On February 5, 2016, the Government of Canada announced changes to its comprehensive economic and trade sanctions against Iran. The changes signal Canada’s willingness to re-engage in dialogue with Iran and follow the International Atomic Energy Agency’s announcement, on January 16, 2016, that Iran had fulfilled all necessary commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”). January 16, 2016 is known as “Implementation Day”. On that date, the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), in accordance with Resolution…

On January 26, 2016, the Government of Canada announced that it would begin to lift some sanctions on Iran; for the time being, however, comprehensive economic sanctions remain in place. Canada imposes sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act and has also enacted into domestic law the U.N. Security Council Resolutions on Iran under the United Nations Act. In his comments announcing that sanctions would be lifted, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion indicated that the…