- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20
- Government Page
- May/22/24 12:08:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, what we have just seen shows the disdain the Liberal government has for the Iranian community and for all Canadians seeking freedom and justice. I asked a very specific question, which is whether the government will finally list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and shut down the operations in Canada. We received no answer. Instead, a parliamentary secretary read out a pre-prepared statement that in no way addressed the question.
Now the parliamentary secretary who is answering my questions tonight is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Families, Children and Social Development and Mental Health and Addictions. In other words, she has no responsibility in any way related to the file about which I am asking. It is hard to blame her as she has been put in this position. She has no responsibility for public safety or for foreign affairs. Of course, she cannot answer the question. It is not even an issue she is working on, but the people who are supposed to be working on this issue could not be bothered to show up to answer the question tonight.
Again, will the government finally list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and shut down its operations? Yes or no?
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- May/22/24 12:00:41 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Conservatives have been relentlessly calling on the government for more than six years to recognize that the Iran regime-backed IRGC is indeed a terrorist organization and to shut down its operations in Canada. Indeed, as long as the IRGC remains off the terrorist list, this heinous organization can continue to operate, to be present, to fundraise and to recruit right here on Canadian soil. We have seen directly the impacts here in Canada and on Canadians associated with IRGC operations. This is why Conservatives have been persistently calling on the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
We heard testimony at the Subcommittee on International Human Rights today about the IRGC. One particular point I want to highlight is that if we look at the Canadian terrorist list, we will actually see many organizations on that list that are backed by the IRGC. We will see Hamas, which is backed by the IRGC. We will see Hezbollah, which is backed and supported by the IRGC. We have well recognized the actions of the Assad regime, including gross violations of human rights; it is indeed backed by the IRGC. There are many different smaller, lesser-known and splinter-grade organizations. The Taliban, I should mention, also receives support from the IRGC. Many that are already recognized as terrorist groups are on our list, but the government has failed to sanction the mother ship, the IRGC, which is supporting and enabling all of these other terrorist organizations. It makes no sense that the government has failed to hold responsible that Iran regime-affiliated terrorist organization, which is really at the heart of so much of the carnage we have seen in the Middle East and in many other places.
Six years ago, I put a motion before this House to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and shut down its operations in this country. That motion passed. It was not unanimous, but it passed with the support of the government. Then, after the House voted to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the government failed to act. For a while, the Liberals said they were thinking about it. The government said, “It is under review, it is under discussion, it is being investigated.” It takes some time to list a terrorist organization. Maybe, in some cases, they have a month or a couple of months of reviewing the details, but in six years, the Liberals did nothing. They failed to list the IRGC in six years.
In the intervening time, so much has happened. The Iranian regime was responsible for shooting down flight PS752, killing many Canadians and others with close connections to Canada. There was the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini and the launch of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement; and there are many other crimes we could list that the IRGC was responsible for.
Therefore, a couple of weeks ago, we brought the same motion back to this House and, again, the government voted for it. It was amazing. The Liberals voted for it and they did nothing for six years. Then it came back and they voted for it again. This time, it was unanimous. The entire House voted to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and to shut down its operations in Canada and yet, the Liberals still have done nothing. What shameless hypocrisy we see when the government votes repeatedly to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and it fails to act.
I will ask again and I hope I'll get an answer: Will the government finally list the IRGC as a terrorist organization? Will the Liberals do what they voted to do and shut down the—
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- May/7/24 3:11:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, behold, the ghost of Paul Martin is back. When a government is drowning, it will grasp onto anything, but it continues to sink nonetheless.
Six years ago, the House and the government voted to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and, therefore, prevent it from fundraising, converting or operating in Canada. Six years later, this terrorist group continues to operate here with impunity. Tomorrow, the House will vote again.
Will this NDP-Liberal government finally do what it failed to do six years ago and vote to shut down IRGC operations in Canada?
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Madam Speaker, I think the member just gave an excellent and powerful speech about the importance of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
I know from talking to community members across Canada that there is wide support for the proposal. There are many different communities that see the negative impacts of IRGC violence: the Iranian community, the Jewish community, the Iraqi community, the Lebanese community and the Yemeni community. Communities in South America are also talking about how the Iranian regime is spreading its violence and collaborating with authoritarian regimes in South America.
