The Persian-Canadian community of Kelowna is the driving force behind a petition to Parliament calling on the federal government to declare a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces a terror entity.
Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola MP Dan Albas has sponsored the petition initiated by Kelowna residents Keyvan Khadem and Ray Taheri.
The petition to the House of Commons is urging the federal government to follow through on a motion passed in Parliament nearly three years ago and list Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
The petition wants the deportation of people connected to the IRGC or Iranian government and assets of those individuals seized and sold with proceeds going to Canadian victims of the group.
The IRGC shot down a Ukrainian airliner in January 2020 as it left Tehran, Iran, killing 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Taheri, a professor at UBC Okanagan, says the federal government should be putting more pressure on friends of the Iranian regime living in Canada.
“They have millions, if not billions, of dollars of assets in Canada. And they're using that as a money laundry to support the regime in Iran,” Taheri said.
Protests have been rocking Iran for six weeks, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by the country’s morality police for not wearing her hijab properly.
While the people of Iran have been living under authoritarian theocratic rule for more than four decades, Taheri says Amini’s death rattled many youth deeply.
“She just came from the suburban countryside, and she was walking in a subway… and she got arrested and killed,” Taheri said. “And then people realized, you will be her soon. You don't have to be in the opposition —just have to be a normal person — they came to this realization, this government will kill you one way or the other.”
Iran's government has been warning of a crackdown on the protests this week, but the streets remain full.
Taheri, who moved to Canada as a child but still has extended family in Iran, says the protests will persist.
“The most dangerous and courageous people are those who have absolutely nothing to lose. And they put people in that position,” Taheri said.
The protests have so far primarily been driven by youth and younger adults. But Taheri believes that a crackdown by the government would draw older Iranians into the streets.
In October, the federal government announced it was banning 10,000 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps from ever entering Canada, but stopped short of listing the group as a terror entity.
It has been listed as a terror group by the U.S. since 2019. The European Union is currently considering doing the same.
If listed as a terror group in Canada, it would be a criminal offence to engage with financial dealings with the group or to support them.
“Designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity would zero in on the nexus between terrorism and business, providing a means to disrupt the financial support network for terrorist activity,” argued Sheryl Saperia, chief executive of the Canadian Coalition Against Terror, in a Postmedia column.
“The IRGC controls substantial swaths of the Iranian economy, and a terror designation would rightly cause Canadian companies and banks to evaluate whether they are working with an Iranian company that supports terrorist activities.”
Signatures for the Canadian petition are being collected until December 5. You can sign it here with a verified email address.
