Employees work on a number of Airbus A220 airplanes at their plant in Mirabel, Que., on Sept. 23, 2020. Two senior Canadian government sources noted the waiver for Airbus is temporary and it is hoped the company would wean itself off Russian-sourced titanium.Christinne Muschi/Christinne Muschi/The Globe and
Ottawa has granted Airbus a waiver from sanctions targeting Russian titanium that could interfere with its business in Canada, two government sources say.
Reports of the decision Wednesday prompted anger from Ukrainian Canadians and criticism from the Official Opposition.
The sanctions in question were only applied by Canada in February this year. Back then, Ottawa announced sanctions on Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, one of the world’s largest producers of titanium.
Two senior Canadian government sources noted the permit for Airbus is temporary and it is hoped the company would wean itself off Russian-sourced titanium. Other countries that produce titanium include China, Japan and Kazakhstan. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
One of the sources said it came to Ottawa’s attention there were unforeseen effects of the titanium sanctions on Canadian aerospace companies that would have had a serious impact on jobs in this country.
The other source said the French government, which owns part of Airbus, had lobbied Canada to grant a waiver on Russian titanium. A strategic metal prized for its strength relative to its weight, titanium is used mainly in aircraft engines and landing gear for large planes.
Airbus, a European company, has manufacturing facilities in Quebec and Ontario for certain aircraft and parts but also sells a broader array of aerospace products to Canadian customers.
The Department of Global Affairs declined to comment Wednesday, citing commercial confidentiality.
News of the waiver for Airbus was first reported by Reuters News. Airbus did not immediately return a request for comment but in an earlier statement to Reuters it said: “Airbus is aware of the Canadian government imposing sanctions on VSMPO and has obtained the necessary authorization to secure Airbus operations in compliance with the applicable sanctions.”
William Pellerin, a partner with McMillan LLP’s international trade group, said while imports of titanium from VSMPO-AVISMA were banned as of February, what likely exacerbated the matter for Airbus is sanctions guidance issued by the Department of Global Affairs in March meant to help people understand how measures apply. The implications from this government guidance, when applied to VSMPO, would be that importing parts or aircraft containing this Russian titanium would run afoul of the sanctions, he said.
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The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) condemned the waiver Wednesday.
“Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and genocidal war of aggression against Ukraine, the UCC has called on the Canadian government to implement a full trade embargo against Russia,” UCC president Alexandra Chyczij said in a statement.
“The announcement of a sanctions waiver granted to Airbus on the use of Russian titanium allows Canadian companies to continue to do business with Russia – thereby financing and fuelling Russia’s war,” she said.
“This is untenable, particularly since Canada is a leading producer of titanium. We call on the Canadian government to immediately cancel this waiver, and enforce its own sanctions policy. We renew our call for a full trade embargo on Russia.”
Conservative international trade critic Kyle Seeback said the waiver runs contrary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tough talk on Ukraine.
“Russia will now use the profits from these titanium sales to fund its war against the people of Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
He attacked Mr. Trudeau for alleged failures on Ukraine, including allowing Russia to circumvent Canadian sanctions to obtain more than 190,000 electric detonators in 2022, according to research released last year by Brussels-headquartered Open Dialogue Foundation.
Mr. Seeback also cited the Liberal government’s much criticized decision to allow natural gas turbines for a Russian pipeline to be repaired in Canada and sent back – a decision Ottawa reversed in December, 2022.
“Conservatives will continue to support Ukrainians as they defend their sovereignty from Putin’s illegal invasion and call out Justin Trudeau’s blatant hypocrisy when it comes to his phony support for Ukraine,” Mr. Seeback said.
The Ukrainian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Canada’s decision to grant Airbus the waiver showed European companies would struggle to remain competitive if they stopped using Russian products.
Sixteen months ago, Airbus reportedly vowed to end its use of Russian titanium within a matter of months.
“We are in the process of decoupling from Russia when it comes to titanium. It will be a matter of months not years,” Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive officer of Airbus Defence and Space, said in late 2022.
“For the time being, Airbus still procures a certain percentage of Russian titanium, but we are clearly on a track of becoming independent of it,” he said at the time.
With reports from Reuters
Steven Chase
Robert Fife