We are going to vote on the motion on Wednesday. I think it is going to pass, based on what the opposition parties have said. We will see what the government does. At the end of the day, what we need is executive action or the passage of my bill, Bill C-350. It is not good enough to just pass a motion. After the motion is voted on, and if it passes, what should we expect the government to actually do? A motion like this one passed before, six years ago, and the government has done absolutely nothing in six years. We will pass the motion, I hope, on Wednesday, but we need to hold the government's feet to the fire because what really matters is whether something actually gets done.
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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 3:35:55 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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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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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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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-350, An Act to amend the State Immunity Act, the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
He said: Madam Speaker, since the House voted five years ago to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity and shut down its operations in Canada, Conservatives have been pushing the Liberal government to actually list the IRGC, but it has not acted.
It is time to bring it home and protect Iranian Canadians and all Canadians from threats and violence from this vile regime. Today, I am tabling a bill that will list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, and goes further to support victims of terrorism, torture and extrajudicial killing.
In addition to listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity, this bill would allow victims of torture and extrajudicial killing by Iran and other designated state sponsors of terror to seek damages. States' involvement in terrorism as well as torture and extrajudicial killing should not be protected from accountability for these actions by the State Immunity Act and, thus, will not be protected if my bill passes.
I know this bill will be welcomed not only by the Iranian community, but also by many other victims of crime. It requires the government to respond within 40 days to a request from a parliamentary committee to list a new entity as a terrorist organization or to list a new state as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Liberals have had five years. They have failed to stand with victims of crime and with the Iranian community. A Conservative government will bring it home.
I hope this bill, the combatting torture and terrorism act, will become law as soon as possible.
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Madam Speaker, this member's excuse for not listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization is that they have put in place other sanctions and also their security experts are giving them advice in private which we cannot share, but they will not take action.
Let me just point out that successive administrations of the American government have recognized the IRGC as a terrorist organization. I know the government has shown us in recent days that it has more skepticism about American intelligence than one might have expected, but our allies are recognizing that the IRGC is a terrorist organization and that it is the source of much terror and violence in the Middle East and throughout the world; that it is bringing Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and other terrorist actors under its control; and that Iran, through its proxy, is responsible for the violence we are seeing today against Israel and impacting Palestinian people.
It is for those reasons, as well as for the threat it poses to Canada and Canadians that the Iranian community here is speaking out about, that it must be recognized as a terrorist organization.
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Mr. Speaker, the Iranian regime supports Hamas and is responsible for death and destruction throughout the world.
Yesterday I asked the House to support my Bill C-350 to list Iran's IRGC as a terrorist organization, and therefore to shut down their operations in Canada. However, the Liberals refused.
After eight years, why are Liberals still refusing to hold this regime accountable, and why are they continuing to allow the IRGC to operate here in Canada?
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- Oct/16/23 10:58:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Hamas, the perpetrator of this attack, is a listed terrorist organization here in Canada. However, Conservatives have been calling for the IRGC, affiliated with the Iranian regime, the enabler of so much terrorism in the region by Hamas, by Hezbollah and other actors, also be listed as a terrorist organization. This attack by Hamas terrorists is another crime that we can ultimately lay at the feet of the support and enabling by the Iranian regime.
The member is a former minister of public safety and made the choice as minister to not list the IRGC at that time. I wonder if he could reflect on why he chose not to list the IRGC and if he thinks that the new minister should proceed with listing the IRGC now.
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- Oct/16/23 10:29:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing some very important personal reflections that I think are very valuable for the House to consider.
I want to ask a question on a somewhat different aspect of this debate. It is a question I have asked a few government members. It is about the role of the Iranian regime in supporting Hamas and supporting other terrorist organizations that threaten Israel.
Up until now, it has not been the position of the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. I know there are some members of the government who have individually expressed support for the idea of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This is another example. We have seen many examples in recent years of IRGC violence.
Does the member think there may possibly be a change coming in the government's position on listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization?
