Tories slow to boot Russian soccer sponsor
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is being questioned for waiting until the last week of the FIFA Women’s World Cup to sanction a Russian gas company that was one of the soccer tournament’s largest sponsors.
State-controlled Gazprom was among 14 Russian organizations added to Canada’s sanctions list on June 29 in retaliation for Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The list included a Russian separatist group, a motorcycle club and a number of weapons manufacturers.
The move came as Gazprom’s logo was being splashed across stadiums in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver as one of the soccer tournament’s five largest top-tier sponsors. The others were Coca-Cola, Adidas, Hyundai and Visa.
It came more than nine months after the U.S. added Gazprom to its own sanctions list.
Asked about the timing of the sanctions, Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson’s spokeswoman, Julie Di Mambro, said: “We make foreign policy decisions when the government believes it is the right time to act.”
Unlike those that forbid all financial transactions, the sanctions against Gazprom ban only certain loans to and from the company.
Trade lawyer John Boscariol, an expert on Canada’s sanctions regime at McCarthy Tetrault, said it’s unlikely any rules were broken as the measures against Gazprom are “about as soft as you can get.”
“So in some ways, I guess what you’re saying is we don’t want you to support Gazprom through financing,” Boscariol said. “But otherwise you can deal with them.”
The government has been secretive with how and why it adds certain individuals, companies and groups to its sanctions list. Boscariol described it as “a bit of a black hole,” with officials citing national security and other reasons not to divulge any information on the process.
The government has been critical of Russia over Ukraine, and Boscariol said Canada has been aggressive when it comes to sanctions. But he suggested there’s some politicking involved, as the government has largely failed to highlight the different types of sanctions.
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar questioned why the government didn’t sanction Gazprom last year as the U.S. did, and said it missed an opportunity to put some pressure on Russia by refusing to take any action until the FIFA tournament was almost over.
“It continues to be a policy that is more about hot rhetoric than an effective, clear strategy when it comes to targeted sanctions,” Dewar said.