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Bill S-247

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First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022

SENATE OF CANADA

BILL S-247
An Act to amend the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law)

FIRST READING, May 31, 2022

THE HONOURABLE SENATOR HOUSAKOS

4412129


SUMMARY

This enactment amends the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) to, among other things,

(a)allow the Governor in Council to restrict or prohibit certain activities in relation to family members of foreign nationals who are responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights;

(b)allow the Governor in Council to order the seizure, freezing or sequestration of the property of such family members if the Governor in Council has reason to believe that the property has been given to them to impede the enforcement of the Act;

(c)allow the Governor in Council to order certain entities to provide information necessary for the enforcement of the Act;

(d)permit Parliament to amend or revoke certain orders or regulations made under the Act by motion; and

(e)require the Minister of Foreign Affairs to report to Parliament annually on actions taken under the Act, resources committed to enforcement and efforts made to collaborate internationally on related activities.

Available on the Senate of Canada website at the following address:
www.sencanada.ca/en


1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022

SENATE OF CANADA

BILL S-247

An Act to amend the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law)

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

2017, c. 21

Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law)

1The Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) is amended by replacing paragraphs 4(1)‍(a) and (b) with the following:

  • (a)make any orders or regulations with respect to the restriction or prohibition of any of the activities referred to in subsection (3) in relation to a foreign national Insertion start or a family member of the foreign national Insertion end that the Governor in Council considers necessary;

  • (b)by order, cause to be seized, frozen or sequestrated in the manner set out in the order

    • Insertion start (i) Insertion end any of the foreign national’s property situated in Canada Insertion start , or Insertion end

    • Start of inserted block

      (ii)any of the property of any family member of the foreign national that is situated in Canada and that the Governor in Council has reason to believe has been transferred, given or sold to the family member for the purposes of impeding the enforcement of this Act; and

  • (c)by order, require any entity referred to in section 6 to provide any information in its possession that the Governor in Council considers necessary to establish

  • (i)whether the entity has any of the foreign national’s property in its possession or control, or

  • (ii)whether it has any of the property of any family member of the foreign national in its possession or control that was transferred, given or sold to a family member of the foreign national for the purposes of impeding the enforcement of this Act.

    End of inserted block

2The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5:

Order or regulation made under section 4

Start of inserted block

5.‍1(1)A motion for the consideration of a House of Parliament, to the effect that an order or regulation made under subsection 4 be amended or revoked, signed by not less than 50 members of the House of Commons in the case of a motion for the consideration of the House of Commons, and not less than 20 members of the Senate in the case of a motion for the consideration of the Senate, may be filed with the Speaker of the appropriate House.

End of inserted block

Consideration of motion

Start of inserted block

(2)If a motion for the consideration of a House of Parliament is filed in accordance with subsection (1), that House shall, not later than the sixth sitting day of that House following the filing of the motion, take up and consider the motion unless a motion to the like effect has been taken up earlier and is being considered in the other House.

End of inserted block

Time for disposition of motion

Start of inserted block

(3)A motion taken up and considered in a House of Parliament in accordance with subsection (2) shall be debated without interruption for not more than three hours or such longer period as that House may fix with the unanimous consent of its members, and, on the conclusion of the debate or on the expiration of the third hour of debate, whichever is earlier, the Speaker of that House shall immediately put every question necessary for the disposal of the motion.

End of inserted block

Procedure on adoption of motion

Start of inserted block

(4)If a motion taken up and considered in a House of Parliament in accordance with subsection (2) is adopted with or without amendments, a message shall be sent from that House informing the other House that the motion has been so adopted and requesting that the motion be concurred in by that other House.

End of inserted block

Procedure in other House

Start of inserted block

(5)Within the first 15 days that it is sitting after receiving a request pursuant to subsection (4), the House receiving the request shall take up and consider the motion that is the subject of the request, and all questions in connection with the motion shall be debated without interruption for not more than three hours or such longer period as that House may fix with the unanimous consent of its members, and, on the conclusion of the debate or on the expiration of the third hour of debate, whichever is earlier, the Speaker of that House shall immediately put every question necessary to determine whether or not the motion is concurred in.

End of inserted block

If motion adopted and concurred in

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(6)If a motion taken up and considered in accordance with this section is adopted with or without amendments by the House of Parliament in which it was introduced and is concurred in by the other House, the order or regulation to which the motion relates is revoked or amended effective on the day specified in the motion, but that day may not be earlier than the day of the vote of concurrence.

End of inserted block

If motion not adopted or not concurred in

Start of inserted block

(7)If a motion taken up and considered in accordance with this section is not adopted by the House of Parliament in which it was introduced, or if it is adopted with or without amendments by that House but is not concurred in by the other House, the order or regulation to which the motion relates shall remain unaffected.

End of inserted block

3The Act is amended by replacing the portion of section 6 before paragraph (a) with the following:

Determination

6Each of the following entities must determine on a continuing basis whether it is in possession or control of Insertion start any Insertion end property that it has reason to believe is the property of a foreign national Insertion start or any family member of that foreign national Insertion end who is the subject of an order or regulation made under section 4:

4The Act is amended by replacing paragraph 7(2)‍(a) with the following:

  • (a)that they have reason to believe that property in their possession or control is owned, held or controlled by or on behalf of a foreign national Insertion start or a family member of that foreign national Insertion end who is the subject of an order or regulation made under section 4; and

5The Act is amended by adding the following after the heading “Review and Report” after section 15:

Annual report

Start of inserted block

15.‍1The Minister must, on or before December 10 of each year, submit an annual report to Parliament that includes the following:

  • (a)all orders made or repealed under section 4 in the previous year;

  • (b)all permits issued under subsection 4(5) or amended, suspended, revoked or reinstated under subsection 4(6);

  • (c)the Minister’s reasons for issuing, amending, suspending, revoking or reinstating any such permits;

  • (d)all amendments made to any orders or regulations made under section 4 in the previous year;

  • (e)the Minister’s reasons for those amendments;

  • (f)a description of the Government of Canada’s efforts to enforce this Act in the previous year, including all resources it has committed to that task; and

  • (g)a description of the Minister’s ongoing efforts to collaborate with foreign governments to ensure that actions taken under this Act align with actions taken by those governments, including all meetings convened with foreign governments in the previous year.

    End of inserted block
Published under authority of the Senate of Canada



EXPLANATORY NOTES

Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law)
Clause 1:Text of subsection 4(1):

4(1)The Governor in Council may, if the Governor in Council is of the opinion that any of the circumstances described in subsection (2) has occurred,

  • (a)make any orders or regulations with respect to the restriction or prohibition of any of the activities referred to in subsection (3) in relation to a foreign national that the Governor in Council considers necessary; and

  • (b)by order, cause to be seized, frozen or sequestrated in the manner set out in the order any of the foreign national’s property situated in Canada.

Clause 2:New.
Clause 3:Text of relevant portion of section 6:

6Each of the following entities must determine on a continuing basis whether it is in possession or control of property that it has reason to believe is the property of a foreign national who is the subject of an order or regulation made under section 4:

Clause 4:Text of relevant portions of subsection 7(2):

(2)Every person in Canada and every Canadian outside Canada must disclose without delay to the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service

  • (a)that they have reason to believe that property in their possession or control is owned, held or controlled by or on behalf of a foreign national who is the subject of an order or regulation made under section 4; and

Clause 5:New.

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