Open Letter to John Baird: Canada needs to scrutinize Russian Passports

Open letter to Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Feel free to use it/edit as needed. If you do use it, please Retweet this tweet: https://twitter.com/cbrulak/status/514076366447607810


email: bairdj@parl.gc.ca
twitter: https://twitter.com/honjohnbaird

letter:

John Baird, Member of Parliament, Ottawa West - Nepean

2249 Carling Ave

Suite 418

Ottawa, Ontario

K2B 7E9

22 September 2014

Dear Honourable John Baird,

I am writing to you to express my concern about the security and integrity of Russian Passports. 

I am sure you are aware of recent reports from the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine regarding Russian and "Pro-Russian" forces disbursing Russian passports to the local population. We saw numerous social and mainstream media reports of this behaviour in Crimea before the annexation. There are also reports of similar events in Georgia prior to the Russian invasion in that country in 2008.

I appreciate that Canada is applying economic pressure to Russia as well as providing non-kinetic aid to Ukraine but I am concerned about the security and integrity of an document as important as a passport when it can be given out so freely. Is there anything Canada can do either at our border control points and internationally to give greater scrutiny to these documents as Russian citizens enter and transit our country.

Thank you again for your efforts and support on Ukraine. The government's leadership on this very important issue.