Sanctions Expanded to Include ISIL (Da’esh)

Summary#

The federal government amended the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations, renaming them Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on Taliban, ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida to reflect that ISIL (Da’esh) is now explicitly included. The final rules, registered on June 1, 2020 and published June 10, 2020, strengthen and clarify bans on money, weapons, explosives and technical help to listed individuals and groups, and add reporting duties for financial and other institutions.

What it does#

• Renames the regulation to include ISIL (Da’esh) and updates definitions (for example, adds definitions for “explosive,” “arms and related material,” and “technical assistance”).
• Creates clear prohibitions on knowingly:
  • dealing in property owned or controlled by people associated with the Taliban, ISIL (Da’esh) or Al‑Qaida;
  • providing or collecting funds intended to be used by those people;
  • selling, supplying or transferring arms, related material or explosives to those people;
  • giving technical or financial help related to weapons, explosives or military activities to those people;
  • carrying such arms or explosives on Canadian ships or aircraft destined for those people.
• Broadly bans helping, facilitating, or enabling any of the above activities.
• Requires a range of financial and related entities to continuously check whether they hold property tied to listed people.
• Requires anyone (including Canadians abroad) and listed entities to report without delay to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service if they suspect they hold such property or know of related transactions.
• Sets out processes for exceptions and clarifications:
  • Governments can issue certificates to allow specific activities that the UN or its sanctions committees have approved.
  • Certificates for basic expenses must be decided within 15 working days if the UN committee does not oppose; for extraordinary expenses, within 30 working days if the committee approves.
  • A person who claims mistaken identity can apply and the Minister must decide within 45 working days.
• Allows the Minister and officials to share personal information with UN bodies and with each other for enforcement and to respond to UN requests.
• Notes enforcement and penalties under the United Nations Act, including potential fines and jail terms (see “Why it matters”).

Who's affected#

• Financial institutions and services, including:
  • banks, credit unions and caisses populaires,
  • insurance companies and firms offering investment or portfolio services,
  • trust and loan companies,
  • securities dealers and portfolio managers.
• Owners, masters or operators of Canadian vessels and aircraft.
• Any person in Canada and any Canadian outside Canada who knowingly deals with listed people or their property.
• Law enforcement and intelligence agencies that receive disclosures: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
• It is unclear whether any specific businesses or individuals currently have direct ties with people on the UN lists; the regulations mainly formalize and broaden existing monitoring and reporting duties.

Why it matters#

• These changes bring Canada into line with recent United Nations Security Council resolutions that expanded the sanctions framework to explicitly include ISIL (Da’esh). That is Canada’s international legal obligation.
• For banks and other regulated firms, the rules mean continued or slightly expanded screening and reporting work. That is mostly a compliance task, not a new tax or fee.
• For the public, the regulations make it a crime to knowingly give money, weapons, explosives, technical help or transport to listed individuals or groups. Convictions under the United Nations Act can carry fines up to $100,000 and, on summary conviction, up to 1 year in jail, or on indictment, up to 10 years.
• The rules include procedures to allow humanitarian or essential payments in limited cases (basic and extraordinary expenses), and a process for people who say they were wrongly identified to clear their name.