SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 174 - Mar/28/23

Mar/28/23 12:07:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is fair to say that the government has used a number of tools. Of that I have no doubt, but fundamentally we still come back to the issue that has now been pending for a number of months, which is listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization. It is fair to say that the issue has to be dealt with, and the government needs to go into more detail on it because of the complexity around it. We do not want a fallout that impacts innocent people, but the IRGC is behind much of the violence of this brutal regime. The tools need to be put in place. If the motion we are discussing today is voted on, and I believe it will be, and passed, it would be a strong message to the government to act now to do the work. It would assure that it comes back to the House of Commons in short order to say what it can do to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, noting exemptions to ensure that innocent people are not impacted by that decision. The government needs to act, and the vote we will have on this will increase the pressure for the government to act now.

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)

Mar/28/23 12:09:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to rise this morning to speak on a very important issue that is impacting many residents of Iranian or Persian heritage in York Region. To commence my remarks, I want to say that this Sunday we hosted a Nowruz celebration in my riding, with about 200 people in attendance. It was a wonderful celebration and really illustrated what this country of Canada is about. We had individuals from Iranian or Persian heritage, as well as Bahá'ís or Afghanis from Turkey, Turkish citizens and Turkish people of Kurdish heritage. We also had folks from the Azerbaijani community. I think there were about five or six different communities that I am proud to represent. We had a haft-seen table, which represents the arrival of spring for Nowruz. It was just a wonderful celebration. It represented not only the diversity we have here in Canada but also how inclusive a country we are. I want to take a moment to say that I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from the riding of Humber River—Black Creek. When I was first elected in 2015, my hon. colleague was a friend and mentor and still is someone who is dear to me and my entire family. Therefore, I will be splitting my time with that hon. member. I also wish not only to comment on the beautiful Nowruz celebration that I hosted with my team and a number of communities but also to say that our government is clearly focused on being there for the Iranian diaspora here in Canada and assisting that community in the fight for liberty and a free, democratic and secular Iran. It is very important to us. It is very important for the community members who were in attendance with me on Sunday evening. The great thing was that when we posted this event on our communication channels, I received probably 15 or 20 direct messages from community members wishing to attend. It just goes to show the vibrancy, dynamism and growth of the Persian community in the city of Vaughan and my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. I wish to thank the committee members for their report and recommendations. To date, the government has taken decisive action to hold the Iranian government accountable for the shooting down of PS752. The passenger flight was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing all 176 passengers and crew, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents of Canada, a number of them from the region of York. For family members of the victims already in Canada as temporary residents, we have provided a pathway to permanent residency if they fear that returning to Iran could put them at risk. For people who lost family members, we have provided expedited temporary residency visas to allow them to come to Canada to address personal matters and deal with estates. We have offered permanent residency for families of the victims of PS752 in Iran who are at risk of threats of violence and retribution by the Iranian government, especially their security intelligence and police services. We continue to stand with the victims and their families. We are working with allies to force Iran to provide support and compensation for those who lost their loved ones. Iran has a history of violent actions and the use of threats and intimidation to force citizens to comply with their demands. Canada and all Canadians stand for human rights and the equality of all. Iran continues to oppress many of its people, carrying out acts of violence against women and children and imprisoning protesters and those who speak out against the regime and its leaders. We have all seen the gruesome pictures on TV of the executions, arrests and beatings by a heinous regime. Last September, Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, was detained and killed while in the custody of Iran's so-called morality police. Reports have suggested that she was detained because she was not wearing her hijab in the appropriate manner as designated by Iranian law. Canada strongly condemned this reprehensible and heinous attack, which was the direct result of the systemic harassment and repression of women in