The Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a tweet on Thursday that a “charter aircraft that carried Russian foreign nationals has been held at the Yellowknife airport,” which is in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
A charter aircraft that carried Russian foreign nationals has been held at the Yellowknife airport. We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.
— Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) March 3, 2022
“We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine,” Alghabra added.
“It appears that the plane and its passengers were on their way to Resolute, Nunavut, with the intention of taking a planned Arctic overland expedition in a large all-terrain utility vehicle,” Northwest Territories infrastructure minister Diane Archie told the House on Wednesday.
“We’re all aware of the terrible and unjustified invasion in the Ukraine, and I appreciate that we’re all extra watchful in this world, including those of us in the Northwest Territories, [who] remain concerned about the Russian government aggression towards its peaceful neighbours,” Archie said.
“Canada continues to gather the facts required to be able to make a determination on the next steps regarding these passengers,” Archie added.
“The plane appeared to be on its way to Resolute, Nvt., on Tuesday after arriving in N.W.T. from Geneva,” CTV reported.
The plan is a corporate jet Dassault Falcon 900 with tail registration VP-CVS, according to Cabin Radio.
Canada had closed its airspace to Russian-owned or operated aircraft on Sunday, which followed President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The territory has admitted that the passengers on the plane intend to participate in the international driving tour across the Arctic called the Transglobal Car Expedition.
“Canada’s state media outlet CBC admitted that the Russians whose plane was grounded by the Canadian regime are *civilians*, not Russian government officials,” journalist Benjamin Norton noted on Twitter. “Western so-called ‘democracies’ are basically making it a crime to be Russian.”
“Trudeau’s minister, Omar Alghabra, has just created a no-fly list based on Russian ethnicity/citizenship — not on any crime,” Rebel News’s Ezra Levant commented. “This same Omar Alghabra called for the legalization of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups.”
“Wait, are you holding them hostage just because they are Russian? You think all Russians are responsible for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine? That is insane, and it’s the same insanity that led to Japanese internment camps in WW2,” Christina Pushaw wrote in a Tweet.
“The irony is that the Canadian government was complaining about China’s hostage diplomacy less than a year ago. How many Canadians are in Russia right now?” TrueNorth’s Cosmin Dzsurdza asked. “Will the Liberals take responsibility should they not be allowed to return home as a result of this?
BeckerNews reached out to Yellowknife Airport to gain clarity on the latest situation at the time of publication, but no response was forthcoming. The Northwest Territory infrastructure office is expected to provide an update this weekend.
NOW READ:
"*" indicates required fields
OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion.