Conservative MP James Bezan is pushing for tougher measures to hold human rights abusers accountable by extending Canadian sanctions to their immediate family members.
Bezan’s private member’s bill, Bill C-219, would bar relatives of sanctioned individuals from entering Canada, studying here, or holding financial assets in the country. The proposal also directs law enforcement agencies to work with Ottawa in drafting sanctions and requires ministers to formally respond to parliamentary requests for action.
The bill, which has cross-party backing from Liberal MP John McKay, would also rename Canada’s sanctions law after Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow prison after exposing large-scale corruption.
Human rights advocates, including the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, say the legislation would help Canada respond more effectively to foreign regimes — such as Iran, Russia, and China — that engage in political intimidation and repression of diaspora communities on Canadian soil.
The proposal follows a Global Affairs Canada review that concluded the country’s sanctions system is under-resourced and overly complicated, leaving gaps in enforcement. Bezan says the reform would bring clarity, accountability, and teeth to a regime meant to defend human rights and democracy abroad.