Canada's Puzzling Permissiveness in Allowing Visas for Iranian Regime Representatives

"Why has Canada become a safe haven for these people ... if the families of the victims [of the 2020 downing of flight PS752 shot down over Tehran by the IRGC] can't come to Canada to gather their daughter's or son's belongings?"

"Why are the doors wide open [to members of the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime members?]"

Hamed Esmaellion, Toronto dentist

"Canada does not limit the number of temporary resident visa applications that are accepted from any country."

"Temporary resident visa applications are considered on a case-by-case basis on the specific facts presented by the applicant."

Aidan Strickland, spokeswoman, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser 

"Democratic countries like Canada need to wake up to the fact they are being used by the world's most brutal regime as a safe haven."

"While they enforce these medieval, draconian laws on the people, their own children are free to live without the hijab, living Western lifestyles."

Mariam Memarsadeghi fellow, Macdonald Laurier Institute

Hamid Rezazadeh’s mother, Ensieh Khazali, pictured, is one of Iran’s 12 vice presidents, responsible for women and family affairs. Photo by Mehr News Agency /Wikimedia

Canada took steps in 2012 to disinvite the Iranian Embassy and its staff from Canadian soil. No longer would the Islamist Theocracy interfere in Canadian affairs, and no longer would Canada give diplomatic status and recognition to Iranian members of the terrorist-supporting regime. But that all took place under a Conservative-led government, by then-Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. When the current PM, Justin Trudeau, brought the Liberals back to power, his intention was to restore relations with Iran.

 

Events on the world stage intervened to make that diplomatically unfeasible; not the least of which was that Iran was fully recognized as a terrorist state that grooms and arms terrorist groups in other Middle East countries. When the IRGC shot down a Ukraine Airliner full of Canadians, the likelihood of re-establishing relations grew impossible. Yet the son of one of the regime's 12 vice-presidents is present in Canada, on a visa enabling him to work in the country.

Iranian journalist Abdullah Abdi who works out of Switzerland revealed the situation and with it the question that asks why would Canada permit someone closely aligned with a regime widely known for gross human rights abuses and which had caused the deaths of dozens of Canadian air passengers, be given a visa to visit and live in the country?

It is a question puzzling and infuriating to Iranian Canadians who oppose the Iranian Republic under the Ayatollahs, who now argue that Hamid Rezazadeh has no business in Canada, all the more so since visas have been denied to other Iranians not linked to the government in Iran. Tehran's former chief of police who is accused of many human rights abuses was seen earlier this year in the Toronto area. Late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini's great-granddaughter was given a study visa to attend an Ontario university.

Ensieh Khazali, one of Iran's vice-presidents, recently stated that her son was developing Iran's technical knowledge-base and plans to be returning to Iran shortly. Relations between Iran and Canada are tense, yet Iranians with deep links to the theocracy live and study and work in Canada. While relatives of those Iranian Canadians who died in the aerial strikes of the Ukrainian passenger liner have been refused visas to enter Canada to attend memorial services for their relatives.

A Washington, DC.-based scholar, Alireza Nader who is also a critic of the Iranian regime conducted a research project for the Foundation for Defence of Democracies recently, on Iranian interference in Canada. He discovered that cases made public are merely "the tip of the iceberg", where many other former officials and even intelligence agents have been permitted to settle in Canada. "It just amazes me that the Trudeau government would allow this kind of infiltration into Canadian society", stated Nader.