Iran. In response to this violence, tens of thousands of people across Iran have held protests, demanding change on behalf of the many victims like Ms. Amini. Women, students and youth have taken to the streets to demand the end of the repressive regime and the violence inflicted on their own people. The Iranian regime's response has followed the same path as it has in the past. It has only met the demands for equality, human rights and justice with violence and further oppression. To date, thousands of protesters have been injured. Nearly 500 are reported to have been killed, murdered by police, security forces, and again, the so-called morality police. Once again, Canada strongly condemns the violent crackdowns against civilian protesters and the use of force by Iranian authorities against Iran's own civilians. Canada stands with these victims of violence and with those fighting for human rights and equality. We stand with Mahsa Amini and her family. We stand with Iranian women who have been leading the fight for human rights and equality in Iran. Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi participated in an international competition for her country, but without her hijab. Ms. Rekabi was immediately taken back to Iran and is reported by state authorities to be under house arrest. With their acts of violence against their own people and their denials of co-operation and information to Canada and others over flight PS752, these authorities have shown that they cannot be trusted. We hope that Ms. Rekabi is well and safe. On the sanctions front, on March 23, Canada further amended the Special Economic Measures Act to list eight additional individuals and two entities in relation to Iran's gross and systemic violations of human rights and ongoing grave breaches of international peace and security. Yesterday, we added our 10th package of sanctions against the regime and the organizations and individuals behind it. To stand with the victims against this senseless violence, the shooting down of PS752 and the oppression of human rights, Canada imposed strict economic sanctions against Iran. I believe that since October 2022, Canada has now imposed 10 rounds of sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act in condemnation of Iran's violations of human rights and ongoing breaches of international peace and security. Canada has continued to update and add individuals, organizations and businesses to the list of bans. This has now listed 127 Iranian individuals and 189 entities, as including senior officials in the IRGC and across the regime's security, intelligence and economic apparatus. On November 14, 2022, Canada announced the designation of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that engages in gross and systemic human rights violations and terrorism. This means that tens of thousands of senior members of the Iranian regime, including many members of the IRGC, are now inadmissible to Canada. This also includes senior political figures; senior public servants; members of the judiciary; and senior leaders in the police, security and intelligence organizations. This move ensures that Canada will not be a safe haven for any Iranian regime officials who may flee Iran in the face of massive protests and demands by its people. It also means that any current or former senior officials in Canada may be investigated and removed if determined to be inadmissible. In conclusion, the government welcomed the committee's report and has taken comprehensive steps against the Iranian regime. I trust all members of the House will welcome the government's response and support keeping the pressure on this heinous regime, while also supporting the families of those on PS752 and protesters in Iran fighting for human rights and equality. On a personal note, I have always had a very close relationship with the Persian community, including in British Columbia, going to school with many of my university colleagues at Simon Fraser, visiting them in their homes, being invited to West Vancouver and North Vancouver and travelling down to Los Angeles with some of them many years ago. Of course, in York Region and my city of Vaughan, I have gotten to know this wonderful, dynamic, entrepreneurial and beautiful people; I am proud to be their member of Parliament and friend. I am blessed for it. Our government and all parliamentarians in this House know that we will continue to fight for women, life, liberty and for all Iranian citizens in that country. We know the best days for Iran and its beautiful people are ahead of them, and we will make sure we get to that spot with them. I look forward to questions and comments.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Mar/28/23 12:18:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just a few days after the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs stormed out of an event in Toronto in a stadium of 15,000 people there to support the revolution in Iran, the government decided on more sanctions. It cannot add sanctions to a list of 10,000 when it does not have 10,000 names. The member opposite, whom I live probably half a dozen kilometres from and share a community with, voted in this House to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2018. Therefore, why did he change his mind? Has he advocated to his own government to do the thing that they all voted to do years ago? Why the inaction?

