Under the pretence of alleged human rights violations by the governments of Russia, Iran, and Myanmar, Mélanie Joly, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that the government imposed fresh sanctions against personnell from those countries.

Joly noted in the statement that "a total of 67 individuals and 9 entities" have been sanctioned by the Canadian government in Ottawa.

Ahead of Human Rights Day, we’re sanctioning 67 individuals & 9 entities who are complicit in human rights violations in Russia, Iran and Myanmar.

The fundamental rights & freedoms of all people must be respected. pic.twitter.com/woow20AUDw

— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) December 9, 2022

According to the statement, the "Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations" targeted 33 current and former senior Russian officials as well as 6 entities that were involved in the alleged "systematic human rights violations" against Russian citizens who protested in opposition of the war in Ukraine, the Canadian foreign ministry said in a statement.

In Burma, "Canada is imposing sanctions against 12 individuals and 3 entities who perform key functions on behalf of the Myanmar military regime, are responsible for democratic reversals, facilitate arms flows to the regime and enable the regime’s violence, including against civilians."

In a Joint Statement by Canada and United States, the two countries announced "are united in condemning the Islamic Republic of Iran’s brutal acts."

With our partner Canada, we remain committed to imposing costs on the perpetrators of human rights abuses against Iranians. Everyone in Iran has the right to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 9, 2022

As for sanctions on Iran, the Canadian MFA announced that 22 individuals have been sanctioned, including "senior members of the Iranian judiciary, prison system and law enforcement forces, as well as political leaders, such as senior aides to the regime’s Supreme Leader and senior figures in state-directed media outlets."

Russia responds on reciprocal basis

The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, reminded the Canadian FM that she, as well as Canadian PM Justin Trudeau are on the list of Canadian citizens that "have been denied entry on a reciprocal basis."

Russia, according to a post of Zakharova's Telegram channel, has a list of over 200 Canadian citizens of the "Trudeau regime" that have been denied entry to Russia. Among them, are "high-ranking officials, retired and acting parliamentarians, law enforcement officers, representatives of the expert community, as well as activists of numerous pro-Banderite structures and organizations directly serving the Russophobic course of the Trudeau regime."

Al Mayadeen investigated the claims of Zakharova and found some of the top Canadian citizens and officials barred from entering Russia are: 

- Anita Anand, Minister of National Defense of Canada

- Bill Matthews, Deputy Minister of National Defense

- Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defense Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces

- Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP)

- Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons (Liberal Party)

- Yves-Francois Blanchet, Leader of the Bloc Québécois

- Candice Bergen, Acting Leader of the Opposition (Conservative)

- Alexandra Chyczij, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress

- Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board of Canada

- Sarah Paquet, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada

- Robert Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

- Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety

- Anna Kuprieiva, Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Bar Association

- Marcus Kolga, Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute

- William Blair, President of the Privy Council

- Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

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