Trudeau shouts 'Slava Ukrani' during Summit on Peace in Ukraine group photo with Zelensky

During the international "Summit on Peace in Ukraine" held over the weekend in Switzerland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau often became the center of attention – for good or ill. During the peace summit group photo Sunday, Trudeau randomly yelled: “Slava Ukraini!"

The phrase is translated as “Glory to Ukraine” and caused many of the other participants at the summit to look quizzically over at Trudeau, while Zelensky gave a nod of approval. 

Trudeau promised Saturday at the G7 summit to send more money and military equipment to Ukraine and to add Canada’s approval for another $5 billion loan, even as he apparently confused Ukraine with Russia, saying “Ukraine must be held to account” for the war. 

The prime minister was asked about the festering report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. Trudeau received an unredacted copy of the report, titled “Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions” 12 weeks ago, but did not comment on its explosive contention that multiple Members of Parliament “wittingly” worked for foreign governments in return for favors.

Trudeau would not say if any Liberals were among those MPs when asked by reporters Saturday.

“The issue of foreign interference is one that this government has taken incredibly seriously since 2015. We brought in the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians over the objections of the Conservative Party and indeed, the strenuous resistance of the Harper government for years,”

When reminded that both the leader of the New Democrat Party and the Green Party – who have also read the unredacted report – have said that none of their members were named as spies in the document and asked if Liberal MPs were among the compromised, Trudeau would only say, “I will allow Mr. [Jagmeet] Singh and Ms.[Elizabeth] May to speak for themselves.”

During another news conference, Trudeau was also asked about the spy scandal. This time he had a sudden coughing fit and retreated from the cameras for about 30 seconds to recover from the trauma.