44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 15, 2024 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost of a less stable world. Six years ago, Parliament voted for my motion to recognize that the IRGC, from the regime in Iran, is a terrorist organization and to shut down their operations in Canada. After six years, the NDP-Liberal government has failed to act. Liberals even blocked my common-sense bill, Bill C-350 to shut down the IRGC.
With the IRGC spreading terror across the middle east and around the world, why did the Prime Minister choose to allow the IRGC to continue to recruit, to fundraise and to promote its ideology here in Canada?
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 18th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, presented to the House on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, be concurred in.
I rise once again to speak about the urgent need to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, to shut down its operations in Canada, to protect our friends and allies around the world, but also to protect ourselves.
I am sharing my time, Mr. Speaker, with my friend and colleague, the member for Thornhill. I am very much looking forward to her remarks on this important motion to concur in a report from the justice committee that calls for, among other things, the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.
Canadians have been anxiously following the news from the Middle East this weekend. The regime in Tehran launched a massive attack on the State of Israel. This attack follows the October 7 attacks, in which the Tehran-backed Hamas terrorist group brutally tortured, raped and killed many Israelis. We again condemn these attacks and we call for the release of all hostages.
Many have correctly identified, then and since, the role that the regime in Iran has played, supporting and backing Hamas. These far-away cowards seek to use the pain of the Palestinian people to advance their violent ends. Like Hamas's own leaders safely away in Qatar, the regime in Iran wants to attack Israel through proxies and with the maximal use of civilian human shields, while minimizing the risk to themselves. In this context, therefore, it is legitimate for Israel to take the fight against terrorism directly to Hamas's IRGC guides and paymasters, wherever they live.
As I have said many times, the Conservatives seek a two-state solution, in which Israelis and Palestinians could each pursue security and economic development through democratic, responsive and pluralistic self-governing institutions.
Let us be very clear that Hamas and IRGC terrorists do not want a two-state solution. They want to perpetually use the Palestinian situation as their justification for pursuing their selfish ends. The negotiated final status agreement that we hope for would in reality be the worst nightmare of these extremists, because these extremists thrive only in the midst of conflict and violence.
In the course of this weekend's events, it is worth recognizing and celebrating the effectiveness of Israel's defences. Israel's defensive technology is what has allowed the world's only Jewish state to survive as a state, facing constant existential threats from hostile forces. If people believe in Israel's right to defend itself, then they obviously must also have to believe in Israel's ability to procure the weapons that are necessary to defend itself. If people oppose the sale of weapons to Israel, then it is hard to make the case that they also believe in Israel's right to defend itself.
While recognizing the effectiveness of those Israeli defences, it is very important to recognize the vital contributions and collaboration of some of Israel's Arab neighbours, neighbours who have disagreements with Israel on various subjects but who are collaborating in the pursuit of peace and of shared security interests. There is a fundamental alignment between Israel and many of its neighbours, who are moving toward greater co-operation in response to the aggressive and colonial agenda of the regime in Iran. I hope that this will provide the basis for continuing and growing collaboration, and enhanced dialogue on a range of issues.
We know how many Muslim-majority states in the region have been victimized as a result of the horrific violence coming from the regime in Tehran. We could speak about Lebanon, about Syria, about Afghanistan, about Yemen, about the civil wars that are unfolding because of proxies that are sponsored by the regime in Tehran. We could speak about the support that the Taliban have received from the terrorist regime in Tehran, the destabilizing effect of Hezbollah in Lebanon and many other examples; the general capricious disregard that the regime in Tehran has shown for the peoples of all nations in the region; the constant genocidal demonization of Israel but also violence against all peoples in the region and around the world.
Needless to say, the fact that this attack was largely thwarted does not mean that it should be shrugged off or dismissed as merely symbolic. Indeed, the regime in Iran intended to break through Israel's defences and intended to wreak havoc. It will try again. It will try in other ways, as it did on October 7.
The regime in Tehran will continue to try to acquire more sophisticated and dangerous technology, including nuclear weapons, with which to attack Israel, with which to attack other peoples in the region and with which to threaten the security of all freedom-loving peoples wherever they live.
The events of this weekend underline why the Conservatives have been persistently calling on the government to recognize that the IRGC is a terrorist organization and therefore must not be allowed to operate in Canada. The call to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization means, quite simply, that we would use all our resources to shut down any possibility of this regime operating in Canada. If it is a listed terrorist organization, it is not able to recruit, fundraise or promote its ideology in Canada. This, especially after the events of this weekend, is the least we can do.
However, it did not take the events of this weekend for the Conservatives and for many other Canadians to realize that the IRGC must be listed as a terrorist organization. I put forward a motion in the House to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization six years ago, and this was before many of the events we have seen since, about which I will speak. The case was already clear six years ago and, at the time, the Liberals, including the Prime Minister, voted in favour of that motion. They voted in favour of it and said they were thinking about it. Six years later, they still say they are thinking about it, yet they have refused to act.
Since that vote in the House of Commons six years ago, we have had the shooting down of flight PS752, an event of great personal significance for many of my colleagues from the Edmonton area. We have had the opportunity to, year after year, go to memorials, meet with families and to hear the stories of pain and grief from these many Canadian families that have lost loved ones. Canadian citizens were murdered when the IRGC shot down a civilian aircraft leaving Tehran, flight PS752, yet that still was not enough for the government to recognize that the IRGC is a terrorist organization.
Since then, we have lived through the murder of Mahsa Amini and the “Women, Life, Freedom” protest movement. The Iranian people again, as they have in years and decades past, have taken to the streets, calling for change and seeking the same things we so often take for granted in Canada, the protection of their fundamental freedoms. The Iranian people are such heroes. They are such an inspiration to so many members. In spite of the sacrifice of those protesters and in spite of the murder and torture we have seen targeting the people of Iran, the people whom this regime supposedly governs, the Canadian government has refused to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. It is utterly shameful.
How much more violence do we have to see and how much more has to be done by this terrorist regime before the Canadian government finally recognizes and lists it as a terrorist organization?
There are the civil wars in Yemen and Syria; terrorists operating systematically outside of the law in Lebanon and Iraq; the brutal suppression of the Iranian people; attacks on Israel; the murder of Canadians and foreign-backed extremism in Canada; intimidation of members of the heroic, patriotic Iranian diaspora community in Canada; yet the NDP-Liberal government persists in failing to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
We have actually put forward a private member's bill, Bill C-350, a bill that would list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and would take further steps to hold the regime accountable, yet the Liberals have blocked efforts to expedite that bill.
Therefore, we are putting this question before the House again with our efforts to concur in this motion, which calls for the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization and for additional steps to protect Canadians from foreign-state-backed interference and to protect victims of violent extremism. This motion passed unanimously at the justice committee, and I hope it will pass the House when it comes to a vote.
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- Apr/15/24 3:35:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is fairly obvious to everybody, except this member, that this is a serious and substantial matter worthy of urgent debate in the House of Commons.
I want to assure all members that we have, at the earliest opportunity following this weekend's events, and in the most efficient way possible, put a motion before the House to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. I hope the motion will pass as quickly as possible so that we can finally send a message that the IRGC should be listed as a terrorist organization. I hope that, after six years of delay, the government will finally do it. It has been six years, and on all of the events I have described over those six years, the government is out of excuses. It is time to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and shut down its operations in Canada.
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- Apr/15/24 3:36:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Iranian regime is despotic, and we have seen repeated human right violations. We have seen a regime that has undermined human rights and has undermined countries in the region repeatedly. There is no democratic ability for folks to speak out. In fact, the killing of political prisoners and the widespread use of torture is something that is a hallmark of this despotic regime.
There was discussion at committee, as the member points out, and I want him to talk about the positions of the various parties around the table. The NDP, of course, has been very supportive of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization. We believe this should have happened, but it has not yet. What were the positions of the parties around the table when this report was produced?
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- Apr/15/24 3:37:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do want to mention, respectfully to the member, that in 2018, when I put forward this motion, every present member of the NDP voted against my motion to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. At least they were more honest than the Liberals who voted in favour of the motion but then did not do it.
The member says that the NDP is supportive of listing the IRGC, which is news to me. It is the first time I have heard this. However, if that is the case, if that is the NDP position, I think it is great news. Let us pass this motion, and let us pressure the government to actually, finally, get this done.
As I mentioned during my remarks, this report was unanimous at the justice committee, and we have had unanimous reports on this matter before from other committees. The problem is just that the government never gets it done. We will continue to persistently push this issue until the government actually does it and takes action to shut down IRGC operations in Canada.
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- Apr/15/24 3:39:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for bringing this urgent matter to the attention of the House.
It has been six years. The House passed the resolution, and yet the government has not acted. We have seen, over the years, the level of threats and intimidation that has gone on within the Iranian community because of the IRGC. Can the hon. member tell the House why he thinks the government is failing to act on designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization?
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- Apr/15/24 3:50:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Iranian regime has brought untold harm onto its own citizens and has caused chaos throughout the region and the world. There is no argument from me on that.
The United States has listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity, but doing so has actually had a profound effect on a number of Canadians. There are about 30,000 Canadians in Canada who were conscripted to be part of the IRGC. Through no fault of their own, they are not able to travel to the U.S. for vacations or for work opportunities. It includes their spouses and their children as well. This is already having a profound impact. I actually had an email today from a constituent who was asking about this.
How would my hon. colleague go about ensuring that, by listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity, it would not bring these types of issues onto our citizens? How might that be approached?
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- Apr/15/24 3:56:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point order. The member is talking about making the IRGC a terrorist organization, so I would call relevance on the member's comments and ask if you could—
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- Apr/15/24 4:19:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do believe that there are some sanctions that are already in place. I want to re-emphasize that the minister responsible indicated very clearly to the House just an hour or so ago that we have security agencies that are charged with the responsibility of doing the work that is necessary in order to provide the type of quality advice that Canadians expect of our security agencies. It would be pre-emptive to do something before that is actually provided. I appreciate the question and look forward, as no doubt the member opposite does, to what ultimately is decided on this.
I would go back to the European Union. From what I understand, it was not until maybe the summer of last year that the E.U. ultimately recognized the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
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- Apr/15/24 4:20:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have an incredible community of Iranian Canadians in Nanaimo—Ladysmith, so I want to first acknowledge all of those in my community. I think of Shirin, particularly, who is the owner of The Bees Knees in Nanaimo, who contributes in so many ways.
My question for the member is specifically around the point of designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity now. Many Iranian Canadians are speaking to me about the importance of holding to account those who are participating in human rights violations and committing terrorism, and of moving this forward.
Can the member also share his thoughts around the importance of, while holding terrorism to account, also considering those who are conscripted into the IRGC and how that plays into the decisions being made, moving forward, so that those who are forced into the IRGC are not being held to the same degree of responsibility as those who are voluntarily participating in terrorism?
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- Apr/15/24 4:37:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member may be aware that in May, the committee on foreign affairs is bringing forward an NDP motion that the committee study the federal government's refusal to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity, the connection between people or assets in Canada and the IRGC, and paths forward to support vulnerable Iranians. I am reflecting on the importance of the people who need to be there to testify at the committee, with the increased violence against women. We know of the horrific, violent murder of Mahsa Amini as one example.
Could the member speak to the violence against women that is happening in Iran, the importance of its being included in the study and how that connects to what we are talking about today?
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- Apr/15/24 4:55:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing my colleague spoke about was the use of concurrence debates to do this important work, and it is very important work that we undertake. In just a few weeks, in fact, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development will be looking at Iran, will be studying this and will be bringing forward the minister to talk about how we can do this in a way that protects those who are conscripted. That is where we should be having this debate. That is a meaningful way that we can ensure Canada is doing what needs to be done to make sure that Iran, the IRGC, who are very clearly terrorists, has its leadership punished, yet those who might be innocent are not. I wonder if she could comment on that.
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- Apr/15/24 5:08:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know we are going to talk more about this, but what is important for the residents of Port Moody—Coquitlam, Anmore, Belcarra and Port Coquitlam, for whom I am going to speak today because I have the opportunity, is that the government consider and put on the terrorist list the IRGC, and for them to have a safe space where they can report what they are seeing. That is important to the residents of my community.
The third thing, which I will close on, is that it is important for my community that the government know that there are real estate and assets being bought up by people associated with the regime in my area, the Lower Mainland of B.C., and it needs to stop.
