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Prime Minister Mark Carney insisted his government is doing an effective job of keeping Iranians associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps out of the country, after one former IRGC official was granted a visa.
When asked Thursday about Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj being denied entry to Canada earlier this week, Carney said he can’t talk about individual cases due to privacy legislation.
Online news outlet Iran International reported Monday that Taj was granted a temporary resident visa that allowed him to enter Canada, despite his ties to the IRGC, which is a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters Wednesday it was her “understanding” that Taj was denied entry after arriving at a Canadian entry point for a FIFA Congress meeting in Vancouver.
“There are multiple hurdles in order to get into the country and I think the important thing is that those hurdles are effective and we continue to see that,” Carney said at a press conference in Oakville, Ont.
“There’s always reviews of what’s been done and where things can be improved. But the assurance, the core assurance, to Canadians is members of the Revolutionary Guard rightly have been prohibited from entering this country and they will not enter this country.”
Michelle Rempel Garner, the Conservative immigration critic, said Thursday it’s “ridiculous” that the prime minister isn’t sharing information on how Taj was able to get to Canada before being turned back.
“I’m sorry, the privacy rights or ‘can’t comment’ does not override answering questions on how this happened and how the government is going to fix it,” she said.
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“Just a completely ridiculous answer that abdicates responsibility for the situation. And this has serious impacts for a lot of people in the country.”
Melissa Lantsman, deputy Conservative leader, said this situation creates tension among members of the Iranian diaspora in Canada who are facing repression attempts by Tehran.
“It will continue to happen unless the community gets answers for the government about why, how, when and how many more times this is going to happen. This community is terrorized. We’ve seen gunshots into businesses of activists,” Lantsman said.
The Conservative MPs said they want an investigation into how Taj was issued a permit.
“The reality is that the process failed here. And today the prime minister went out and he said, ‘Sorry, I can’t comment on that. I can’t comment on specific cases that are all over the news,’” Rempel Garner said.
The Conservatives pressed the issue three times in question period, directing their questions at Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree responded on behalf of the government each time. He said he could not comment on specific cases and both IRGC members and senior Iranian officials are inadmissible to Canada.
Footage of question period shows Diab appearing to stand in response to a question from Rempel Garner before sitting back down after the Speaker recognized Anandasangaree. Her department is responsible for issuing visas, while removals fall under public safety.
Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos raised the issue in the Senate’s question period, repeatedly asking how Taj was able to get a visa to come to Canada.
Pierre Moreau, the government’s representative in the Senate, replied that Housakos is well aware he can’t speak about specific cases due to privacy rules.
Tasnim, an Iranian news agency associated with the IRGC, said Taj and two other Iranian officials were denied entry due to “inappropriate behaviour of immigration officials” at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
The Canadian government designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity in June 2024 and declared the Iranian regime a state sponsor of terror in November 2022.
Carney said no IRGC members have entered Canada since the terrorist designation was made.
Canada Border Services Agency data shows one person has been removed of the three who have been issued deportation orders for having IRGC connections as of March 6. Further investigations are still underway.
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