44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 28, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/28/23 10:05:19 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, presented on Monday, October 17, 2022, be concurred in.
It is a pleasure for me to rise to speak on the important subject of the freedom movement in Iran. While I do so, I will be sharing my time with my excellent colleague from Calgary Shepard, who is our lead on the immigration file. This is a report from the immigration committee, so I want to recognize the work he does. He was engaged with the struggle for freedom, justice and human rights around the world even prior to taking on his current role.
Many Canadians of all backgrounds have become aware in recent days of the horrific oppression being visited on the people of Iran by the current regime, and in particular by the IRGC, which is the Iranian regime's instrument of terror. We see how the IRGC is inflicting violence on people beyond the borders of Iran and how the Iranian regime, through the IRGC and other organizations, is causing human rights violations and upsetting the peace and security in neighbouring Iraq, in Lebanon, in Yemen and even much further afield.
That is why the Conservatives have been unapologetic and clear in calling for freedom, democracy, human rights and genuine respect for the rule of law in Iran. We have supported the freedom movements that have existed in Iran, not just in the present and not just the freedom movement that rose following the killing of Mahsa Amini. We have been supporting movements for freedom in Iran going back much further than that.
Four and a half years ago, it was Conservatives who put forward a motion in my name that called for the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This was before the killing of Mahsa Amini and before the downing of flight PS752. It was already clear four and a half years ago that the Iranian regime, through the IRGC, was inflicting terror on its own people and people around the world, and it was therefore important to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Why did we feel that was important? When an organization is listed as a terrorist organization, it allows us to completely shut down its operations in Canada. In the absence of a terrorist listing, this organization can continue to be present here in Canada to intimidate Canadians, to fundraise, to recruit and to engage in other activities that facilitate the implementation of its vile terrorist agenda around the world.
We have said from the beginning that it is important to shut down IRGC operations in Canada, and the case was clear for that four and a half years ago. Four and a half years ago, members of the government caucus, in fact all present members of the government caucus, including the Prime Minister and ministers, voted in favour of the motion to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The NDP voted against it, but the government voted in favour of it, and that led to the motion passing.
The House of Commons voted to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, but in four and a half years, the Liberals have done nothing. Notably, they were never willing to own up to the fact that they were not going to proceed with the policy they voted for. Government members continually said that it was under discussion, it was being studied and they were thinking about it. That wore thinner and thinner as year after year passed and the government still had not done anything.
We know the process of terrorist listing takes some time, but eventually that excuse wore thin. There have been other cases where motions like this have passed in the House. I think in particular of the Proud Boys, where a motion passed in the House calling for the listing of that organization as a terrorist group, and that terrorist listing was completed within less than two months.
It has been four and a half years, and the government has not acted to list the IRGC. However, in four and a half years, other events have happened that have underlined just how horrific the approach of the Iranian regime is.
Another event that hit home for many Canadians was the downing of flight PS752. It was the shooting down by the IRGC of a plane carrying many Canadians and others who had close connections to Canada. I commend the families of victims that have spoken out about what has happened and that have been playing an instrumental role in advocating for the freedom movement, moving this issue forward.
Family members of the victims of flight PS752 have faced harassment by the IRGC in Canada, which, again, underlines the need to shut down IRGC operations here in Canada by listing it as a terrorist organization. Not only did the IRGC kill Canadians when it shot down the flight, but it has continued to try to cover its tracks by threatening Canadians who are involved in advocating for justice and human rights.
Most recently, of course, we have the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement that followed the murder of Mahsa Amini, and we have seen others murdered. Another event that hit home for me was the murder of a nine-year-old boy who was at a protest event with members of his family. He was killed by the IRGC terrorist organization.
Up until the start of this latest freedom movement, the government had done virtually nothing. However, now we hear more statements from the government. We see that at this late stage, the government is starting to apply some sanctions, but it is still refusing to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. If it was not clear before, it should be particularly clear now.
