The Canadian government on Friday further amended the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations to list an additional 38 Russian individuals and 16 entities. The regulations explain that the Governor in Council is “of the opinion that the actions of the Russian Federation constitute a grave breach of international peace and security, which has resulted in a serious international crisis.” The identified individuals and entities are involved in Russia’s disinformation and propaganda actions.

The regulations first came into force on March 17, 2014, and have been amended heavily in the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They impose freezes on assets and dealings involved with the prohibition on designated persons. The sanctions also impact shipping, importing and exporting rights, as well as imposing restrictions on certain sectors, such as the financial and energy sectors and debt services.

These sanctions were originally imposed on Russia under the Special Economic Measures Act in response to “the gravity of Russia’s violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and grave human rights violations that have been committed in Russia.”

Speaking on the background to these regulations, the Canadian Government highlighted that:

Russia has continued to play a destabilizing role in Ukraine, while denying that it is even a party to the conflict in the east, thus leading to a deadlock in the peace negotiations. It also continues to violate human rights in an aggressive and systematic fashion.