Minister Authorized to Issue Sanctions Permits

Summary#

Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Permit Authorization Order: SOR/2024-18 is an order made on February 2, 2024 and published in the Canada Gazette on February 14, 2024. It allows the federal government to issue permits that let people carry out activities that are otherwise restricted or banned under the related regulations.

What it does#

• Authorizes the Minister of Foreign Affairs to issue permits to carry out a specified activity or transaction, or any class of activity or transaction, that is restricted or prohibited under the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations.
• Applies to permits for any person in Canada and for any Canadian outside Canada.
• The authority comes under the Special Economic Measures Act.

Who's affected#

• People and organizations in Canada who would be restricted by the related regulations.
• Canadians located outside Canada who would need a permit to do activities covered by the regulations.
• It’s not specified in this order which exact activities will be permitted — those details come from the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations (see SOR/2024-17).

Why it matters#

• This order creates a formal way to grant exemptions to sanctions-style restrictions.
• In practice, that means individuals, businesses, charities, banks or others blocked by the regulations could apply for permission to proceed with certain transactions or activities.
• The order itself does not list the permitted activities; it only authorizes the minister to grant permits under the companion regulations.