We have a piece of legislation designed for identifying and listing terrorist organizations, shutting down their operations in Canada and ensuring they are not able to recruit, fundraise or in any way operate here. I know that the Iranian community, families of the victims of the downing of flight PS752 and many other victims and family members of victims have been leading the charge here, and we have seen increasing activity from Canadians of all backgrounds who are hearing these stories and are inspired to take up the call.
I have asked multiple questions and repeatedly raised this issue in the context of late shows, but we still do not have an answer from the government. Why does it refuse to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization? Why is it unwilling to shut down IRGC operations in Canada? It wants to point to all kinds of other measures, which are not without some modest effect, but if it is continuing to allow this organization to exist here in Canada, to intimidate people who are speaking out in support of the freedom movement and to operate, then it has really missed the bus regarding the main sanction and main action required. The push to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization needs to continue. We need to keep up the pressure.
I know that the foreign affairs committee is going to be studying listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization as part of a broader study on Iran, and we see some movement with respect to the NDP's position, which I think is welcome. At one time, the NDP voted against my motion to list the IRGC. Now it has put forward a motion to study this issue at the foreign affairs committee, and we support that motion. We want to see that study take place. Of course, we think the case is obvious and clear, and we will be making the case throughout the study that the committee should reiterate its past recommendations for the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. However, hopefully we will see a continuance of that shift and will be able to bring other opposition parties onside with our long-standing position that the IRGC needs to be listed as a terrorist organization.
I should say that the 11th report we are debating today is the immigration committee using its resources to highlight the issue of listing the IRGC, and it says in particular that the government should “stop issuing visas to all Iranian nationals directly affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian Armed Forces, Iranian Guidance Patrol or Iranian intelligence organizations”. This is the immigration committee calling on the House to take action in line with its powers. I think this is a very important step, and we have seen actions at other committees as well.
Part of the listing process is to say we do not want people to have an affiliation with oppressive organizations that are able to come to Canada. Canada should be a safe haven for human rights defenders. Canada should be a safe haven for those who have been victims of injustice around the world. Canada must not be a safe haven for their persecutors, because if it becomes a safe haven for persecutors, it can no longer be a safe haven for victims. Victims of the Iranian regime should not have to worry about their oppressors showing up here in Canada. Victims of the Iranian regime should know that Canada is a safe place for them and will not allow their oppressors to come here.
That is why this report is important. That is why the strong measures that the Conservatives have called for and the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization are required. It has been four and a half years since this House originally passed my motion. The case was obvious then and it is obvious now. The government should do it.
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- Mar/28/23 10:59:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a good question. If we look at the motion itself, it is trying to say that we do not provide temporary visas to people from Iran in certain areas.
We have a system that prevents individuals who are in question, who are there, virtually, from being able to currently come to Canada. The Minister of Immigration has reinforced this. However, there are some concerns. For example, with mandatory conscription, if young males do not have any choice but to participate in the Iranian forces, should that automatically exclude them from the opportunity of ever coming to Canada? Under mandatory conscription, they do not have a choice. They have to become members. However, maybe they want to flee that opportunity.
We already have the rules—
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- Mar/28/23 11:11:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I always find it troubling that, when we speak about the communities we represent, it seems to be offensive to those in the Liberal Party.
When it comes to the issue we are addressing here today, part of the reason I brought up the rich history that exists in the community of Drumheller is because it has a rich Ukrainian diaspora. It is a melting pot, and that speaks to, whether with respect to the mining or agricultural resources we have here, how this region has a very rich history we can all be incredibly proud of. Therefore, as we speak about the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, it is in that context that I bring forward these remarks today.
I heard the parliamentary secretary earlier today dismiss how important this issue is. However, I would remind the House and all Canadians watching that, as we talk about the tragedy of the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 by the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it is a tragedy that has touched so many Canadians. I know that, although this happened a number of years ago, the impacts have reached far and wide, over the breadth of our country, with a number of personal connections made with my constituents. It was astounding to see how the history of the people of Ukraine is so deeply connected with that of our country.