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- Apr/15/24 5:08:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the member on at least recognizing the fact that there are IRGC agents in Vancouver. I do spend quite a bit of time in the Persian community, but also with Kurds and Baloch, who are also all impacted. Many of them originate from Iran and are chased here by IRGC agents who continue to try to persecute them, whether it is with WhatsApp messages or telegram messages, telling them that their families will be found in Iran if they speak up or join one of the Jin, Jîyan or Azadi, to use the Sorani Kurdish dialect, if they join in Mahabad or Sanandaj or Saqqez. It is a regime that is more than happy to murder people both in Iran and all over the Middle East, then chase people to Europe and Canada and never leave them alone.
I want to bring up Kian Pirfalak because there was a tree-planting ceremony in Calgary in the name of this nine-year-old who was murdered by the IRGC.
I would like to hear from the member why she thinks it has been six years since Parliament passed a motion calling for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist organization in our Criminal Code, and the government continues to refuse to do that.
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- Apr/15/24 5:31:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her work on this file, as well as on many other issues that we both work on and agree on.
I had a volunteer who worked for me, named Arad Zarei. He was killed on that flight. At the remembrance for the victims of flight PS752, the Prime Minister was in our riding and reiterated our commitment to a responsible listing of the IRGC. We have also put very extensive measures in place under SEMA and IRPA.
I am just wondering if the member opposite would comment on how she feels the real issues facing the Iranian diaspora in Canada could be addressed while putting in place some of these measures.
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- Apr/15/24 5:32:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague as well. We have worked very closely on issues around helping people in other parts of the world, and I appreciate her work.
One of the things that I have heard from many members in my community and from the Iranian Canadian community around the country, is that they do not feel heard by the government. They do not feel that the government has listened to them and acted with urgency. After flight PS752, they wanted an independent investigation. They wanted more to be done, and we did not see that action from the government.
In terms even of listing the IRGC, of course we support this motion. We will support this. This is important work. What we are not seeing is that communities feel that their concerns about foreign interference and about interference within their communities are being heard. Even when we look at the potential for sports teams to come here, for people to be in our community who are clearly bad actors that the government knows about, there is very little action.
We need the community to feel like the government is listening and acting on their needs.
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- Apr/15/24 5:33:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, six years ago, all parties in the House voted to designate the IRGC a terrorist organization.
Today, during the debate, I am hearing parties saying the same thing, except the government. Clearly, the comments today suggest that people do not want a terrorist organization fundraising and acting here on Canadian soil.
My question for the member is as follows. Why does she think the Liberals have taken so long to avoid designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization?
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- Apr/15/24 5:46:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know the member cares about this particular issue quite a bit. We had a kind of round table on the Hill, what now feels like many months ago, regarding specifically the issue of conscripts in the IRGC, in Sepah-e Pasdaran. The way it works in Iran is that one enters a room where all the conscripts are and people are basically assigned in thirds to whatever service they are going to.
I wonder if the member would support an amendment to section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would exclude those who had to serve mandatory military service in such an organization so that we can finally list the IRGC as a terrorist organization the way this Parliament demanded the government do six years ago.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for Calgary Shepard for the very good question on this; it is a really important part of this discussion.
We are talking about listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code. However, we need to think of the 30,000 Canadians and their families who were conscripted to be part of the IRGC, because there is a very significant impact that the American listing is already having on them. I was recently reading through Bill C-350, which includes that exemption. I wonder if that would be better placed in the Criminal Code rather than in IRPA and what that would mean.
This is certainly an issue that requires a lot more investigation. I know that a study has been proposed in the foreign affairs committee, which might be an appropriate place to have that type of discussion. However, it is incredibly important that we think of the impact it will have on Canadians as part of an overall suite of how we hold the Iranian regime accountable for its actions.
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- Apr/15/24 5:51:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to put on the record that the Green Party also supports the vote to do more. I also want to associate myself with the comments of the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona, who said that this is not the right way to go about it. A concurrence debate does not give us the kind of full and detailed discussion that needs to be had.
All I will ask my hon. colleague for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country is this: Will he support, and does he believe his party will support, the move within the foreign affairs committee toward holding hearings and listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization?
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