Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland arrives to appear as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The federal government is channelling $115 million collected in tariffs on Russian and Belarusian products to help rebuild the power grid in Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the funding this morning at an international conference in Paris in support of Ukraine.
Canada slapped a 35 per cent tariff on most goods coming from Russia and Belarus, which has been an ally to Moscow since the invasion began in February.
Freeland’s office says the tariffs stem from Canadian purchases that are mostly fertilizer, tires, nickel and plywood.
The money will be used for a World Bank project to repair the electricity grid in Kyiv after a series of Russian airstrikes intended to keep Ukrainians in the cold.
Agricultural groups have complained that Canada included fertilizer in its tariff regime, unlike some allies, with farmers in Eastern Canada arguing that has driven up their costs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2022.
