Baker McKenzie’s Canadian international trade and customs team is publishing a series of articles reviewing 2023 trade and customs compliance developments and looking ahead to 2024’s burgeoning issues. This article focuses on Canada’s economic sanctions regime. Canada’s sanctions regime underwent significant legislative amendments in 2023, which expanded the Government’s authority to prohibit certain dealings; meanwhile the Government has yet to publish guidance on its novel legislative provisions, sanctions permit approvals are rare, and there remain…
On February 6, 2024, Canada announced that 11 individuals affiliated with Hamas are sanctioned under the newly enacted Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations (the “Regulations”) in response to the attacks by Hamas in Israel beginning October 7, 2023 and the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to Israel and regional security. The sanctions entered into force on February 2, 2024 and are effective immediately. This is the first time Canada has enacted…
On December 8, 2023, Canada announced new sanctions against seven individuals under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Regulations (the “JVCFOA”), Canada’s Magnitsky Law. The sanctions came into effect immediately and target four Chechen officials, two Iranian officials and the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar armed forces, all of which are alleged to have “played a role in long-standing human rights violations in their countries”. Canada has identified the Chechen government officials as being…
On December 12, 2023, Canada announced further amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations (the “Regulations”) sanctioning an additional 30 Russian nationals under Schedule 1 of the Regulations. The amendments came into effect on December 8, 2023. The individuals added to Schedule 1 allegedly participated as candidates in Kremlin-organized elections held from September 8 to 10, 2023, in the occupied region of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. The Government of Canada characterizes these elections…