Canada's lawmakers unanimously voted to declare Russia's actions in Ukraine to be Genocide

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during the Question Period, On April 27, 2022. Image Credit: Reuters

Reuters: On Wednesday, Canadian lawmakers unanimously declared Russia's attacks in Ukraine to be "genocide," with members of parliament claiming "ample evidence of systemic and massive war crimes against humanity" by Moscow.

According to the motion in the Canadian House of Commons, Russia committed war crimes such as mass atrocities, systematic instances of willful killing of Ukrainian civilians, desecration of corpses, forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, torture, and physical harm, mental harm, and rape.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this month that it was "absolutely right" for more people to call Russia's activities in Ukraine "genocide," echoing a claim made by US Vice President Joe Biden the day before.

Biden has previously stated that the invasion of Ukraine amounted to genocide, but those international lawyers would have to assess if the attack matched the standards for genocide.

Russia, which denies the claims of genocide, describes its intervention in Ukraine as a "special military operation" that was essential because the US was using Ukraine to threaten it. In turn, Moscow accuses Ukraine of genocide against the Russian-speaking population, which Ukraine denies.

Canada is one of several countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. On Wednesday, it imposed new sanctions on 203 people it believes are complicit in Russia's attempted annexation of certain areas of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.

The Canadian government has also stated that it will amend its sanctions rules to allow monies or property seized or sanctioned from Russia to be given out to aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine or to individuals who have been harmed by Russia's invasion.