By Canadian Press

Trudeau says Canadian attendance at Russian embassy event ‘absolutely unacceptable’

Jun 14, 2022 | 1:08 PM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it was “absolutely unacceptable” that any Canadian representative attended a Russia Day party at the Russian embassy in Ottawa, adding that it never should have happened. 

According to a Globe and Mail report, Global Affairs Canada’s deputy chief of protocol Yasemin Heinbecker was at the party on Friday.

In Tuesday’s question period, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen pressed the prime minister about why a government that supports Ukraine would send a representative “to their enemy’s house to enjoy champagne and caviar.”

Bergen says she hopes Trudeau apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trudeau says he spoke with Zelenskyy today over the phone about Canada’s support for the embattled nation, and that “this issue did not come up.”

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Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told the House of Commons Monday that she’s angry about the party, and her department has apologized. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2022.

The Canadian Press