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Mar/28/23 12:19:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to putting pressure on the Iranian regime, we are continuing to work and collaborate with our allies, working through the international court system to hold those accountable in Iran for the shooting down of PS752 and imposing sanctions on those individuals and only those individuals who need to be held accountable in the IRGC. We will continue to do that and to impose sanctions. This is not only the Canadian direction; many countries have taken this direction on increasing the numbers of entities and individuals we have imposed sanctions on. We want nothing less for the Iranian people and nothing more than that they have a country that is democratic, secular and free and all of the individual rights that we enjoy as Canadians in this blessed country we call home.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Mar/28/23 12:20:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, these are obviously sensitive issues that we are addressing in the House, but we are talking about what we should do. That is always what I do. What can we do to change things? Economic sanctions are all very well, but I feel that they perpetuate the status quo and that does not lead to the change in the regime that we want to see. Is there a way we could go further? That is my question to my colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge.

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Mar/28/23 12:21:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, which is very important to us. How do we go further in terms of assisting the Iranian people in achieving their goals of living in a free, democratic and secular country? I think that the one thing that we can continue to do is that we cannot forget about what is going on in Iran. For the media, for those who broadcast messages and for us as politicians, we need to continue to amplify the message of what the wishes of the Iranian people are. We need to continue to work with the very dynamic, blessed diaspora that we have here in Canada, whether it is in British Columbia, Ontario or across this country, to make sure that we continue to put pressure on that regime and on international organizations. From here in Canada, we should also continue to work with our allies to push back against this heinous regime and what is going on in that beautiful country.

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Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)

Mar/28/23 12:22:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate the member speaking. I enjoyed his speech, but there is a missing link or gap: For months now, we have been calling on the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. We understand, and I think all members of the House understand, that we want to make sure this is done in such a way that it does not have an impact on innocent people. However, we have not seen movement from the government around the IRGC to do the work, do the analysis and provide for the exemptions or the careful measurement that needs to go with designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization. We have not seen that work being done. My question to my colleague is simply this: Given the importance of pushing back against the brutal regime and using all the tools necessary, why has the government not acted, provided us with a risk analysis and provided us with information so that we can move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization?

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Mar/28/23 12:23:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to the hon. member from the Lower Mainland, who is a good friend and colleague, I wish to say that our government will continue to work at a very quick pace in terms of continuing to impose sanctions and pressure. This may be done directly by Canada to the oppressive regime in Iran or done by working with all of our allies to hold Iran and the Iranian regime accountable for its actions, from the downing of PS752 to the oppressive actions against its citizens that continue to occur to this day.

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)

