Canada Sanctions Iranian Officials for ‘Systematic Human Rights Violations’

Introduction On October 3, 2022, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Canada was imposing sanctions on 25 Iranian officials and 9 Iranian entities/organizations that are directly involved with implementing “repressive measures [to] violate human rights and spread the Iranian regime’s propaganda and misinformation.”[1] This announcement comes just one week after …

US and Canada Request USMCA Dispute Settlement Consultations Over Mexico’s Energy Policies

Introduction On July 20, 2022, the United States (“US”) and Canada requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under Article 31.4 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). The US and Canada’s request for consultations arises from Mexico’s new energy policies, which the US and Canada allege favours Mexican state-owned enterprises, Federal Electricity Commission (“CFE”) and Petróleos …

Canada Denounces Russian Military Actions and Announces New Sanctions on Russia in Response to Escalation in Ukraine (Updated as of March 4, 2022)

On February 22, 2022, the Government of Canada announced that it was enacting new sanctions against Russia, one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Donetsk and Luhansk (two separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine) and Russia’s Parliament (“Russian State Duma”) formally recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. The new sanctions under the Special …

Federal Government Proposes Overhauling Canada’s Rules for Corporate Consumer Privacy Measures

Introduction On November 17, 2020, Canada’s federal government introduced a bill to enact new legislation to strengthen protections for individuals from privacy loss due to the failures and limitations of corporate consumer privacy measures. The proposed legislation, known as the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (“CPPA”), would be the first major overhaul of Canada’s privacy law …

Canada Sanctions Belarusian Officials for ‘Gross and Systematic Human Rights Violations’

On September 29, 2020, the Government of Canada imposed sanctions on several officials representing the Government of Belarus under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA), including Belarusian President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko. According to Government Affairs Canada, the sanctions are part of a broader diplomatic effort in the wake of “a systematic campaign of repression and …