On April 16, 2026, Human Rights Action Group submitted a written brief in contribution to the Subcommittee on International and Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development’s study on the global impacts of transnational repression (“TNR”). In addition to highlighting the impact of TNR on diaspora communities in Canada, this brief made several recommendations for addressing TNR–

1. Use Existing Immigration Laws to Remove Perpetrators and Resettle Victims

   Inadmissibility provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), including on grounds of security, criminality, serious criminality, transborder criminality, or organized criminality, should be used to remove perpetrators of TNR from Canada where applicable. At the same time, IRPA protection provisions should be utilized to resettle victims, particularly those remaining in vulnerable positions in unsafe third countries, and/or used as leverage to threaten, silence, and intimidate loved ones in Canada.

2. Impose Targeted Sanctions on Perpetrators of Transnational Repression

   The Canadian government should implement targeted sanctions on perpetrators of TNR under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act and the Special Economic Measures Act. Serious acts of TNR can fall under these regimes when they amount to gross violations of internationally recognized human rights in a foreign state or when they are considered to be undermining international peace, security, or stability.

   While neither law accounts for acts of TNR that fall short of these thresholds, the argument can be made that perpetrators of TNR are complicit in gross violations committed abroad such that their actions amount to sanctionable activities. However, the SDIR should address the lack of clarity on this point, for example by issuing a recommendation to this effect and / or recommending a legislative amendment, to ensure that these laws are used to their fullest extent to address TNR.

3. Ensure Accessibility of Reporting Mechanisms

   All existing reporting mechanisms, complaints forms, and outreach documentation must be made available in a variety of languages including Uyghur, Mandarin, Tibetan, Tigrinya, Tamil, Persian, and Spanish. The creation of a dedicated agency and a dedicated hotline, with multiple language capabilities, community involvement, outreach, and confidentiality and anonymity options should also be seriously considered.

4. Avoid Cooperating with Authoritarian Regimes on Criminal Matters

   Canada must avoid cooperating with authoritarian regimes on criminal matters, including by applying strict scrutiny when assessing extradition requests and Interpol Red Notices from countries known to abuse these processes and making a reservation to the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and Other International Crimes limiting the obligations it owes only to states parties with which Canada has operative regimes in going after their chosen targets, or alternatively withdrawing. The SDIR should also recommend that the Treaty Between Canada and the People’s Republic of China on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters be terminated on its six-month termination provision.

5. Passage of Comprehensive Legislation on TNR

   Consider passing comprehensive TNR legislation, amending the Criminal Code and IRPA, establishing a compensation fund and creating resettlement streams for victims of TNR, and legislating TNR-specific sanctions regulations, is required to close existing accountability gaps and provide appropriate redress for victims.

The brief can be viewed in its entirety here.