THUNDER BAY - Marcus Powlowski, MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River says that in order to win the hearts and minds of the Russian people, Canada needs to show them that they can find safety should they need to leave their country.
"I've mentioned this to the minister of immigration the other day, I think Canada, within Russia, should be advertising the fact that we are still open to immigration for Russians that are wanting to get out of Russia," said Powlowski.
"I've heard from people, including constituents in Thunder Bay, asking about getting their friends or relatives out of Russia because they're worried, there are people in their family who are turning 18, who are going to be conscripted, who are going to have to join the Russian army and go to Ukraine and potentially die there."
Polowski also says that offering aid to the Russian people in spite of the actions of their leadership will combat the misinformation currently being spread within the Country.
"I do think in part of winning the hearts and minds of Russians and keeping, because the Russians are being fed a lot of stuff, which is that the West is the evil, are the evil ones in this, that 'we're innocent, we're just protecting ourselves in this'," Powlowski said.
"And so I think we have to counter that, by letting them know that we're not against Russians at all."
Recently, Russian lawmakers passed a statute under which those accused of spreading “disinformation” about the war in Ukraine could face up to 15 years in prison and another recent law punishes “discrediting” the armed forces, including calling on them to lay down their weapons or withdraw, with a 50,000-ruble fine or up to three year's imprisonment for persistent offenders.
Russian refugees fleeing conscription and persecution for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine currently do not have many options with a near-complete shutdown of European airspace to all flights inbound and outbound from Russia, only a handful of exit corridors remain.
Those wishing to leave from the European side of the country are crossing the land border to Finland or the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania).
Those who do not have European visas head to Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey, where a Russian dissident community is growing.
