The Hon. Philip Lawrence,
MP for Northumberland-Peterborough South,
House of Commons,
Ottawa, Ontario
December 17, 2023.
Dear Mr. Lawrence;
Repeal Failed & Faulty Sanctions
Canadian Press reported on March 10, 2023, that Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly said, while announcing sanctions banning steel and aluminum imports from Russia, that regime change is indeed the point of sanctions. “The goal is definitely to do that, is to weaken Russia’s ability…”[1]
Canada has imposed more sanctions against Russia than against any other country in Canada’s history. The Collective West has imposed more sanctions against Russia than anyone else in history. The purpose and objective was to effect regime change in Russia and to “weaken” Russia. Sanctions are regarded as hostile acts. Russia has experienced twelve or more tranches of sanctions from the Collective West over the past year and half.
It is reasonable for Canadians to ask if the sanctions achieved their objectives. Obviously, regime change did not occur. There is no evidence whatsoever that such a policy would have produced regime change – it was all just magical thinking.
Germany is the economic powerhouse for the Eurozone.
Reuters, October 6, 2023, reported, “Germany’s government expects the economy to shrink by 0.4% this year due to high inflation, high energy prices and weak international trade… Five economic institutes are predicting Germany’s economy will shrink by 0.6% this year.” [2]
Reuters, November 15, 2023, reported, “The EU executive arm cut the growth forecast for the 20 countries sharing the euro for 2023 to 0.6% from the 0.8% expected in September because high inflation, rising interest rates and weak external demand took a heavier toll than expected. [3]
Reuters, September 19 reported, “Russia has ramped up the production of some military hardware by more than tenfold to supply its army in Ukraine, significantly increasing the output of missiles, drones, combat vehicles and artillery.” The Russian economy remains resilient. Sanctions have successfully driven Russia into the arms of the Chinese and strengthened the BRICS economy.
There is no historical evidence that sanctions have ever proven successful in changing a regime or a regime’s policies. It is an exercise in futility. Sanctions are an act of hostility and results in a lose-lose situation. No one benefits – everyone loses. Surely we have better policies than this?
Already there has been collateral damage from sanctions. Forbes, November 16, 2023, reported that Russian businessman Oleg Viktorovich Boyko had been placed onto Canada’s sanctions list. Boyko’s lawyers issued a lawsuit against Canada. Our foreign Minister promptly repealed the ‘law’ sanctioning Boyko. [4]
Canada should return to business as usual with Russia. There is a net negative effect to Canada to continue a sanctions program that is ineffective in achieving its stated goals. It is time that Canada cut its losses.
Sincerely
Wally Keeler
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
