C-219 (45-1) - Sergei Magnitsky International Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Act
Chamber
commons
Stage
2nd Reading
Introduced
Sep 16, 2025
Progress
This bill strengthens Canada's sanctions regime against corrupt foreign officials and human rights violators, and renames the Special Economic Measures Act.
Key Changes
- Adds 'transnational repression' as a ground for imposing sanctions under both the Magnitsky Law and the Special Economic Measures Act
- Renames the Special Economic Measures Act to the 'Sergei Magnitsky Global Sanctions Act'
- Bans visas for immediate family members of sanctioned foreign nationals, unless they did not financially benefit from the sanctioned person
- Requires the RCMP and FINTRAC to proactively share information with the Minister about potential sanctions targets, with a 30-day response deadline
- Requires the Minister to publish annual reports on human rights efforts abroad, including lists of prisoners of conscience Canada is working to free
- Prohibits broadcasting licences for undertakings that could be significantly influenced by sanctioned entities or those recognized as committing genocide, and requires immediate revocation of existing such licences
- Increases penalties for violating sanctions to up to $100,000 in fines or three years imprisonment
Gotchas
- The visa ban on family members of sanctioned individuals includes an exemption if the Minister believes the family member did not financially benefit — this gives the Minister significant discretionary power in individual cases
- The bill requires forfeiture of seized property within 12 months and disposal within 30 days, creating strict timelines that may be difficult to meet in complex international cases
- Renaming the Special Economic Measures Act affects dozens of existing regulations and other laws, requiring widespread terminology updates across Canada's legal framework
- The broadcasting licence restriction relies on Parliament formally recognizing acts as genocide, which is a political process that may not always align with legal or international definitions
- The Five Eyes intelligence alliance and NATO are explicitly named as organizations whose decisions can trigger Canadian sanctions, which could tie Canada's sanctions actions more closely to allied foreign policy positions
Who's Affected
- Foreign nationals and entities subject to Canadian sanctions
- Immediate family members of sanctioned individuals (visa restrictions)
- Diaspora communities, political dissidents, and human rights defenders targeted by foreign governments
- Canadian broadcasters distributing foreign programming
- The RCMP and FINTRAC (new mandatory reporting duties)
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs (new reporting and response obligations)
- Parliamentary committees (new right to receive ministerial responses on sanctions recommendations)
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The visa ban on family members of sanctioned individuals includes an exemption if the Minister believes the family member did not financially benefit — this gives the Minister significant discretionary power in individual cases
- The bill requires forfeiture of seized property within 12 months and disposal within 30 days, creating strict timelines that may be difficult to meet in complex international cases
- Renaming the Special Economic Measures Act affects dozens of existing regulations and other laws, requiring widespread terminology updates across Canada's legal framework
- The broadcasting licence restriction relies on Parliament formally recognizing acts as genocide, which is a political process that may not always align with legal or international definitions
- The Five Eyes intelligence alliance and NATO are explicitly named as organizations whose decisions can trigger Canadian sanctions, which could tie Canada's sanctions actions more closely to allied foreign policy positions
Summary
Bill C-219 makes several changes to strengthen how Canada imposes and enforces sanctions against foreign governments and individuals who commit human rights abuses or corruption. It adds 'transnational repression' — when foreign governments harass or threaten people living outside their borders — as a reason to impose sanctions. It also requires the Minister of Foreign Affairs to publish annual reports on Canada's human rights efforts abroad, including information about prisoners of conscience. The bill renames the Special Economic Measures Act to the 'Sergei Magnitsky Global Sanctions Act,' named after a Russian lawyer who died in prison after exposing government corruption. It increases penalties for violating sanctions, requires seized property to be forfeited and disposed of within set timelines, and makes it mandatory for the RCMP and Canada's financial intelligence agency (FINTRAC) to share relevant information with the Minister when they believe sanctions should be applied. The bill also changes broadcasting rules so that no licence can be issued or renewed to a broadcaster that could be significantly influenced by a foreign entity under sanctions or recognized as committing genocide by Parliament. Existing licences for such broadcasters must be immediately revoked.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses