Canada has toughened sanctions against Russia following Moscow’s attack on neighbouring Ukraine. Canada has sanctioned more than 900 Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian entities and individuals it says are enabling and supporting President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war.
A look at the measures and other actions Canada is taking:
Sanctions
— Sanctioned 15 Russian politicians and military leaders, including Russia’s deputy prime minister, the commander of the air force and several leaders of the Russian navy.
— Imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the owner of the Chelsea Football Club and a major shareholder in Evraz, a British multinational manufacturing company that operates a steel mill in Regina.
— Sanctioned four other Russian oligarchs along with Abramovich. Their assets will be frozen and restrictions placed on 32 military entities in Russia.
— Imposed sanctions on 10 more Russian political and business leaders. The government says the names of the individuals were drawn from a list of potential targets compiled by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
— Removed Russia and its ally, Belarus, off its most favoured nation list of trade partners. That now subjects their exports to 35 percent tariffs. Previously, the only country not on the list was North Korea.
— Imposed sanctions on 10 executives with Gazprom, a major Russian state-owned energy company, and Rosneft, Russia’s leading oil company.
— Banned all Canadian financial institutions from conducting transactions with the Russian central bank.
— Imposed an asset freeze and a dealings prohibition on Russian sovereign wealth funds.
— Imposed sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and other top Kremlin figures.
— Supported the removal of Russia from SWIFT, the digital payment and messaging network that connects thousands of banks worldwide.
— Sanctioned 58 people and entities connected to Russia, including key political leaders, oligarchs and their families, as well as the paramilitary organization known as the Wagner Group and several major Russian banks.
— Also on the list are members of the Russian Security Council, including key cabinet ministers close to Putin.
— Other sanctions target members of the Russian State Duma who voted to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two separatist regions of Ukraine that have suffered eight years of war fuelled by Russian weapons and troops.
— The sanctions freeze assets and prohibit the conduct of financial transactions with any entity on the list. They also impose a ban on travel to Canada to any individual on the list.
— A ban on Canadians from engaging in transactions and activities in the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
— A prohibition on anyone dealing directly or indirectly in Russia’s sovereign debt in a bid to prevent that country from raising debt to cover spending costs.
Military
— Sent $50 million in specialized equipment including Canadian-made cameras for surveillance drones.
— Sent 4,500 rocket launchers and 7,500 hand grenades from the Canadian Forces armoury to Ukraine.
— Pledged $1 million for the purchase of high-resolution modern satellite imagery.
— Provided an additional 1,600 fragmentation vests and just under 400,000 meal packs to Ukraine.
— Sent at least 100 portable anti-tank weapons and 2,000 rockets to Ukraine.
— Provided $25 million in helmets, body armour, night-vision gear and other non-lethal aid for Ukraine’s military.
— Sent up to 460 additional troops to join the approximately 800 already deployed in Europe as part of NATO.
— Sent a battery of artillery guns and an electronic warfare group. The battle group in Latvia already includes up to 540 Canadian personnel, vehicles and equipment.
— Sent a CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft to serve under NATO command and a second frigate with a maritime helicopter to join NATO’s Standing Naval Forces.
— About 3,400 Canadian Armed Forces personnel have also been authorized to deploy to Europe should NATO require the assistance.
— Offered up to $10 million in weapons and equipment to Ukraine. Included in that is $7.8 million worth of lethal weapons and ammunition.
Other actions
— Promised to match up to $30 million in donations to the Canadian Red Cross to aid relief efforts in Ukraine, tripling an earlier figure of $10 million.
— Allotted $117 million to support its expedited refugee application process for Ukrainians.
— That process allows an unlimited number of Ukrainians to apply for an expedited visa to stay for two years, without conditions like language requirements or labour market impact assessments.
— A new reunification program for Ukrainians with family in Canada who wish to come and remain here permanently.
— Encouraging refugees to continue to apply to come to Canada through traditional immigration streams. At least 6,000 expedited applications from Ukraine have been approved since January.
— Called for Russia’s suspension from Interpol.
— Banned Russian-owned or registered ships and fishing vessels in Canadian ports and internal waters.
— Provided an extra $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, targeted at helping displaced people and providing emergency health services, including trauma care, shelter, water, sanitation and food. This is in addition to the $15 million Canada already allocated to Ukraine since the start of 2022 and the $30 million through the Canadian Red Cross.
— Asked the International Criminal Court to speed up its investigation into Russia for possible war crimes.
— Banned all imports of Russian crude oil, which were already negligible in the country.
— Bolstered its presence in the region so it can fast-track immigration applications for Ukrainians. Canada has already expedited existing immigration applications from Ukraine.
— Asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to review the presence of the Russian state-run broadcaster, RT, on Canada’s airwaves.
— Closed its airspace to Russian aircraft.
— Cancelled existing export permits for Russia, worth an estimated $700 million in trade.
— Provided Ukraine up to $620 million in loans to help the country counter Russian efforts to destabilize the Ukrainian economy.
— Advised Canadians in early February to avoid all travel to Ukraine. More recently, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly urged any Canadians in Ukraine to leave immediately.
— Closed its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
