Delta MP Carla Qualtrough is among the list of federal politicians and government officials who have been black listed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday (March 15), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation named 313 Canadians — including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, other MPs and Natalie Yakskevich, chair of B.C.’s provincial council of the Canadian Ukrainian Congress — from crossing into Russia.
Also on Tuesday, Russia stopped U.S. President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials from visiting.
Its black list was issued after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the House of Commons virtually on Tuesday.
It also comes in response to Canada’s sanction list that includes 900 Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian politicians, military officers and high-profile business leaders.
“This step [of banning 313 Canadians] is forced and taken in response to the outrageous hostility of the current Canadian regime, which has tested our patience for so long,” the ministry’s news release states.
It continues: “Every Russophobic attack, be it attacks on Russian diplomatic missions, airspace closures, or Ottawa's actual severing of bilateral economic ties to the detriment of Canadian interests, will inevitably receive a decisive and not necessarily symmetrical rebuff.”
In an emailed statement, Qualtrough said being put on the list means that the Canadian Government is making an impact.
“To have Vladimir Putin declare that I and so many of my colleagues are a threat to his mission is an affirmation that the Canadian Government is making an impact - and the right one,” she said. “In addition to providing military and humanitarian support to Ukraine, Canada has imposed severe sanctions on Russia, on Putin and other Russian oligarchs. Our Deputy Prime Minister said Canada’s response to Putin’s war ‘would be swift, and that it would bite.’ She meant it, and as these sanctions show, it has.
“Right now Canada is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the violence, and our government will continue to find more ways to support Ukraine. In our actions and our words, Canada is standing with Ukraine, against tyranny, against Putin, and against this illegal invasion of a peaceful, sovereign country.”
-with files from Tri-City News
