Ottawa Slaps Sanctions on Libya

Stephen Harper said Canada would go a step further than the measures imposed by the UN.

The UN Security Council agreed to impose an arms embargo against Libya on Saturday, and a day later Harper announced Ottawa would freeze all Libyan government assets in Canada. All transactions between Moammar Gadhafi’s government and Canadian institutions will be suspended, he said, describing the dictator as “the root cause of the dangers” facing Libyans and calling for him to resign. Meanwhile the Department of Foreign Affairs continues to attempt to contact the 100 Canadians believed to still be in the increasingly fractured country. A C-17 aircraft evacuated 46 Canadians from Libya Saturday, including Canada’s diplomatic staff, and a second C-17 has arrived in Malta in preparation for another flight. Most of the Canadians left in Libya are oil workers.