Then of course there was the killing of Mahsa Amini by what is basically the morality police in Iran and the absolute tragedy that represents to the Iranian people, as well as the fact that we have an instance of terrorists more or less operating as a legitimate state arm of the Iranian government.
It is incredibly troubling, as we have seen over the last number of years, since I was elected in 2019, that Parliament has taken—
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- Mar/28/23 11:21:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, like the member from the NDP, so many of us have those connections within our constituencies. Families were devastated by the downing of that flight.
When it comes to the immigration system, super visas and the work that needs to be done, I find that there has to be a concerted effort to bring about reforms to our system so we can have that secure, compassionate and efficient immigration system that all Canadians expect. There is nothing compassionate about having a two million people in a backlog waiting for answers as to whether they can come visit this country, come see loved ones or come here to start a new life. These things have to be addressed.
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- Mar/28/23 12:52:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou is always a tough act to follow. It is truly not easy, but I will try to speak today with sensitivity to this situation in Iran, a very complex subject.
As the critic for the status of women, I have been asked about this topic many times, and I am particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian women and girls. Our debate today concerns more specifically the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. To help people follow my speech, I will read the motion:
That the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration report the following to the House: In light of the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS 752 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and in light of the killing of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian Guidance Patrol, that the committee demands the government stop issuing visas to all Iranian nationals directly affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian Armed Forces, Iranian Guidance Patrol or Iranian intelligence organizations and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request a response to the report by the government.
I will quickly provide some context, discuss the situation of women in Iran, and reiterate the role we have to play in this.
First, Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was shot down over Iran on January 8, 2020. The United States and Iran had started attacking each other after the United States killed a high-ranking Iranian officer, General Qasem Soleimani, near the Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020. Iran also attacked an American airport in Iraq on the night of January 7 to 8, 2020, in retaliation for Soleimani's death. Iran may have been expecting a U.S. counterattack, so its air defence system was on high alert. A total of 176 people died on the downed flight, including 63 Canadians.
I will now turn to the Mahsa Amini affair. The election of Ebrahim Raisi as President of Iran in 2021 marked the rise to power of the most conservative wing of the Combatant Clergy Association. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is said to be in ill health and could die soon. For these reasons, authorities are becoming more rigorous in the application of Velayat-e faqih.
Mahsa Amini was a Kurdish Iranian woman who was arrested by the morality police in Tehran on September 13 for allegedly violating Iran's strict female dress code. She was killed by Iran's morality police just for wearing her hijab “improperly”. She died in hospital three days later, on September 16, 2022. Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman, was only 22 years old.
Her death was followed almost immediately by protests on an unprecedented scale for Iran. Iran forces women to wear the hijab. Mahsa Amini was wearing her hijab, but her hair was slightly visible. This was the reason she was arrested and fatally beaten by police. Her death led to major demonstrations against the regime throughout Iran, and more than 500 people have died so far, while many others are determined to overthrow the regime. Mahsa's death sparked nationwide protests, with Iranian women leading the charge, as well as solidarity rallies around the world.
Activists say that Mahsa suffered a head wound while in custody. Iranian authorities deny any physical contact between the police and the young woman and say that they are awaiting the results of the investigation. Iran's largest protests since the 2019 unrest over increased fuel prices were met with a violent crackdown. According to the latest report from the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights, at least 92 people have been killed since September 16. An official report lists some 60 dead, including 12 members of Iran's security forces.
The international community denounced the crackdown, and some countries imposed sanctions. As a reminder, here is the motion I moved in October:
That the House:
(a) reiterate its unconditional support for Iranian women who are peacefully demonstrating for their rights in Iran;
(b) condemn the killings, intimidation, and acts of violence initiated by the Iranian state against protesters who support the women's liberation movement in Iran; and
(c) call on the United Nations to withdraw Iran from its Commission on the Status of Women.
