Foreign Affairs committee  The United Nations Act essentially allows the government to implement non-military measures under article 41 of the charter of the United Nations. It's a vehicle with which we can comply with our international legal obligations under the UN charter to implement binding decisions

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll respond to this question. Yes, those tools are already in place. In fact, clause 8 is an exact reflection of existing legislation and regulations dealing with asset issues, including both under the Special Economic Measures Act and the United Nations A

Foreign Affairs committee  Switzerland has in place very similar legislation to this, although it allows the quick freezing for up to ten years, so their time period is a little bit longer than ours. The United States has the capability of quick freezing assets through the tool of the executive order. Thi

Foreign Affairs committee  The criteria set out in clause 4, which provides that the Governor in Council must determine that “the making of the order or regulation is in the interest of international relations”, is a fairly widely cast provision that allows the government to make the assessment, for exampl

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, that's quite correct. One of the conditions under which the orders or regulations can be made requires the Governor in Council to consider if the making of the order or regulation is in the interests of foreign relations. That, of course, includes an element of considering w

Foreign Affairs committee  Concerning the family members, there's no precise definition in there. It will be as prescribed in the regulations. In other words, the family members will be specifically listed. If regulations are made under this legislation, they will come attached to a list of names, and the

Foreign Affairs committee  If there are any difficulties for individuals in a company, the immediate protective mechanism would of be through consular relations. There are also mechanisms available in international law to protect companies that have been adversely affected or targeted by the host country i

Foreign Affairs committee  I'm with the legal bureau at foreign affairs. We did a fairly informal assessment of the possible cost. The only comparable mechanism that we could see was the Human Rights Commission. Of course, at this point, it would be truly guesswork, because you don't know how many complain

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. Since your question is legal in nature, I would like to answer in English.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. We are not, I believe, as officials, in the position to suggest alternative mechanisms to the ones proposed in the bill, but we can certainly note that the framework that is currently provided in the bill would very likely not satisfy the administrative law requiremen

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, that is correct.

Foreign Affairs committee  Within the confines of SEMA, the investigations happen in Canada.

Foreign Affairs committee  That is correct, yes.