STRENGTHENING MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPT FOREIGN OFFICIALS
Ottawa, ON – On April 13, James Bezan, Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman tabled in the House of Commons, Bill S-226, “Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law).” Bill S-226, was introduced to the Senate of Canada by Senator Raynell Andreychuk and was adopted by the Senate on April 11.
“I am proud to table my colleague, Senator Raynell Andreychuk’s Bill S-226, Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) in the House of Commons. In May 2016, I tabled similar Magnitsky-style legislation Bill C-267,” said MP Bezan.
Bill S-226 will make amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, imposing stricter sanctions on foreign kleptocrats and violators of human rights. “I believe Canada must do more when it comes to human rights, concrete action must be taken. Corrupt officials who continually abuse human rights and disregard international law have been using Canada as a safe haven. This must stop,” said MP Bezan.
The United States, Estonia, and the European Parliament have adopted Magnitsky-style legislation and it was unanimously supported by the United Kingdom House of Commons. Implementing Magnitsky-style sanctions was a part of all three major political parties’ platforms in the 2015 federal election. “We must work in concert with our allies to ensure that there are mechanisms in place in to sanction individuals who are responsible for, or complicit in, gross violations of internationally recognized human rights and are abusing their positions of authority,” concluded MP Bezan.
