I can't get inside the heads of the officials and inside the Canadian global affairs department, but what I can say is that there are a lot of people in the world on the bad side of the ledger who don't like Magnitsky sanctions. It's a real black mark for somebody to be put on a Magnitsky list. Perhaps it's an easier, less controversial sanction to use, but I think that question is probably best addressed to the people who have been reticent about using it, to understand what their thinking is.
On February 10th, 2022. See this statement in context.