House foreign affairs committee to probe decision to waive sanctions on Russian titanium

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2024 8:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes ago

The House of Commons foreign affairs committee has agreed to hold hearings on the decision by Global Affairs Canada to grant waivers to aerospace companies over the possible use of Russian titanium.

Airbus and Bombardier were granted the exemptions recently, allowing them to get around sanctions imposed on the company VSMPO-AVISMA, one of the world's largest producers of the critical mineral.

The decision drew outrage from Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, Yuliya Kovaliv, who said allowing the companies a pass to continue to use Russian titanium — when there are other suppliers elsewhere in the world — serves to feed the Kremlin's war machine.

The motion to study the decision was brought by the New Democrats Wednesday night.

"We have heard that this is particularly egregious because Ukraine has titanium that they could use, and instead we have waived the sanctions on Russia and titanium," said NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson.

"So I think it is very important that we understand why the government made this decision. You know, the government has said that they are steadfast in their support of Ukraine. This does make one question whether that is accurate or not."

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly last week defended the waivers, saying jobs in Canada were at stake.

In February, Canada became the first Western government to ban Russian supplies of the strategic metal as part of a package to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Joly will be called to testify before the foreign affairs committee, among other witnesses.

Titanium is used in the manufacture of aircraft engines because of its light weight and strength.

Two major military procurement projects — the acquisition of both new fixed-wing search and rescue planes and new transport and refueling aircraft — could have been affected by the sanctions imposed by Global Affairs. Both aircraft are made by Airbus.

In a statement issued to CBC News, the defence department sidestepped the question of the impact of the sanctions, acknowledging only the fact that some components are made of titanium without pointing to a source.

"Both the Airbus CC-295 Kingfisher and CC-330 Husky likely contain titanium and titanium alloy components ranging from rivets, nuts and fasteners to engine components to furnishings and structures," said the statement.

"We know that in general, Airbus has already taken actions to isolate its supply chains from sanctioned Russian-sourced titanium. However, we would refer you to Airbus for more details on the sourcing of titanium in particular components of its aircraft."

Airbus had pledged more than 18 months ago to follow the lead of rival Boeing and stop doing business with VSMPO-AVISMA, but Kovaliv says that doesn't appear to have happened.