Capabilities and gaps in the Canadian special economic measures act regime

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sanctions have become an increasingly used foreign policy tool for applying pressure short of the use of military force, particularly for middle-tier powers like Canada. In the Canadian case, however, the current sanctions regime under the Special Economic Measures Act suffers from a number of gaps which make assessing its effectiveness as a foreign policy tool extremely difficult if not impossible. This paper examines the Canadian sanctions regime in the broader context of required capabilities, comparing it with that of the US regime under the Office of Foreign Assets Control, in order to highlight these gaps and how they might be addressed to assess the regime’s overall effectiveness.