Two Carleton University professors have been indefinitely banned from entering Russia after landing on the country’s “stop list” in April.
On April 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry added 61 Canadians to the list in response to sanctions imposed by Canada against individuals involved with the Russian government.
Balkan Devlen, a Carleton University professor of international affairs and senior fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, is number 9 on the list.
“It’s a badge of honour to be on the list,” Devlen said. “I’m proud to be even in a small way associated with the struggle and resistance that Ukrainians are putting.”
Devlen added he’s not personally affected by his inclusion on the list.
“I had no plans to travel to Russia, at any rate,” he said.
Seven days later, on April 29, Russia updated the list which included Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs and chancellor’s professor at Carleton University.
“I certainly wasn’t planning to go to Russia or take cruises down the Volga River,” Hampson said.
Just learned thanks to @kolga I am #545 on Russia’s sanctions list. At this rate I suspect there will be no Canadian who is not on their list! #RussiaUkraineConflict #sanction
— Fen Hampson (@fenhampson) April 29, 2022
The list was developed in 2014 in retaliation against sanctions Canada and the international community, placed on Russia over its invasion of Crimea, according to Marcus Kolga, a Canadian journalist and expert on sanctions and foreign policy.
Kolga is also the colleague who informed Hampson about the list.
He said the 2014 list was not made public. However, the list, which is now public, has been updated over the years, Kolga added.
In its statement, the ministry accused those banned of being “directly involved in the development, substantiation and implementation of the Russophobic course of the ruling regime in Canada.”
While no specific reason is given, Hampson and Devlen believe they made the list due to their involvement in policies targeting Russia.
Devlen has written several opinion pieces on ways to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the MacDonald Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank with expertise in public policy.
“I’ve been quite vocal about my criticism of Russia, as well as urging our government to do more in terms of support of our allies and partners,” Devlen said.
As for Hampson, he’s been advocating for Bill S-217, also known as the Frozen Assets Repurposing Act (FARA). If passed, the bill will allow the Canadian government to seize and repurpose frozen assets of sanctioned foreign officials, including Russian oligarchs, to assist refugees.
FARA came after the World Refugee and Migration Council (WRMC), which Hampson is president of, released its 2019 report. The WRMC researches and proposes ways the international community can better support refugees and forcibly displaced people, according to their website.
Ontario Senator Ratna Odmivar, who is also a member of the council, sponsored the report recommendations as Bill S-217 that same year. The bill is currently at third reading in the Senate, the final stage before a decision is reached.
FARA is not a completely new legislation, according to Hampson. The Canadian government has passed the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Magnitsky Law) and the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA) that authorize it to take measures against foreign nationals such as imposing sanctions or freezing assets.
Through FARA, the government will be able to repurpose the assets of Russian officials that have been frozen under SEMA or Magnitsky, Hampson said.
“There are potentially billions that are available for Ukraine’s reconstruction and to help those who have been forcibly displaced, who are in pretty dire circumstances,” Hampson said. “It also punishes the Russian leadership in a way that hits them right in the pocketbook.”
In his testimony before the Senate on March 24, Hampson suggested FARA be named the Volodymyr Zelensky Act “to honour and celebrate the courageous leader of Ukraine.”
Allan Rock, special adviser of the council, said the G7 countries such as the U.S. are working to adopt similar measures allowing them to seize and repurpose the assets of Russian oligarchs.
“[This kind of legislation] increases pressure, increases the isolation of Russia internationally. And that’s a very good thing,” Rock said.
He added the Russian government might retaliate with its further sanctions, but it will pale in comparison to the current “international condemnation” of Russia.
Featured image provided by Fen Hampson and Balkan Devlen.
