Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Senator Gold, two years ago, the Senate adopted a motion calling on the government to grant Canadian citizenship to Saudi political prisoner Raif Badawi, but nothing has been done to follow up on that motion.

For the past five years, diplomatic relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia have been suspended because of something Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted about Mr. Badawi. However, it has now been announced that normal diplomatic relations will resume.

Senator Gold, now that diplomatic relations have been restored with Saudi Arabia, does the Government of Canada intend to grant Raif Badawi Canadian citizenship or is the price of this return to normal our silence with regard to the Saudi regime’s human rights violations?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Thank you for that information. Now that diplomatic relations have been restored, Canada will soon have an ambassador in Riyadh. This seems, at the very least, like an opportunity to intervene directly with the Saudis, in person, on Mr. Badawi’s behalf.

Raif Badawi was imprisoned for his political views. When will the government issue a temporary passport or grant him safe passage so that he can finally be reunited with his wife and children, who have been forced to live without him in Quebec for over a decade?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Welcome to the Senate, Senator Gold. In Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has for months been functioning as the strong arm of a regime that imprisons and executes its political opponents. For years, this group has been destabilizing the entire Middle East with its terrorist activities. The United States designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group long ago, but Canada is waffling over what would be a strong signal to an Iranian regime that systematically violates its citizens’ rights. Why not take action on this very issue by designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: Even though you’re still considering the matter, Canada claimed in the past that it was reluctant to impose this designation because it was worried about penalizing conscripts. However, according to security expert Michel Juneau-Katsuya, that argument doesn’t hold water because rank-and-file fighters are not the ones who would be affected. It would be the highest ranking officers who have assets and who could engage in interference in Canada or try to cross our borders. I would remind you that there are already 73 other groups on the list of terrorist organizations and that many of them are not very well known or not very active. Isn’t it time to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to that blacklist?