Putting bad guys on notice

Re Canada backs Magnitsky Act targeting human rights violators, May 17 I am thrilled that the Canadian government has decided to adopt legislation that would impose sanctions on human-rights violators in foreign countries.

Despotic rulers and their henchmen who engage in gross human-rights violations should feel the discomfort of sanctions aimed at them, and not the innocent people of their country.

Such responses not only help clarify the moral high ground but will also put the bad guys on notice that they cannot continue their ways without at least some negative consequences that may affect them personally. If standard morality and ethics won’t curb their excesses, perhaps this will. Frank Leclair, Ottawa