainian independence echo loudly even as senior Western leaders met in Munich for an assessment of this debilitating European war.

The obvious preparations to intensity assaults on Ukraine targeting its vast eastern geography sees Ukraine planning its response in a spring counteroffensive. For this plan to have any significant measure of success Ukraine is in need of more weaponry; heavier and longer-range weapons from its allies in the
West that have been steadily feeding Ukraine's responsive need for the machinery of war. 

Ukrainian servicemen have been impressed with the service on their freezing battlefield of Australia-provided Bushmaster armoured vehicles serving an area where Russian soldiers have been bogged down in the months of fighting in their determination to take Bakhmut. These are vehicles highly prized by Ukraine for their efficacy in shielding soldiers from bullets, enabling evacuations of the wounded, and offering cover for reconnaissance.

 

Ilya and Oleksii use drones armed with grenades to attack Russian troops a short distance away

 

Russia claims a barrage of missile strikes around Ukraine had achieved expected goals, hitting facilities that provide fuel and ammunition to the Ukrainian army. For its part, Kyiv reported that 36 missiles were fired at the capital and 16 were shot down. Ukraine's largest oil refinery, Kremenchuk, was struck by missiles. 

 

Bakhmut has become yet another destroyed city in Donetsk province. According to the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade's press officer, Russia had paid a heavy price following waves of assaults around the city. "There are places where their bodies are just piled up. There is a trench ... They just don't evacuate their wounded or killed", said spokesman Taras Dzioba standing by a howitzer battery outside a defensive bunker.

 

Two larger cities in Donetsk further west, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are identified as the targets to follow should Russian forces succeed in capturing Bakhmut. Its possession by Russia allowing it to advance further would be but a Pyrrhic victory, according to Ukraine, in assessment of the losses sustained in the prolonged effort and the time it has taken thus far.

A year earlier, the three-day Munich Security Conference hosted senior Western officials who urged Vladimir Putin to rethink plans to invade Ukraine, warning of dire consequences should he proceed. This year sees them grappling with the consequences of the invasion, the resulting sanctions on
Russia, the near-global condemnation and isolation it now faces in Europe and abroad.

"[The battle is far from over.] Bakhmut will not be taken tomorrow, because there is heavy resistance and grinding, the meat grinder is working."

"We will not be celebrating in the near future."

"[Ukraine is] becoming more active, pulling up more and more new reserves."

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head, Wagner mercenary group

Ukrainian gunners firing at Russian positions in Bakhmut. Photograph: Adrien Vautier/Le Pictorium Agency/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock

Fake Flags in the IOC and Russian/Belarus Olympics Competition

"The International Olympic Committee is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Ukrainian figure skater Dmytro Sharpar, who had competed at the Winter Youth Olympic Games, and all the members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine who have lost their lives in this war."

"The IOC extends its most sincere condolences to their families and friends and the Ukrainian people."

"[Our decision however, to allow Russia and Belarus to compete under fake flags in 2024 is] non negotiable."

International Olympics Committee

The IOC's fake flag of 'excellence, friendship and respect'

"The Russian state has chosen the path of terror, and that is why it has no place in the civilized world."

"How many Russian athletes have spoken out to condemn the terror unleashed by their state?"

"In fact, there is almost no such condemnation. There are only a few isolated voices that are fading away."

"[The fake flag that will be flown for Russian athletes in 2024 will be "stained with blood."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

IOC president Thomas Bach (left) met Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv last July, but has not taken up an invitation to visit the war’s frontline. Photograph: ABACA/Shutterstock

 

They are young and they are elite athletes and they are Ukraine's proud athletes competing in a world-class competition to demonstrate excellence in athletic prowess. And because they are young and fit and loyal to their country of birth they put on uniforms instead of sport gear to defend their nation from the vicious predation of a neighbour whose president conspired with the Kremlin to invade Ukraine, destroy it as a nation and seize its assets and geography.

While bombing Ukraine's infrastructure to smithereens and murdering civilians taking shelter in their apartment blocks, theatres, shopping malls, hospitals, Moscow has demonstrated to the international community that it has chosen to depart from civilized mores in favour of a brutalized vision of enlarging its geographic holdings in emulation of the Soviet Union's stranglehold on its near-abroad neighbours.

Ukraine's elite Olympic-class athletes, like Volodymyr Androshchuk, 22, who died of shrapnel wounds in Bakhmut and 19-year-old Ukrainian athlete Yevhen Malyshev who died in battle defending his homeland, now honoured as a great loss by the International Biathlon Union, Ukraine is losing its innocent civilians deliberately targeted by the Russian military, along with Ukrainian servicemen at a rate of an estimated 100 daily.

