Canada Must Act: Iranian Canadians Urge Action Against Regime Officials Operating in Canada

[Social Media]

 

Canada needs to take stronger measures to prevent becoming a refuge for members of Iran’s regime, according to Iranian Canadians who participated in consultations released by the Hogue Commission. The commission summarized concerns raised by the Iranian diaspora about foreign interference and proposed steps to address the issue.

 

Participants highlighted the necessity of more robust screening processes to identify and block former officials of the Islamic Republic government from entering Canada. “Certain attendees talked about the presence of Iranian government officials who were involved in criminal activities and human rights abuses in Canada,” the commission noted. Additionally, some community organizations have reportedly been “infiltrated and taken over by persons acting on behalf of the Iranian regime.”

 

Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, a Tehran-born human rights activist, underscored these concerns, calling Canada “a safe haven for Islamic regime officials and their families.” She recounted the emotional toll of seeing regime-affiliated individuals in Canada, including an incident where “Iranian nuclear officials” attended an event at the University of British Columbia. Afshin-Jam MacKay also described how children of regime officials displayed wealth in Vancouver, driving luxury cars, while some realtors allegedly facilitated the laundering of funds from Iran.

 

One witness recalled spotting a former Iranian police chief in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and mentioned a former cabinet minister vacationing in Montreal. Such accounts point to broader issues of accountability. As one unnamed witness told the inquiry, the Iranian regime “wants to exert influence in Canada because there is a large and well-educated Iranian diaspora.”

 

Suggestions to address the problem included creating a specialized section within immigration or foreign affairs to scrutinize applications from Iran more rigorously. Witnesses also advocated for better training for border agents and using tools like the Faces of Crimes online database to track regime officials’ human rights violations.

 

The commission also highlighted recent incidents of threats against Iranian dissidents in Canada, often extending to their families still in Iran. Javad Soleimani, whose wife was killed when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a passenger plane in 2020, revealed that Iranian intelligence contacted him months after the tragedy. Soleimani, who lost 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents in the attack, was told to remove a social media post critical of the regime. When he refused, they threatened his family in Iran.

 

Soleimani also alleged that IRGC members “freely work and study here in Canada” and that Iran actively pushes its agenda through community groups and mosques. He urged authorities to investigate these activities thoroughly.

 

The accounts and recommendations brought forward by the Iranian Canadian community illustrate the urgency of addressing foreign interference and ensuring Canada remains a sanctuary for those fleeing oppression, not for those perpetuating it.

 

Based on a report by Global News 2025-01-20

 

 

[kingstonkid]

The first stage to achieving this is to get rid of the Liberal government.

[OneManShow]

Canadian officials: Just bring your wealth here, no matter what you did or who you were/are. 

[mrwebb8825]

Even more reason to annex Canada and more proof that the Iranian people mostly would support their current leadership's removal from the planet. The only destabilization this would cause in the ME would be getting used to running their own countries w/o terrorist influence.

 

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