Six People Added to Haiti Sanctions List

Summary#

The Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Haiti) Regulations add six people to Canada’s Haiti sanctions list and ban most dealings with them. The amendments were registered on November 17, 2022 and published in the Canada Gazette on December 7, 2022.

What it does#

• Adds these six individuals to the sanctions schedule: Rony Célestin, Michel Joseph Martelly, Laurent Salvador Lamothe, Hervé Fourcand, Gary Bodeau, and Jean-Henry Céant.
• Imposes a broad ban on dealings with those listed. That means people and companies in Canada, and Canadians abroad, generally cannot:
  • deal in the listed persons’ property;
  • enter into transactions with them;
  • provide them with services or otherwise make goods available to them.
• The listed names will be put on the Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List so banks and other firms can screen for them.
• Enforcement roles and penalties noted in the notice:
  • Enforcement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.
  • Penalties on conviction can include a fine of up to $25,000, imprisonment for up to one year on summary conviction, or up to five years if convicted on indictment.

Who's affected#

• The six named individuals listed above.
• People and businesses in Canada, and Canadian individuals and entities operating abroad, who might otherwise do business with those listed.
• Financial institutions and businesses that must screen clients and transactions for sanctioned persons.
• It is unclear from the notice that ordinary Canadians or Haitian civilians will be directly affected; the measures are targeted at specific people believed to support or benefit from criminal gangs.

Why it matters#

• The stated aim is to cut off money, weapons and other support for armed gangs in Haiti by putting pressure on people believed to be helping them.
• Canada says this action complements earlier measures and international efforts to respond to the crisis in Haiti. The notice links the sanctions to concerns about violence, humanitarian harm, and regional stability.
• In practical terms, the rule means banks and firms must update screening systems and anyone who ignores the ban risks legal penalties.