QUESTION PERIOD — Global Affairs
Russian Sanctions
December 4, 2025
Senator Moreau, in October 2025, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights published a report in which they identified that a number of Canadian companies had dual-use products found in Russian weapons that had attacked Ukrainians, so that’s our companies.
Is the Government of Canada aware that sanctioned Canadian products seem to be shipped through Hong Kong, a known global sanctions evasion hub, and what steps, if any, has the government taken to address this issue?
I have every confidence that the government is aware of this report. However, I will certainly bring this to the minister’s attention regardless.
To your specific question, senator, I’m not aware of any intention to designate Hong Kong as a high-risk jurisdiction. As you noted, this has been done for Russia, Iran and North Korea. I am unsure if Hong Kong would fall under this list.
Having said that, I would like to assure you that Canada will continue to work closely with allies to support Ukraine. Just yesterday, the government announced a package of critical military capabilities under NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List in partnership with other NATO allies.
Thank you very much.
For the record, I want to point out that my friends in the Parliament of Ukraine are very appreciative of that.
Canada lags behind our allies in designating companies and individuals in sanction evasion hubs through which useful military components are put through to Russia. This is, in part, due to our lengthy and complicated internal process around that kind of designation. Could Canada not develop a policy to automatically adopt sanctions on Russia already imposed by the EU and other allies?
My understanding is that, currently, sanctions can be enacted under three pieces of legislation: the Special Economic Measures Act, the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act and the United Nations Act. These acts prescribe the necessary legal requirements for imposing sanctions.