"The Russian state will again use athletes to bolster the war effort and distract from the atrocities in Ukraine", a coalition of Ukrainian athletes stated. In direct reference to Russia making use of the distraction provided by the Olympics during times when it launches attacks on its neighbours. The Summer Olympics in Beijing come to mind when Georgia was invaded in 2008; during the Sochi Winter Games in 2014 it was the turn of Ukraine (the Donbas and Crimea). 

Again in 2022 during the Beijing Winter Games, Russia saw fit to prepare a second invasion of Ukraine to be launched days following the ending of the Games. Yet the IOC is steadfast in its decision to permit Russian athletes to perform once again in 2024, with the artificial proviso of banning the Russian flag. This, when participating nations claiming support for Ukraine should be strenuously objecting and themselves chose to boycott the Games to demonstrate the strength of their commitment to justice.

Bakhmut's prewar population of 75,000 has mostly fled their destroyed city, now reduced to rubble, where tens of thousands of soldiers have perished in a bid to gift Vladimir Putin with 'victory' on the anniversary of the February 24 invasion. In the pursuit of which Russia's generals have forwarded waves of untrained conscripts and convicted criminals against Ukrainian artillery in an effort to penetrate its defences.

A week ago Ukraine's Defence Ministry reported that about 1,000 Russian soldiers were dying every day, along with hundreds of Ukrainians. And while Putin remorselessly sends Russians to their death and commits his country to a scorched-earth policy to break Ukraine's defence and the spirits of its people, it counts on its athletes to bring glory on the world stage finessing their specialties at the Olympics, turning the world's attention once again to that alter-ego of war; sport.

As for the proud Olympic values of "excellence, friendship and respect", there is always Russia's Sport Federation penchant for using a drug regimen on its athletes to render performances outdistancing their non-drugged competitors to consider. In every metric of human decency and human rights Russia's Vladimir Putin has proven himself to be violently at odds with the civilized nations of the world.

Shame on the International Olympics Committee. Pity that shame will never give Vladimir Putin or the Kremlin  reason for pause, since it is utterly absent in their psyches, geared to greed and violence fuelled by nationalistic fervor and a willingness to slaughter tens of thousands of people to gain their object of geographic conquest.

A serviceman, call sign 'Virus,' of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Vedmak ('Witcher') unit patrols on the front line near Bakhmut on Feb. 18, 2023.  AFP

Russia, a Terrorist State

"An explosion jolted me awake at 5 a.m. I understood that it was the beginning of the end."

"I was on the sofa when I heard a loud noise and saw the window shatter against the wall. Then the pieces hit me ..."

"After I got covered in broken glass, there was total silence for, like, 10 seconds."

"Then I heard the cries of the wounded."

Olena Kurylo, 53, teacher, Kharkiv, Ukraine

 

"The practical case to list Russia I think is inarguable."

"The Russian regime ought to be in that club of ignominy that has [Syrian President] Bashar Al Assad and the Iranian regime in it."

"That is the company in which they belong."

Orest Zakydalsky, senior policy adviser, Ukrainian Canadian Congress

"I think this would put us even more squarely in the territory of reprisals by Russia."

"It certainly raises risks for Canadian businesses abroad..."

"I'm not convinced that the benefits outweigh the risks."

William Pellerin, partner, McMillan LLP law firm

"What we have found is that Ukrainians are possessing a will and spirit that a good portion of folks just did not take into account." Senior military official  U.S.Department of Defense

 

Only the blind -- physically or ideologically incapable of discerning reality -- would argue against the obvious, that Russia chose to wage an  unprovoked war of aggression against its neighbour. That Russia deliberately and repeatedly targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure for maximum terrorism effect in its no-holds-barred drive to execute a swift 'victory' over Ukraine. The evidence is there to show that Ukrainians have been the victims of war crimes, ranging from torture to systematic rape, to mass murder.

There is now a move afoot in Canada, where the third largest demographic of individuals of Ukrainian origin -- after Ukraine itself and Russia -- live as Ukrainian-Canadian citizens, to have Russia declared a terrorist state and be placed on a list recognizing them as such alongside other countries that support terrorists and themselves act as such; Iran and Syria. Canada's current finance minister and deputy prime minister is of Ukrainian extraction.

