MPs urge Ottawa to block gas turbine shipments to Russia

OTTAWA Opposition parties are demanding Ottawa immediately cancel a permit that would allow five additional gas turbines to be returned to Russia, after Ottawa last week declared Moscow never had any intention to the equipment to boost natural gas flows to Europe.

Both the federal Conservatives and the NDP have been left wondering what it will take for the federal government to settle the fate of the turbines, which can only undergo repairs at a Siemens Canada facility in Montreal.

The turbines are intended for use in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which delivers critical natural gas supplies from Russia to Germany and other European nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the missing equipment is responsible for disruptions to the pipeline’s capacity, prompting Germany and the EU to appeal to Canada to exempt the turbines from its sanctions regime and send them back.

“There is the ability to cancel this waiver. The government has said the only reason that the waiver was in place was to prove that Putin was weaponizing energy. That’s been very clearly proven. At what point is it proven enough for the government to actually do the right thing?” NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson told the Star.

The same view is held by Greg McLean, the Conservative natural resources critic, whose Liberal counterpart Jonathan Wilkinson issued the permit and sparked condemnation from Kyiv for violating international unity over holding Russia to account for invading Ukraine in February.

But both Wilkinson and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly have repeatedly insisted that the permit was only ever issued, in part, to prove that Putin never needed the turbines to improve the pipeline’s capacity.

The Liberals have pointed to the fact that one turbine has already been sent to Germany, where it is currently waiting to be picked up by Russia. Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas giant and the pipeline’s majority stakeholder, alleges it had yet to see documentation exempting the turbine from western sanctions.

Siemens Energy told American news channel CNBC Monday that all paperwork to send the turbine onward is complete, aside from what is required from Gazprom.

“We do have a clear choice in front of us right now,” McLean said.

“I didn’t buy into the narrative that the government is saying now, that we called their bluff. I think pretty much Russia called our bluff, and they are holding all the cards.”

Despite Russia’s delay in getting the turbine to its final destination as Europe prepares for the coming winter months, Ottawa remains noncommittal about its next steps.

In a statement to the Star, Joly’s office did not address whether axing the remaining shipments was an active option, only stating that the permit could be revoked “at any time.”

“With the issue of turbine maintenance taken off the table, Putin has nothing left to hide behind. When the flow of gas slows down, the world now knows with certainty that it was Putin’s decision, and his alone,” spokesperson Adrien Blanchard wrote.

The matter came under scrutiny last week at the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, which saw Ukrainian representatives lambaste Canada for strengthening “Moscow’s sense of impunity.”

Joly told the committee the permit was granted so that Putin could not blame the reduced gas flows on western nations, adding that Ottawa wants to ensure he does not use “the number of turbines” to drive another wedge between Canada and its allies.

The NDP’s McPherson told the Star she had also spoken to Wilkinson about yanking the waiver before last week’s meeting, and was told he would “consider” it.

But part of the problem, she said, is the lack of transparency around Canada’s sanctions package, which has captured more than 1,600 individuals, entities and institutions since 2014.

McLean said tearing up the permit right now would be a small step in absolving Canada of the “significant damage” he felt was incurred by issuing it in the first place.

“In order to limit the damage and to kind of say we are serious about this for the people of Ukraine, we should put those sanctions back in right away.”