Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay is calling for use of the Magnitsky Act if specific individuals in China can be identified as having suppressed information related to COVID-19A full inquiry, perhaps an international one, into how the novel coronavirus turned into a pandemic is required, MacKay told supporters. "We need to invoke existing laws like the Magnitsky Act to hold individuals personally accountable for misdeeds if that evidence exists," he said. The act allows for sanctions against foreign nationals "responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights." The legislation is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow lawyer who was tortured and died in a Moscow prison after uncovering fraud in Russia. MacKay is not the first to suggest using the act.

Source: CBC News May 08, 2020 12:06 UTC