Conservative Bill to Strengthen Magnitsky Sanctions Passes at Committee

Ottawa, ON - James Bezan, Conservative Shadow Minister for National Defence, released the following statement on his Private Member's Bill C-219 passing at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and being returned to the House of Commons:

"I am glad to see this important legislation return to the House following a thorough study by the Foreign Affairs Committee. I want to thank Vladimir Kara-Murza, Bill Browder, Marcus Kolga, Brandon Silver and Kate McInnes for their expert testimony, as well as everyone who submitted briefs in support of the bill.

"Together, we worked across party lines to ensure that when Bill C-219 passes, the government can make full use of Canada's Sergei Magnitsky laws to sanction individuals and entities and hold them accountable. This aligns Canada with our allies in honouring Sergei Magnitsky's legacy of standing up for human rights, fighting corruption and holding those responsible to account through sanctions regimes that bear his name.

"Bill C-219, as amended, still includes definitions of both prisoners of conscience and transnational repression. It also includes changes that would allow for the sanctioning of those countries and their proxies committing transnational repression in Canada and around the world.

"The bill also establishes important timelines for the forfeiture of frozen assets. This will result in those assets being divested to award compensation to victims of breaches of international peace, security or stability, gross violations of human rights or acts of corruption.

"Unfortunately, the Liberal majority on the committee voted down several clauses, significantly weakening aspects of the legislation. This included removing reporting mechanisms for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, removing visa bans for immediate family members of sanctioned foreign nationals, removing the requirement for the RCMP and FINTRAC to report to the Minister as it relates to sanctions enforcement, and completely removing all amendments to the Broadcasting Act.

"While I believe the original version of Bill C-219 would have provided more tools for sanctioning, enforcement and oversight across Canada's entire sanctions regime, the amended version remains critical for modernizing the sanctions mechanisms for the future. I look forward to Bill C-219 returning to the House of Commons for third reading this fall."