On September 24, 2024, the Canadian Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR or “Committee”) adopted a motion pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) that the Committee hold two meetings of hearings with experts to speak to the issue of “transnational repression in developing democracies”, where authoritarian states employ various tactics to control their citizens, or non-citizens, to silence dissent.

The Committee held public hearings on November 26, 2024. Representing Secure Canada, Sarah Teich was invited to provide evidence on the topic.

Transnational repression in developing democracies is a critical subject for the Canadian government to address. The long arms of authoritarian regimes in unsafe third countries presents a particularly vulnerability, and instances of this have devastating impacts on Canadians, as autocrats may act more boldly in regions that have less stringent rule of law safeguards.

There are several examples of instances with a Canadian nexus; some of the more particularly egregious examples involve kidnapping or illegal renditions. For instance, Canadian Huseyin Celil was arrested by Uzbek police and quietly handed over to Chinese authorities in June 2006. The Kacmaz and Acar families, now residing in Canada, were kidnapped by Turkish authorities in Pakistan and Bahrain, respectively, and forcibly deported back to Türkiye, where they were detained, imprisoned, and tortured. The Iranian regime and its proxies have likewise kidnapped or attempted to kidnap Canadians and Americans, in numerous instances.

Recommendations to the Committee were to update travel advisories, develop clear policy and lead an international initiative on the provision of consular services to dual nationals, and pass Bill C-353, which would expand the tools available to the Canadian government to combat instances of hostage-taking and arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations.