Senator Plett: Senator Gold, last week, when Senator Housakos asked you about listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity, you gave us the same response you have given us for years now. However, when Minister LeBlanc was asked a similar question in the House, he gave a very different response. The minister said he obviously asked security professionals to update their advice. Leader, why was your answer different from the minister’s?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Minister Blair, as a cabinet minister, speaks for the government when he does speak. It is clear that the Government of Canada deplored the terrorist attack against Hamas and supports the right of Israel to defend itself under the terms of international law.

It is also the position of the Canadian government that those who are trapped in Gaza and are innocent victims — as so many are of this war — deserve access to humanitarian aid, and Canada continues works to that end.

The Prime Minister has been clear about the position of Canada, which has not changed. There is, in this country, a diversity of opinion. Families and friends, indeed, are torn asunder. The government stands by its long-standing policies and will continue to do so.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, for years Iranian Canadians have called on the Trudeau government to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, as a terrorist entity. They did so before and after the IRGC shot down Flight PS752, killing Canadian citizens and permanent residents. They did so last year, after a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, was murdered. They did so again in the wake of the evil attacks on Israel by Hamas, which was surely backed by the Iranian regime.

Minister LeBlanc said he asked his officials to update their advice about listing the IRGC. How much longer, Senator Gold, will it take to criminalize this terrorist group?