Mar/28/23 12:24:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as much as it was unexpected this morning to be dealing with this rather than the Order Paper items and the work of the government, I think it is a very important debate. I would like to see us have a take-note debate in an evening when we could talk a lot more about the issues that we are all talking about. I believe all of us stand against this terrible regime, and stand with the Iranian community who are fighting for their freedom, especially the protesting women and students in Iran. The Government of Canada has designated the Iranian regime as a regime that has engaged in terrorism, as well as systemic and gross human rights violations. We hear about it every day on the news, the number of people who are murdered senselessly for nothing more than wanting to stand up for their freedom and the freedom of the Iranian people. As a result, senior officials, including those from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its top leaders, are now inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. There is an important distinction here, from the blanket covering of everyone. The government is targeting all senior officials with decision-making power, not innocent Iranians, as one of my colleagues was referring to earlier today, many of whom are actually the victims of this horrific regime. It is an important and effective measure. We do not want former Iranian IRGC and military leaders to be able to claim asylum in our country. The designation the government has put on the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime means that all senior officials in the country are inadmissible. This includes heads of state, military leaders, intelligence officials, senior public servants, diplomats and members of the judiciary. To further strengthen our ability to hold Iran accountable, last May the government tabled Bill S-8 in the Senate to make changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This legislation addresses an important gap in our framework to hold foreign governments accountable, whether we are talking about Iran or interference from China or Russia. I believe there are many countries that are looking to find ways to intimidate Canadians and Canadian parliamentarians, and to interfere in a variety of ways, which is why we are having many discussions here in the Government of Canada. The amendments placed expand the scope for inadmissibility to Canada based on sanctions imposed on a country, entity or person. Right now, individuals, organizations, state entities and businesses named or listed in Canada's economic sanctions are not automatically inadmissible to Canada. Bill S-8 is going to fix that and tighten up the loophole that is there. It means that corrupt officials may still be eligible for a travel visa, even if they are sanctioned under the current laws. Bill S-8 would fix this legislative oversight and empower Canadian officials to refuse visas to any Iranian regime leader, as well as any other individuals and groups sanctioned in the future. Again, this is another step forward to try to put down the kind of conditions that we want to see against Iran, and to try to help bring down the regime, ultimately, which I believe should be everybody's goal. Bill S-8 was reported to the House in October of last year, but it is not yet before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. I do hope, especially given today's debate, that Bill S-8 gets there sooner rather than later, so that we could strengthen all the tools we have to try to help defeat the mullahs who are currently causing such terror throughout Iran and elsewhere. We know that the Iranian mullahs are helping to provide drones to Russia to continue to help with the destruction in Ukraine. They continue to murder their own people in a very clear way. I want to share with the House that last year I had an opportunity, together with several of my colleagues from other parties, to attend a meeting with representatives of the NCRI to talk about democracy and their quest for freedom for the Iranian people. For over 40 years, the NCRI has been standing and protesting against this brutal regime. Their dream, and the dream of most Iranians, is to have a free and democratic secular Iran. That is what people want. That is what NCRI wants. That is what the United States wants. Two weeks ago, I believe, Congress passed the motion for House Resolution 100, which was endorsed by hundreds of congressmen and senators, supporting the 10-point plan put forward by NCRI. Again, the goal is to have a free and democratic Iran. That is what we all want to see, and an end to the brutality. We are so fortunate to live in this wonderful country of ours and to have the freedom to come and go as we please, to say the things that need to be said, to have our freedom of speech and freedom of dress, all those things we take for granted. That is what the Iranian people are fighting for now. I think it is critically important that we, together, as parliamentarians of all stripes, continue to be their voice to continue to keep that pressure on Iran so that, ultimately, there will be many parties to choose from, whether it is NCRI or others that get together. It will be up to the Iranian people, who do not want to have a dictatorship and who want the freedom that we have. I hear that so many times: The Iranian people want what we have, that freedom of choice and the freedom to vote for whomever they want. Currently, I am working on a letter to send out to parliamentarians to try to keep up the pressure, as many Canadians are protesting at rallies every weekend. I think it is important, if there is going to be a collapse of this regime, for all of us to do whatever we can, so I have been putting together a communication. I will summarize a bit of it, because it will go to all 338 members. It is calling for support for the Iranian people in their quest for a secular and democratic republic. It talks about the past six months and the terrible things that have happened. It acknowledges that we stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in their desire for a secular and democratic republic in which no individual, regardless of religious beliefs or birthright, has any privileges over others. Through their slogans, which we have heard many nights on the nightly news, the Iranian people have made it clear that they reject all forms of dictatorship, be it in the form of the deposed shah or the current theocratic regime, and reject any association with any of the others. The goal here, I think for all of us, is to see a free and democratic Iran. We are looking today, in this discussion, for other ways to strengthen sanctions. Putting the IRGC on the terrorist list, yes, I support that. I am known to support that it should be listed as a terrorist organization, but I think we need to do more than that. We need to have more voices out there supporting and fighting for a free and democratic Iran. That has to be the goal, and whatever all of us can do as parliamentarians to advance that, whether it is in our own communications to each other or out to the community, I think is very important. I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this important debate today, and I am happy to take some questions.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Mar/28/23 12:33:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's advocacy. I have always appreciated it. I know that she was on this cause long before I was here and long before many other members were here, so I commend her on that. I also appreciate that she is one of the few members on the other side talking about a true regime change. As well, I appreciate that she is one of the few members on the other side who have admitted that the IRGC should be banned and listed as a terrorist organization. I appreciate her support for that. Why will she not advocate to the rest of the government to do what it voted to do in 2018, which is to help those who are here, the families in our neighbourhoods? I know they sometimes go to the gym or to a Starbucks with their children, and they are fearful of members of the regime. They call our offices with a blurred-out background in their car away from their homes, because they are terrified of who is in the country and why they are still let in here. I know the government has sanctioned a number of regime operatives, but it does not know whom it has sanctioned. The government does not have the names of all those it has purportedly put on a list in terms of a number. We cannot put 10,000 people on a list and not know who they are. That is not real action. I wonder if the member will advocate to her government to finally list and ban the IRGC as a terrorist organization here in this country.

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Mar/28/23 12:34:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I very much enjoy the times when my colleague and I occasionally get together at events. We do not always know what the government is doing. It does not send out a message to us every day on what it is doing and what it is not doing. When the government chose to take the route of not doing a blanket cover over everybody in Iran who was part of the regime, it was an attempt to make sure that innocent people were not caught up in that. That is the route it chose to take. There are senior officials who know exactly how many people are on that 10,000-plus list and who they are. They are doing the best they can to protect people's individuality and their opportunity to be treated fairly. We do not want to be like the regime in Iran and put a blanket over everybody and say everybody is inadmissible for whatever terrible reason. I do want to add that we need to do more together than just label it as a terrorist organization. More needs to be done. That is just one step. It works for us to talk about it here in the House, but more needs to be done.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Mar/28/23 12:36:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am still shocked about the death of Mahsa Amini. It raises many questions. We know about these events because they were reported by the morality police—which wanted to boast about this to send a message to the rest of the population—and because international reporters communicate this information at great personal risk. There have been probably many more such cases than just the ones reported. What can we do to foster the disclosure of more information so we know what is happening around the world? What is happening is serious. If we want to take action, we must be able to properly assess the situation. How do we go about getting that information from within these countries?

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Mar/28/23 12:36:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague continues to ask questions about what else can be done, rather than just talking about labelling it as a terrorist organization. I think many of us want to see that happen. The issue is what else can be done. How do we continue to be the voices for the protection of journalism? So many journalists have been in jail. With the recent incident of the poisoning of many schoolgirls, which happened in over 50 schools in Iran, the journalists who were able to report it are apparently all in jail. It makes it very difficult. It calls on us, as parliamentarians and free voices, to be their voices, to stand up here in the House and outside making sure people understand and care about what is going on in Iran.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Mar/28/23 12:37:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to ask the member for some facilitation. In my community of Port Moody—Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra, community members have been asking me to assist them with getting a meeting with the government to talk about some of those exemptions that need to happen. They want to see the IRGC named as a terrorist organization, and they have some ideas on how to protect innocent people on that front. Could the member assist me with making that connection so they can speak to the minister?

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Mar/28/23 12:38:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud the member for the work that she continues to do on these issues. I am very happy to try to facilitate that as soon as we can get together and do that.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Mar/28/23 12:38:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with my esteemed and dynamic colleague from Shefford. Women in Quebec and Canada are lucky in many respects. We can go to school, hold a job, get involved in our community and go into politics. We still have a number of battles to wage to achieve full gender equality, but we have it pretty good compared to some. We have it pretty good because in some other parts of the world women do not have nearly as many rights and freedoms as we do here. Let us not forget that women and girls in Afghanistan have been unable to attend school or university for many months now. Let us not forget that women and girls are being disfigured with acid for refusing to enter into a forced marriage. Let us not forget that women and girls are being kidnapped, held captive, forced to convert and forced to marry one of their abductors. Let us not forget Mahsa Amini, who was abused and beaten to death, and all of the other deaths that followed. These people were imprisoned, tortured, blinded and killed, all because they stood up and demanded what we have here: freedom and equal rights. This goes well beyond being required to wear a hijab by the regime. It is a matter of freedom and equality. For months, we have been outraged to see such things happening over and over again in Iran, but nothing has been done. Is the regime fed up with seeing our outrage? It is not. Is the regime fed up with our protests and awareness nights? It is not. To keep my language parliamentary, I will say that the regime does not care at all. These protests all have one thing in common. They seek to raise awareness of the situation among Quebeckers and Canadians and their governments, so that these governments can take practical action and not just pay lip service. One of the things the protesters want is for the government to seize or at least freeze the material and financial assets located on Canadian soil of Iranian nationals associated with the IRGC, the Iranian armed forces, the Iranian morality police and Iranian intelligence agencies. There is nothing about that in the motion and there is nothing about what my constituents told me in it. However, it does provide a worthwhile approach in terms of sanctions, that of asking the government to stop issuing visas to Iranian nationals with ties to the groups that I just mentioned. Today, I am using my voice and my words here to share a message from my constituents. I spent time with them, I demonstrated with them, and we spent evenings together informing people about what was really happening in Iran. Next, I am going to talk about the means at our disposal to exert real pressure. My constituents told me that, right now in Canada, there are people with ties to the regime who are making financial and material investments here only to then redirect those funds to support the Iranian regime. My constituents are asking me when those individuals will be subject to the same measures we reserved for the Russian oligarchs, meaning when their assets will be frozen to prevent support going to this untenable and unacceptable regime. My constituents also shared a number of concerns with me, including the fact that this regime is powerful and has a long reach. They reminded me that money not only provides support for the Iranian regime but also allows some Iranian permanent residents or Canadian citizens in Canada to be monitored. They fear for their safety, and yet, that was the reason they came to Canada: to be safe, free, equal and secular. Some of them have received threats to their family back in Iran. Every day they are worried that their name will get out there and that their family will be punished because they chose freedom. In fact, they fear going through the same experience that we have seen Chinese citizens and Uighurs go through in our own country. They even worry about travelling abroad, for fear that their plane will inadvertently be taken for a foreign missile. My constituents tell me that individuals involved with some of the organizations I mentioned, or who are funded by them, are very active at every level. They do everything they can to downplay the actions taken, to have others shoulder the blame for appalling acts that are committed, to clear the regime. My constituents really want to avoid seeing here the experiences and events happening there. People tell me that they chose to live in Quebec because of our freedom and equality that they cherish above all else. Now, for our part, we are we doing? We are protesting, side by side, with the Iranian citizens and protesters. Again, these are just words. There is no action. Where are the sanctions? The government is aware of the suspicious situations I just mentioned, of the presence of Iranian nationals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian Armed Forces, the Iranian Guidance Patrol or Iranian intelligence organizations. Nothing is being done. There is a sanction in place, although it is apparently difficult to enforce and cannot be applied to everyone. Once again, there are ways to do that, and action is needed. As many people know, I was once a teacher and a vice-principal. When classroom and school rules needed to be implemented, certain questions came to mind. What is the goal? What means do we have to enforce the rules? What sanctions can we apply? Are the means and sanctions consistent with the goal? I mention this because it is important to be able to apply sanctions, when needed. If that cannot be done, the government will end up in a situation where it is constantly talking and never doing anything. That is basically what is happening right now. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act does have teeth and provides for a case-by-case analysis of the people suspected of being tied to the organizations that I mentioned. Why is this not done? We have the tools to apply the sanctions. Canada has a list of those responsible and of those at the most senior levels of the regime. The committee's recommendation does go further and prohibits entry of any cell of the regime in Canada. Let us evaluate every case before issuing a visa. Naturally, that is a lot of work, but it ensures the safety of our citizens of Iranian origin and the entire population. In conclusion, as I was saying, we must protect our fellow citizens of Iranian origin so they can truly enjoy the life of freedom, equality and safety that they came here for. We must implement concrete and real measures to starve the regime so that it does not have the financial and ideological means to continue its wrongdoing and atrocities in Iran. We must take action for Mahsa and for so many others. If we do not, we are accomplices. I am going to borrow a phrase from a song by Loco Locass: Go for it, do it.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Mar/28/23 12:48:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, within the current legislation and regulations, when we think of visitor visas or temporary visas generally speaking, the civil servants have a system that includes things such as good character. The civil service is very much aware of the issues that are taking place in Iran. Could the member provide her thoughts on how our current system seems to already accommodate and take into consideration what the first and only recommendation would do in limiting temporary visas to individuals who should not be coming to Canada?

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Mrs. Julie Vignola

Mar/28/23 12:49:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I stated, the decisions we have made have primarily targeted the senior ranks of the regime. It is sad to see that Iranians who are complicit with the regime manage to come to Canada despite the security measures in place to carry out a case-by-case analysis. What we need to do is ensure that those who are complicit with the regime and commit inhumane acts against their own fellow citizens are sanctioned and barred from Canada by conducting a case-by-case review.

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Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Mar/28/23 12:50:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, most of the immigration rules that the government has changed, such as visas, are designed to keep people out of this country. Anyone identified by the government as a member of the regime should not be allowed to enter Canada. The next step is to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of terrorist organizations in the Criminal Code. Consequently, anyone who is in Canada and is a member of that group, has been a member of that group, or has assisted a terrorist group, would be allowed to go before the courts and have a judge decide whether they actually helped the group to persecute or intimidate citizens or violate Canadian law. I would ask the member to look into this issue. Parliament already looked into it in 2018 and determined that the IRGC should be listed as a terrorist group in our Criminal Code.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola

Mar/28/23 12:51:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, throughout my speech, I said that there was a lot of talk but no real sanctions. What my colleague just mentioned is real action. It is about making sure that these people are on the list of terrorist groups and that, ultimately, real powers are granted to find out where they are and to urge them very strongly to leave the country.

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