A Primer On Canadian Sanctions Legislation

On February 20, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that targeted economic sanctions against the Ukrainian government will be introduced under the Special Economic Measures Act in an effort to bring an end to violent action being taken against anti-government protesters. In late January 2014, Canada expanded its sanctions against Syria. Similarly, in December 2013, Canada announced additional sanctions against North Korea. And in November 2013, Canada declared that it would maintain its sweeping sanctions against Iran, notwithstanding other states' moves to reduce their economic restrictions on Iran. Collectively, these steps indicate the Canadian government's intention to wield economic sanctions as a substantive foreign policy tool. Given that Canada is in many ways a trading nation, and many Canadian businesses have ties elsewhere, such sanctions have significant impact not only on the target countries but also on all Canadian businesses.