Last month, I also supported a petition presented by the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill that urged non-partisan action. It reads:
We, the undersigned, residents of Aurora, Oak Ridges, and Richmond Hill, Ontario, draw the attention of Leah Taylor Roy, MP for Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill to the following and ask for her help in bringing this matter to The House of Commons.
THEREFORE, your petitioners call upon Leah Taylor Roy, MP, to: Demand the Canadian Government urgently follow through with the actions against the Iranian regime which includes making the regime, the IRGC and top leaders inadmissible to Canada, expanding sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations and denying them entry to Canada, and investing more money to allow sanctioned Iranian person's assets to be quickly frozen and seized. The Regime and its most senior officials - including the IRGC - be immediately banned from entering Canada, and current and former senior officials present here be investigated and removed from the country as soon as possible.
We also ask that you insist that the Minister of Global Affairs, the Hon. Mélanie Joly, and the Government of Canada, with its partners and allies, have Iran removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
That is the petition we presented here in the House.
The United States announced economic sanctions against seven high-ranking Iranian officials for their roles in the crackdown. According to a press release from the Treasury Department, Minister of the Interior Ahmad Vahidi, the key figure behind the crackdown, and Minister of Communications Issa Zarepour, the person responsible for the shameful attempt to block Internet access, were two of the individuals sanctioned. Washington had already announced a slew of sanctions against the Iranian morality police and several security officials on September 22.
Iran's strict dress code forces women to wear the Islamic head scarf, but according to videos posted online, women are leading the protests in Iran. Schoolgirls even organized rallies in several regions, where they removed their hijabs and shouted anti-regime slogans.
In a video verified by AFP, bare-headed young girls chanted “Death to the dictator”, referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, one Monday at a school in Karaj, west of Tehran. Some of these girls lost their lives. Right now, there are allegations that female students were poisoned simply because they decided to protest.
Getting back to the motion, it seeks to sanction members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian armed forces by refusing them visas. However, prohibiting entry to the country is a complex issue, since many people serving in the Iranian armed forces are conscripts.
For example, one Iranian-born man was refused entry to Canada because he served in the armed forces 20 years ago. The United States is also imposing similar restrictions, which many are calling discriminatory.
It would be more reasonable to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, refusing to issue visas to individuals who are currently on active service seems appropriate, but it is not that simple.
On November 14, 2022, Canada announced that it had designated Iran as a regime that has engaged in terrorism. As a result, tens of thousands of high-ranking officials, including senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the army and the morality police, were denied entry to Canada. Low-ranking members of these organizations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, which is a reasonable approach. For example, those who committed war crimes or other crimes would be inadmissible to Canada regardless of their rank.
Because of the conscription in Iran, all men aged 18 and over must serve in the military. It is therefore reasonable that the Canadian government maintain a certain amount of leeway in its sanctions. We do not want to see a case like the one of a family of Iranian refugees in Saskatoon, who are trying to get a brother who remained in Turkey into Canada. The brother was refused entry because of his military service in Iran 20 years ago. There are many of these types of cases in the news.
Keyvan Zarafshanpour, a 38-year-old man, and his family managed to settle in Canada about three years ago, after fleeing religious persecution in Iran. Keyvan’s older brother Kaveh Zarafshanpour is still in Turkey. Canada refused him entry for supporting a terrorist organization because he served his compulsory military service in the IRGC.
Members can see where this is going. That is why a case-by-case approach is important. There are also branches of the Iranian Armed Forces that are designated as terrorist organizations in the United States, but not in Canada.
Clearly, there is a lot we still have to look into. We need to show considerable diplomacy depending on the situation. I think it is better that way. There are still a lot of grey areas.
For example, in an email, the Canada Border Services Agency stated that it processes applications as quickly as possible, adding that the average wait time is eight years. We also need to take into account the time it takes to process applications. In short, the situation is nothing short of deplorable.
In closing, I will say: woman, life, freedom. Women and girls also have the right to freedom of expression. Women and girls also have the right to a secular state where they are no longer murdered for who they are, where they do not see their rights slipping away, and where they can continue to live a dignified life.
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