The federal government will change its sanctions law to allow the redistribution of seized and sanctioned foreign assets to compensate victims or help rebuild a foreign country from war, said Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie.
Canada is among a number of countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a “special operation.”
“Today we are looking for capacity not only to seize, but also to allow the confiscation of the assets of sanctioned individuals and legal entities and to allow us to compensate the victims with the proceeds,” Jolie said in a statement Tuesday.
“These changes would make the Canadian sanctions regime the first in the G-7 to allow these actions.
Sanctions are already crippling Russia’s economy and depleting President Vladimir Putin’s resources to continue the war, the minister said.
“We will continue to put maximum pressure on the Putin regime and impose serious costs on this chosen war,” Jolie added.
The changes that Canada aims to make in its sanctions law will mean that funds or property seized from Russia can be paid to help rebuild Ukraine or go to those affected by the Russian invasion.
The text of the bill says that the seized assets can be used for “the recovery of a foreign country affected by a serious violation of international peace and security.”
The funds could also be used to “restore international peace and security” and to compensate victims when that security is violated.
A similar bill that would allow Canada to confiscate and confiscate Russian assets to help victims of Russian attacks has already been introduced by Senator Ratna Omidwar and is ready to be approved by the upper house.
The Ukrainian embassy in Canada called on lawmakers to swiftly pass Omidwar’s bill.
“We believe that it is absolutely fair for Russian state property or illegally acquired assets of Russian oligarchs to become part of the reparations of the aggressor state to the victim of aggression,” the embassy said in a statement.
“By passing Bill S-217, Canada will demonstrate leadership and can set an example for others to follow and show that Russia’s corrupt corrupt regime will pay the full price for its crimes against Ukraine.
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