Toronto | Reuters — Canada ratcheted up pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by shutting ports to Russian-owned ships and saying on Tuesday that holdings of all Russian oligarchs and companies in the country are under review.
Canada has announced a slew of measures to isolate Russia, including imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, closing Canadian airspace to Russian planes, banning oil imports and forbidding Canadian financial institutions from dealing with the Russian central bank, acting in tandem with other Western countries.
“Today, we are taking steps to close Canadian waters and ports to Russian-owned or registered ships,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said.
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Alghabra said while the number of Russian ships entering Canadian waters and ports is “small,” there will still be an impact, especially with other countries doing the same.
Russia represents less than two per cent of Port of Montreal’s annual containerized volumes, and the ban will have little commercial impact, a spokesperson for that port authority said.
Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest, said the number of Russian-flagged vessels calling there is minimal. In the past, those that have traded in crude oil, canola oil and copper concentrates, a spokesperson said.
Canada is tracking three Russian-flagged vessels off the East Coast, one of which is a cargo vessel, a government official told Reuters.
Canada is also scrutinizing holdings of all Russian oligarchs and Russian companies in the country, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Tuesday. “We are reviewing them and everything is on the table,” she added.
Canada is sending 1,600 bulletproof vests and almost 400,000 meal rations to Ukraine.
Canada imported $2.14 billion worth of goods from Russia in 2021, Statistics Canada data showed, with metals and minerals among the most valuable categories.
— Reporting for Reuters by Alexander Schummer in Toronto; additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg.