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- Oct/16/23 8:54:13 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to ask my hon. friend about his views on the Iranian regime's role behind this attack. It is clear, I think, that the Iranian regime is seeking to support terrorist organizations throughout the region. If we look at Israel's borders, we see Iranian regime engagement with Hamas, with Hezbollah and with the Assad regime in Syria. We have called for the government to take additional steps to hold the Iranian regime accountable, listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization, for example, and taking additional steps in terms of sanctions. This attack is another data point in terms of the horrors we have seen over the years with regard to the actions of this regime.
I wonder if the member could share what his views are on listing the IRGC, on the role of Iran in this particular attack and on what Canada can do to hold the Iranian regime accountable.
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- Jun/13/23 1:38:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, everything that I said in my previous response is on the public record and is easily verifiable as accurate.
The member asked if there are instances of other countries that have imposed sanctions that Canada should have imposed. Yes, absolutely, and I will pick one present topical example.
Five years ago, the House listed the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, as a terrorist organization. The House voted five years ago. That member, if he was present, voted for it. I know the Prime Minister was present but he did not vote for that listing.
In five years, they have done nothing. It has been five years of inaction in terms of recognizing the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The United States has recognized the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
We just had hearings at the foreign affairs committee on the Wagner Group. We have been calling for the listing of the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. The United States has listed it as a transnational criminal organization, which is slightly different, but they have applied tough sanctions against the Wagner Group that we have not applied at an equivalent level.
There have been various instances. For instance, there are officials associated with the Sri Lankan military to whom we did eventually apply some sanctions this year, but we were way behind the Americans, who had applied those sanctions years before. There are many examples, actually, of allies being far ahead of us on sanctions.
We need to do better. We should be leading, by the way, not just catching up. We should be leading in terms of taking a stand against violations of fundamental human rights.
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Madam Speaker, this motion deals with the listing of a terrorist organization, the Taliban, and highlights that, in the context of recognizing the need for special provisions to bring in humanitarian assistance, we also need to be firm in denouncing the Taliban. It is saying that, while we want to find ways of getting humanitarian assistance in, the Taliban needs to continue to be a listed terrorist organization.
At the same time, there are other organizations that the House has called on the government to list that it has not listed, and I am thinking particularly of the IRGC. It has been five years since the House voted to list the IRGC. The passage of Bill C-41 may, from the perspective of the government, remove a potential impediment. Is the government open to now moving forward with listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization, as it voted to do five years ago?
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- Mar/28/23 10:20:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to recognize that the member is joining us in calling for the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
I would just like to see other members of the government, if they want to meaningfully show solidarity with the Iranian community and stand with the freedom movement, join us in asking their government to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. It is a responsibility of members of Parliament to speak out for truth and justice, and to hold their own government accountable when there is a lack of action.
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- 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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- Feb/14/23 6:50:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are no surprises in that non-answer, unfortunately.
The parliamentary secretary, ironically, cites a number of instances of groups that were listed by the previous Conservative government, and then expects to be congratulated, I suppose, for the fact that the government has allowed these terrorist organizations listed by Conservatives to remain on the list, but has not listed additional organizations.
A while back the House passed a motion on the listing of the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization, and the government got that done within two months, yet it has been five years, and the parliamentary secretary will not list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
She cites various individuals. Again, as I already pointed out, when individuals are sanctioned and not the organization, the organization is allowed to continue to operate here in Canada. The parliamentary secretary will not answer the basic question. Why is the government intent on allowing the IRGC to continue their operations in Canada?
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- Nov/29/22 7:14:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that response in this whole situation is a sad demonstration of the farce that is the government's approach to human rights. We have a parliamentary secretary reading out his lines that, yes, the government stands with the people of Iran, that it wants them to know it stands with them, but, substantively, the government refuses to do the core thing that the Iranian community is asking, which is to shut down the operations of the IRGC here in Canada.
I note as well that the person answering the question is the parliamentary secretary for finance. This is not even his file. The government representatives for public safety and foreign affairs could not even be bothered to answer the question. I have some sympathy for the parliamentary secretary. He has been asked, as the parliamentary secretary for finance, to read out a response that has nothing to do with the files that he is working on. That tells us how seriously the government takes the need to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
If the issue is concern about forcible conscription—
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