Those who hesitate over the potential ramifications, including cutting off diplomatic relations are not so eager to make that declaration official. Canada has previously announced plans to confiscate assets of sanctioned Russian nationals' investments and properties in Canada, and to use those funds to help Ukraine in its battle for survival and future reconstruction. It seems fitting to even the most jaundiced eye that the aggressor deliberately destroying vital national infrastructure be responsible in reparations for its rebuilding.

Canada, like other countries supportive of Ukraine against Russia has imposed an array of economjc measures against Moscow, along with sanctioning individuals and corporations of Russian origins and status supporting Moscow. And while the government itself has indicated no interest in committing to branding Russia the terrorist state that it has become under Vladimir Putin, many Members of Parliament and Senators took part in a NATO resolution which its parliamentarians passed unanimously encouraging member countries to "state clearly that the Russian state under the current regime is a terrorist one".

Resolutions calling for governments to declare Russia a state sponsor of terror have been passed by the European Parliament and both houses of U.S. Congress. The Canadian government position  on the issue, according to the Foreign Affairs minister's press secretary is that it considers Russia to be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and plans to hold Moscow to account, but declines to declare it formally a terrorist state.

Canada is supporting cases before the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, dispatching specialized RCMP officers to assist in investigations at the Criminal Court, and imposing sanctions against 3,200 individuals and entities ... but a declaration affirming Russia as a terrorist state is a goal too far for this Liberal government. 

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress recently polled MPs to reveal support on Parliament Hill for a Russia terrorist declaration found a tepid response. The State Immunity Act brought to law by the previous Conservative government declares a "state supporter" is a country that provides financing or certain other assistance to listed terrorist groups; with terrorism itself clarified as the unlawful use of violence, particularly against civilians, to further political goals.

Russia, on the record, deliberately targets civilian areas with artillery, aerial bombing, missiles and explosive drones which have killed thousands of non-combatants since the beginning of the invasion. Systemic execution of civilians in places such as Bucha have been documented by war crimes investigators and the media. Evidence of widespread rape and torture has been found. 

The Russian Wagner Group of mercenaries have a terrorist function in full support of the Russian military. A motion was recently passed declaring the Wagner Group a terrorist entity in the Canadian House of Commons. Well before the invasion of Ukraine Russian agents targeted dissidents abroad with the use of radioactive substances and poisons. A Russian Buk missile was supplied to the Crimean/Donbas (Luhansk and Donetsk regions) ethnic Russian dissidents claiming east Ukraine for Russia, that shot down a Malaysian passenger jet with the death of all aboard.

Finally, the Russian air fleet is providing cover for the Syrian military targeting its Sunni Syrian rebel factions named by the Syrian regime as 'terrorists' for protesting against their inferior second-tier status in Syria as a majority while the minority Shiite Alawite Baathists rule the country. In northern Syria Russian war planes bomb hospitals and civilian enclaves, just as they are doing in Ukraine. Case closed.

"Last spring, the Russian military went after apartment blocks and public buildings in Kharkiv, killing hundreds; in March, a Russian airstrike destroyed a theatre in Mariupol that was sheltering children, murdering as many as 600 innocent people in what Amnesty International has called a “clear war crime”; the Russians have bombed a train station and a shopping mall, knowing full well that people were inside, trying to live their lives. The United Nations has confirmed that there have been about 7,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine – but acknowledge that the real figure is certainly much higher."

Gary Maston, national affairs columnist,The Globe and Mail, January 17, 2023

Russia is a state supporter of terrorism as it both supports individuals and entities that have carried out terrorist activities and engages in such activities itself. Toronto Star

"[Te two nations have already] crossed the Rubicon [diplomatically speaking; maintaining Canada's Moscow mission in an open state is unlikely to have any impact on Vladimir Putin's decision-making]."

"This is a generational challenge, this is not a six-month thing."

"This war is not going to be over for a long while and our problems with Russia will remain as long as Putin remains in power."

Balkan Devlin, fellow, Russia expert, Macdonald Laurier Institute

Ethics? O Canada My Home And Native Land!

"Over the last five years and on several occasions, I have observed senior officials being unaware of their obligations and mistakenly making assumptions."

"Offers to provide training and educational sessions on a variety of topics have been offered to all federal parties and to regulatees, yet we continue to see a succession of mistakes that are largely attributable to the inability to recognize the need to seek consultation [with the Ethics Commission]."

"As a parliamentary secretary since 2015 and having served for several years on both the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Mr. Fergus [veteran MP and parliamentary secretary] should be well versed on the functioning of both regimes and the importance of consulting the [Ethics] Office." 

