The federal government is under pressure to levy sanctions on one of Russia’s richest oligarchs, who has strong ties to President Vladimir Putin and whose family owns a global gold-mining company that has an exploration project in Nunavut.
Mr. Wilkinson said he was open to imposing sanctions on the Russian oligarch, whose personal net worth is valued at about US$29-billion, but he said the decision rests with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. “Our objective is to be in lockstep with our allies, hold the Putin regime accountable, and starve the Russian war machine,” he added.
“In this particular incident, we talk tough about dealing with Putin and standing up for Ukraine and yet we see a Russian oligarch doing business here and enriching himself off Canadian natural resources,” he said. He also said the Canadian government appears to have a “less robust” process than major allies to decide which companies and individuals to target.
Don't hold your breath.