Canada made it illegal to ship microelectronics to Russia. So why isn't the law being enforced?

While Canadian authorities and the federal government are aware of numerous cases of companies and individuals directly and indirectly supplying Russia with illegal microelectronics since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they have so far done little to enforce Canada's laws.

In an international scheme involving shell companies and layers of shipping agents, the Kremlin has managed to purchase and import at least a billion dollars of sanctioned technologies from around the world that it desperately needs to power its war machines.

«Due to Western sanctions and restrictions on technology and components needed to carry on its ongoing invasion of Ukraine,» said Lucas Webber, a New Brunswick-based analyst and geopolitics expert with Tech Against Terrorism, «Russia is finding creative ways to tap into external industries and supply chains.»

Everything from missiles to drones require electronic hardware that Russian industry either cannot produce for itself or cannot make fast enough to feed the demands of its military.

The U.S., Canada and most NATO member-states have levelled sanctions against Russia in light of its war in Ukraine, limiting or outright banning the shipment of microelectronics.

But beyond endless sanctioning and the pageantry of media conferences, the Department of Global Affairs — and the Trudeau government, writ-large — have done very little to make sanctions evaders a major mandate for federal authorities.

«Despite Russia's ongoing efforts to replace Western components in its weapons with Russian or Chinese alternatives, military experts continue to find many parts produced by Western manufacturers,» said Olena Bilousova, a senior research analyst at the Kyiv School of Economics who works with