Extremist Settler Violence Sanctions

Summary#

The government made the Special Economic Measures (Extremist Settler Violence) Regulations final and in force on May 16, 2024 (published in the Canada Gazette on June 5, 2024). The rules place a range of financial and trade restrictions on four named people accused of supporting or enabling violence by Israeli extremist settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.

What it does#

• Lists four individuals — David Chai Chasdai, Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef and Moshe Sharvit — as subject to the new measures.
• Prohibits any person in Canada and any Canadian outside Canada from:
  • dealing in property owned or controlled by a listed person;
  • entering into or facilitating transactions involving that property;
  • providing financial or related services to or for the benefit of a listed person;
  • supplying goods to a listed person or on their behalf; or
  • transferring non-goods property to a listed person.
• Creates a duty for many financial and related institutions to check whether they hold property belonging to a listed person and to disclose suspected holdings to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
• Includes exceptions for specific situations, for example:
  • humanitarian activities with international organizations and United Nations agencies, and certain pre-existing contract or pension payments.
• Allows listed people to apply to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for removal from the list; the Minister decides whether to recommend removal.
• Provides for a permit system (administered by Global Affairs Canada) to allow specific otherwise-prohibited transactions in exceptional cases.
• Sets penalties for knowingly breaking the rules: a fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment up to 1 year on summary conviction, or imprisonment up to 5 years on indictment.

Who's affected#

• The four named individuals listed above.
• Canadians and people in Canada who might hold property, do business with, or provide services to those individuals.
• Financial institutions and other entities explicitly named in the rules — for example, banks, credit unions, insurers, trust and loan companies, and securities dealers — which must check for and disclose any relevant property.
• Humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies are generally exempted when doing authorized humanitarian work.
• It is unclear from the public text how extensive the listed individuals’ ties to Canada are; the government’s analysis says those ties appear limited.

Why it matters#

• The measures freeze out the named people from the Canadian economy and make them inadmissible to Canada under immigration law, putting pressure on individuals thought to be involved in violent settler activity.
• Banks and other financial firms may need to update screening and reporting processes to comply.
• The rules signal a Canadian foreign-policy stance against settler violence and the expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
• Because the listing is targeted at specific people (and includes humanitarian exceptions), the government says broader economic effects on Canadians and businesses should be limited.