NDP Foreign Affairs Critic in Europe meeting with organizations helping Ukrainians

OTTAWA – This week, NDP Critic for Foreign Affairs, Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona), has been meeting with groups on the ground in Europe who are helping Ukrainians. As part of a special parliamentary delegation in Europe, McPherson has met with representatives with the United Nations, humanitarian aid groups like the International Committee of the Red Cross, disinformation cyber security groups and disarmament groups who are all working tirelessly to address the crisis. Yesterday, in Rzeszow, Poland, McPherson met women and children fleeing the violence in Ukraine and the volunteers in Polish communities who are working non-stop to distribute supplies and arrange housing for refugees.

“The humanitarian situation is worsening. Families are torn apart, and children have been killed. This week, I met some of the over 700,000 Ukrainians who have been forced from their country. They were frightened and exhausted. Many of them are women and children as their husbands and fathers have stayed behind to fight,” said McPherson. “All the children in Ukraine – at least 7.5 million under 18-years-old – are in grave danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress, and displacement. They need our support more than ever. And that must include a stronger plan for humanitarian aid and effective measures to help people seeking refuge in Canada.”

In addition to calling on the Liberal government to expand sanctions on the Russian oligarchs who are closest to Putin and dropping the visa requirement for Ukrainians hoping to find safety in Canada, McPherson says a plan with significant financial commitments to help Ukrainians both at home and those who have managed to get to safety in neighboring countries is urgently needed.

“I met a mother outside the Canadian Embassy who was asking for help. She fled with her three children, the eldest of whom was an eleven-year-old boy who tried to explain his family’s survival plan while clutching a stuffed toy elephant,” said McPherson. “This experience and countless more like them make it abundantly clear: Canada’s federal government must do more. Money and resources can’t just be shuffled around; decisive action to help people in Ukraine is needed. That must include visa-free entry and more aggressive sanctions on the oligarchs in Putin’s inner circle who are known to hide his wealth for him under their names. Targeting Putin's greed may be the most effective tool we have to help Ukrainians.”