Canada imposes sanctions on various foreign actors under three statutory regimes: United Nations Act (UNA); Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA); and Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (JVCFOA). These sanctions are imposed in response to:
- grave breaches of international peace and security that have resulted in or are likely to result in a serious international crisis;
- gross and systematic human rights violations; or
- acts of significant corruption.
The sanctions are imposed either independently by Canada or in order to fulfill its international legal obligations as a United Nations member state.
While Queen’s University and students and employees of the institution need to be concerned about breaching any of the sanctions imposed by Canada, of particular concern are the sanction imposed under SEMA. SEMA sanctions currently apply to several countries, including individuals and institutions from these countries. Several universities are also listed among the sanctioned entities. The sanctions imposed by Canada contain a broad range of prohibitions, including prohibitions of dealings with individuals and entities and restrictions on trade and financial transactions. Some of these prohibitions may capture some of the activities researchers and academics engage in as part of the collaboration activities.
Contravening sanctions is considered a criminal act in Canada. Where individuals and/or entities are convicted of a breach of any sanction imposed by Canada it could result in fines ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 and/or prison terms ranging from 1 year to 10 years depending on the sanctions legislations that is breached. Additional penalties can also be imposed for related breaches of other legislation including the Criminal Code and the Export and Import Permits Act.
It is therefore important for members of the Queen’s community to be aware of the entities and individuals they are dealing with and whether those individuals or entities are sanctioned or otherwise connected with sanctioned actors.
Please review a list of the current sanctions maintained by Canada, including affected individuals and entities.
In addition, any questions or concerns that you may have about whether an interaction could be a breach of any sanctions can be directed to the safeguarding research team at Queen’s by emailing researchsecurity@queensu.ca.
For additional information visit Canadian Sanctions FAQs.