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Canada and its allies have discussed sanctioning Azerbaijan over its military incursion last month into the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh — which triggered a mass exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians into neighbouring Armenia — a senior diplomat told the Commons foreign affairs and international development committee Monday, CBC News reported.

"There absolutely have been discussions ... continued debate about when it would be most appropriate to use that tool,"  said Andrew Turner, Canada's recently appointed ambassador to Armenia, in response to questions from NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson.

Speaking by teleconference from Yerevan, Armenia's capital, Turner also said there's a risk that punitive actions could undermine efforts to arrive at a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"The pursuit of sanctions right now would risk disrupting the ongoing efforts at peace," he said.

"While we have not seen anyone take the route of sanctions, we have seen announcements from France, for example, about the possibility of military support, and that has caused Azerbaijan to withdraw from planned international meetings and discussions that could have helped advance the peace process."

Turner's testimony came a few days after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly visited Armenia to officially inaugurate Canada's embassy. Asked by journalists about the prospect of sanctions during her trip, Joly said "everything is on the table" — which prompted criticism from Azerbajian's foreign affairs department.

Turner also pointed out that Ottawa has told Azerbaijan that refugees who fled Nagorno-Karabakh should be guaranteed the right to return.

Canada has signed a multi-country declaration to the United Nations Human Rights Council to that effect.