CBC - Article original in French
Louis Blouin, 4/26/22
The Canadian government wants to give itself new tools to help Ukrainians.
Russian assets seized by the Canadian state could soon be used to finance aid to Ukraine. The federal government is trying to give itself new powers to achieve this. Canada would be the first G7 country to take such action.
Under this new mechanism, a luxury condominium belonging to a person sanctioned by Canada could thus be seized, sold, and the proceeds used to finance aid to Ukraine, for example.
These new provisions are included in the legislative documents for the implementation of the federal budget, presented by Chrystia Freeland on April 7th.
Under the proposed changes, Ottawa could not only seize assets linked to those close to the Russian regime, but also confiscate and liquidate them to compensate victims of the war in Ukraine. This could target the 1,100 individuals and entities, including companies, that are on Canada's sanctions list.
Under the law, proceeds from confiscated property could be used for reconstruction, peacemaking and compensation for victims in Ukraine.
“We will continue to maximize pressure on Putin's regime and impose severe costs for this illegal war. »
— A quote from Mélanie Joly, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
With these changes, Canada's sanctions system will be the first in the G7 to allow this type of action, said Minister Joly.
This initiative appears to be inspired by Bill S-217, introduced by Senator Ratna Omidvar, which proposes to reallocate sanctioned assets to support victims of corruption and human rights violations abroad.
The leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) wrote to the Prime Minister on March 10 to ask him to pass this Senate bill to help Ukraine.
Opposition demands answers
The NDP supports Ottawa's approach, but calls for more transparency. "We share the concerns raised by a number of security experts that the government has failed to demonstrate the extent to which existing sanctions are actually being enforced," said NDP Deputy Leader Alexandre Boulerice.
New Democrats continue to call on the government to disclose assets that were sanctioned in response to Putin's war. We need to know how the sanctions are applied, who is affected and use these new measures to reallocate assets to support Ukrainian refugees,” adds Mr. Boulerice.
Ottawa is not in a position to say at this time when these new powers could be used and how much money it hopes to recover.
Canada has already announced $1.2 billion in support for Ukraine in 2022. This is in addition to $500 million provided for in the last budget for the current fiscal year to provide additional military assistance to the Ukraine. 'Ukraine.