31 Belarus Officials Added to Sanctions

Summary#

These final regulations, SOR/2020-228, amend the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations. They add 31 people to the list of Belarus-related sanctions. The changes were registered and came into force on October 14, 2020 and were published in the Canada Gazette on October 28, 2020.

What it does#

• Adds 31 named individuals to the schedule of the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations (the list of people subject to sanctions). The Canada Gazette notice includes the full list of names.
• Keeps in place the sanctions’ core prohibitions: people and businesses in Canada, and Canadians abroad, may not deal with property of listed people, provide goods or financial services related to them, or facilitate transactions involving them.
• Confirms listed individuals are made inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• Notes that the Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Permit Authorization Order allows the Minister of Foreign Affairs to issue permits for certain otherwise prohibited activities.
• Enforcement responsibility is assigned to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.
• Penalties for willfully breaking the rules include a fine of up to $25,000, or imprisonment for up to one year on summary conviction, or up to five years if convicted on indictment.

Who's affected#

• The 31 newly listed Belarusian individuals (full names appear in the Gazette notice).
• Canadian financial institutions and businesses that monitor and block dealings with sanctioned persons.
• Any Canadian or person in Canada who might otherwise try to provide goods, services, or handle property for a listed person.
• The listed individuals themselves, who face asset restrictions and travel inadmissibility to Canada.
• It is unclear from the notice whether any ordinary Belarusian citizens or specific Canadian businesses will feel direct economic effects; the government says exemptions exist for humanitarian aid and permits can be issued.

Why it matters#

• These sanctions are meant to put pressure on the Belarus government over alleged human rights abuses after the 2020 election and related crackdowns.
• For Canadians, banks and businesses must update compliance checks to avoid prohibited dealings with the newly listed people. That may cause small additional monitoring costs.
• For the listed individuals, the measures restrict access to assets and services tied to Canada and bar entry to Canada.
• The move aligns Canada with other international partners taking similar actions against Belarus.