Canada imposes trade sanctions on Belarus

Canada imposed unilateral trade sanctions on Belarus on Monday to pressure it to respect human rights and democracy. Any exports to Belarus will now require a Canadian export permit, and these will generally be denied except for humanitarian items like food, clothing and medicine.

"Canada remains very concerned that Belarus continues to ignore international appeals to restore democracy," Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement.

"From a flawed election to the continued imprisonment of democratic supporters, Belarus persists in its flagrant abuse of human rights and the rule of law."

Canada surprised the U.S. government in April by acting ahead of it in denying a refueling stop to Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky en route to Cuba. Ottawa signaled in July that it was looking at clamping down on Canadian exports.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko`s landslide election victory on March 19 was branded fraudulent by international observers.