Edmonton MP Peter Goldring is calling for Canada and the rest of the world to declare "total economic war" on Russia after a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over Ukraine last week.

"The nations of the free world must join with us or be against us as we declare immediately total economic war on Russia," said the Edmonton East MP in a statement.

"Total economic warfare must be the first precursor to much more strident efforts to stop Russia's (President Valdimir) Putin now, not later. We must lead by example in the nations of the world to decide who we will engage economically and who we will not."

Goldring says the "nations of the free world" should expel Russia from the G8 as well as the United Nations Security Council for "total incompatibility with purpose of Security Council". He's also seeking the expulsion of Russia from the Organization for Cooperation and Security of Europe (OSCE) and wants to see a Kyiv Patriarch established for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 on July 17 has sharply deepened the Ukrainian crisis, in which separatist gunmen in the Russian-speaking east have been fighting government forces since pro-Western protesters in Kiev forced out a pro-Moscow president and Russia annexed Crimea in March.

A train carrying the remains of most of the almost 300 victims of the plane downed over Ukraine left the crash site on Monday, after the Malaysian Prime Minister reached a deal with the leader of pro-Russian separatists controlling the area. Russia has denied any involvement in the incident.

A spokesperson for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Goldring "does not speak on behalf of the Government." Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement that Baird said Monday during a news conference in London, Ont. that Canada intends to put more pressure on Russia with more sanctions again "the outrageous and criminal act of shooting down a civilian airliner last week is a direct product of Russia's military aggression and illegal occupation of Ukraine, and demonstrates the need to continue applying pressure on the Putin regime."

Edmonton-Centre MP Laurie Hawn said he shares Goldring's anger and frustration as the "responsibility for the shoot down of MH17 rests clearly and unequivocally with Russia, directly or indirectly."

"We do need to continue our efforts with our allies to put as much economic and diplomatic pressure as possible on Putin to correct his country's behaviour," said Hawn.

"I'm not sure what Mr. Goldring means by 'more strident efforts' after 'total economic warfare' as 'the first precursor', but language will be important as we move forward on this issue with other civilized countries."

matthew.dykstra@sunmedia.ca

@SunMattDykstra