"I am quite concerned that someone with the breadth of experience of Mr. Fergus would fail to recognize the possibility of a contravention."

"The Act has been there for 17 years, for God's sake, so maybe the time has come to do something different so that we don't keep repeating the same errors. After 17 years, maybe we should realize that something is not working."

"I don't think the crafters of the Act envisaged the situation where a prime minister would be found in breach himself. So it has created a very special situation. It's a funny situation to be in and it was not envisioned by the crafters, obviously."

Federal Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion, Ottawa

Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion, who has announced he will be leaving his post, says he has seen little evidence during his tenure that the federal government takes ethics seriously. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/File

"If the [Liberal] party disagrees with Trudeau, finds that he shouldn't be a serial violator, then they would remove him."

"If Trudeau is not going to hold himself accountable, and the party is not going to hold him accountable, well he kind of has to not hold them accountable in return."

"It's kind of a quid pro quo with his own party members. Trudeau's caucus failed the [ethics standard] system."

Ian Stedman, ethics law expert, associate professor, York University school of public policy and administration

After studying a concerning "succession of mistakes" from senior government officials who have a propensity to break ethics laws, the federal Commissioner of Ethics, Mario Dion, called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to order all his ministers and parliamentary secretaries to seek out additional ethics training. All of whom have been exposed in the past to such training. Before they even take their seats in Parliament, newly-elected Members of Parliament routinely receive a round of ethics training to ensure they are fit to sit in government as lawmakers.

Mr. Dion tabled a report finding that Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, Greg Fergus broke ethics laws by contacting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to influence the board to allow a small television company mandatory carriage in Quebec. Fergus is chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus and sought to further the aspirations of a Black-owned company attempting to gain a significant windfall of revenue.

As MP Fergus well knows there is a clear prohibition under ethics laws for senior officials wishing to exert any form influence or pressure on a tribunal; that very issue is one repeated frequently in reports and public guidelines on the website of the Ethics Commission. The report the Ethics Commissioner released on this matter is the second in a three-month period where a Liberal MP was found by Mr. Dion in breach of ethics laws. International Trade Minister Mary Ng was reprimanded for her personal involvement in two contracts issued by her department to a company owned by her "close friend", a former Liberal staffer. 

Mr. Dion's predecessor prior to 2018 when he took the office, published a report that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke conflict of interest laws by accepting two flights from the Aga Khan (who petitions government) and vacationing with his family on the Aga Khan's sumptuous private island. Since then, Mr. Dion completed two dozen additional investigations into Liberal ministers (including the prime minister in two more occasions), MPs and top public servants and government agency administrators subject to the Conflict of Interest Act.

No fewer than five senior Liberals were found in violation of ethics laws, including Trudeau and the-hen Liberal Finance Minister. Over the period of his mandate as commissioner Dion's office gave 140 presentations on ethics and conflict of interest obligations to thousands of attendees, one third of those lectures Mr. Dion presented himself. "Giving a contract to a friend, I don't think you require much training to understand this isn't appropriate", commented Mr. Dion. "Something has to be done" to show they "are taking this seriously". 

The Conflict of Interest Act, points out Mr. Dion, states specifically that respecting that law represents a "condition of employment" for public office holders it applies to. In theory, anyone who breaches the act could lose their job if the individual at the top takes the Act seriously. "I don't think the crafters of the act envisaged the situation where a prime minister would be found in breach himself. So it has created a very special situation", added Mr. Dion.

"Twice already, Canada's conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, has found the prime minister violated ethics rules. The first occasion was in 2017, when former commissioner Mary Dawson ruled on Trudeau and his family accepting a vacation on the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas."

"The second occasion was just last year, when the current commissioner, Mario Dion, found that Trudeau had tried to influence then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to overrule a decision not to grant a deferred prosecution agreement to SNC-Lavalin."

"Dion already had announced he would be looking into the decision to grant the WE Charity a sole-sourced contract to administer the Canada Student Service Grant when the charity revealed it and its affiliates had paid the prime minister's mother and brother about $300,000 for speaking engagements over the last four years."

"When photos were published in the midst of the last campaign showing that Trudeau had worn blackface on multiple occasions before entering politics, there was enormous potential for a career-ending blow to the prime minister."

Éric Grenier · CBC News · Posted: Jul 12, 2020 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under fire for his government's decision to award a contract to WE Charity, an organization with ties to himself and his family. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)