Thank you, Mr. Chair and esteemed members of this committee, for inviting me to testify today on Bill S-8 and Canada's sanctions regime.
I had the privilege of leading the Canadian civil society campaign for Magnitsky legislation, during which time I had the honour of working with Senator Andreychuk, former justice minister Irwin Cotler, MP James Bezan and many of you here today.
That work also included co-operation with many of the leading post Cold War-era Russian human rights activists, such as Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Kara-Murza, both of whom came to Ottawa to advocate for Magnitsky legislation. Boris Nemtsov was, of course, assassinated in February 2015 for his leadership and advocacy. Vladimir Kara-Murza was poisoned twice to within a hair of his life. Two weeks ago, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his criticism of the Putin regime and its barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
My activism and advocacy for Magnitsky sanctions have also attracted the attention of the Russian government and its morally corrupt enablers here in Canada. I’d like to take this moment to note the intimidation the member for Wellington—Halton Hills has endured for his leadership and advocacy against foreign authoritarians. His experience has finally forced a national spotlight onto the threat of transnational repression and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to silence Canadian advocates of human rights and democracy. For those of us who have long endured threats of violence, organized campaigns to discredit us and dehumanizing marginalization based on our ethnic backgrounds, we shudder and share the anxiety of our fellow Canadians who are victimized by foreign intimidation.
The application of sanctions is a painful consequence for the corrupt officials and oligarchs whose stolen assets are used to fund lavish lifestyles and pay for the protection of totalitarian leaders like Vladimir Putin. Their threats and intimidation against those who advocate for them are a good measure of their effectiveness. Over the past 15 months, since Russia invaded Ukraine, we've witnessed a rapid and welcome intensification of our application of sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the Putin regime. All Canadian parliamentarians deserve credit for their unanimous support of sanctions, which has made Canada a leader in holding the Putin regime to account. Sanctions have been imposed on leading Putin-aligned oligarchs who have assets in Canada, like Roman Abramovich. Mr. Abramovich’s Evraz owns five major steel processing plants in western Canada, worth billions of dollars.
Kremlin-controlled propaganda outlets that pollute our information environment and provide platforms for domestic far-left and far-right extremists, such as RT, Sputnik and Channel One, have been sanctioned and removed from our public airwaves.
However, some gaps remain. Bill S-8 helps address one of them: ensuring those on our sanctions lists are also denied entry into Canada. This is a very welcome amendment to IRPA and our overall sanctioning regime.
Another significant gap is one that pertains to Russian state media and its continued availability to Canada’s Russian diaspora community. Despite our sanctions on Russian state media, streaming devices and services, like those offered by Amazon and Google, are sold in Canada by Canadian companies and provide access to multiple Russian channels specifically sanctioned and banned by our government. These channels are Russia-1, Channel One, NTV, Russia-24 and the many other channels controlled by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, which is also on our sanctions list. Canadian far-left and far-right extremists continue to appear on the sanctioned Russian state media channel RT, where they legitimize Russian state narratives. If they receive any benefit, this may also represent a violation of Canadian sanctions laws.
Finally, the acquisition of services related to tourism in temporarily occupied Crimea contravenes Canadian sanctions legislation. A Canadian far-left, pro-Kremlin extremist recently boasted on social media that he met with Russian foreign ministry officials in Moscow and later travelled to Crimea on a tourist visa. While Canadians are free to travel as they wish, it does not mean they are free from the consequences of contravening our sanctions.
In conclusion, I strongly support the harmonization of IRPA with the Canadian Magnitsky law and SEMA.
Thank you so much, again, for inviting me to appear here today. I look forward to your questions.