Thank you.
The first issue we see with Canada's sanctions regime is the methodology by which our government decides whether or not to sanction someone. We've never really understood or received an explanation for why, for example, someone is sanctioned in other jurisdictions but not in Canada, or how the decision is made to not sanction someone here if they've been sanctioned by our allies.
For example, on April 6, 2022, the U.K. sanctioned Viatcheslav Kantor, the largest shareholder of fertilizer company Acron, with, as the United Kingdom stated, “vital strategic significance for the Russian government”. On April 8, 2022, he was sanctioned by the European Union. He has not been sanctioned by Canada, and we don't know why.
The second problem we see is enforcement of existing sanctions. According to the RCMP, in June 2022, $123,031,000 had been frozen in Canada under Russia SEMA regulations. In December 2022, which is the most recent data I could locate, the RCMP reported $122,245,000 in frozen assets.
In the intervening seven months, between June and December 2022, Global Affairs Canada announced sanctions against 302 Russian individuals and 83 entities. Either none of those individuals or entities hold any assets in Canada, or we were simply unable to locate any of those assets.
At any rate, $122,000,000 is a comparative pittance compared to what are the likely actual Russian holdings in Canada. In fact, in just one known case, the Russian oligarch Igor Makarov moved out some $121,000,000 in assets just days before being sanctioned by Canada, in April 2022. The amount a single Russian oligarch was able to move out is essentially equal to the sum total of Russian assets that Canada has been able to freeze.
Makarov had been sanctioned by the U.S. treasury in 2018. The reason our government took no action against him until after he moved his assets out is unknown to us.
We understand that this committee intends to conduct a wider study of Canadian sanctions policy, which we welcome and for which we'd be honoured to provide more recommendations. In the meantime, the UCC reiterates its strong support for Bill S-8 and our strong support for ensuring that those sanctioned by Canada are not able to travel here. Human rights abusers and corrupt officials have no place in Canada.
Thank you.