Bill C-412 (Historical)

Iran Accountability Act

An Act to combat incitement to genocide, domestic repression and nuclear armament in Iran

This enactment affirms and expands upon the measures contained in the Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on Iran in respect of incitement to genocide, domestic repression and nuclear armament in Iran.

Iran

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition from my constituents who are alarmed that the fourfold Iranian threat: nuclear, incitement, terrorism and massive domestic repression, constitute a grave threat to international peace and security of Canada.

Accordingly, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to support Bill C-412, the Iran Accountability Act, the only such bill before the House, to implement the recommendations of the unanimously adopted report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Ahmadinejad Iran's threat to peace, human rights and international law, to decry the massive domestic repression and human rights abuses in Iran, including an unprecedented rate of execution, to hold leaders in Iran criminally responsible for their state sanctioned incitement to genocide, to work with our international partners to combat the state sanctioned incitement, the quest for nuclear arms, the support for global terror and its massive domestic repression and to support the Interpol arrest warrant for terrorist action as well.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the fraudulent Iranian election and the ensuing massive domestic repression and alarming march toward nuclear weapons capability, calling upon the government to act against the Iranian regime's clear and present danger to international peace and security, to regional and Middle East stability and, increasingly and alarmingly, to its own people.

In particular, the petitioners urge the government to combat the critical mass of Iranian threat, including the nuclear threat, the threat of state-sanctioned incitement, state-sponsored terrorism and the threat of massive domestic repression.

The petitioners urge the government to enact the Iran accountability act , to hold President Ahmadinejad and Iranian leaders to account for violating the prohibition against incitement to genocide in the genocide convention and international law, and to support Interpol arrest warrants against Iranian leaders implicated in terrorist acts against the AMIA in Argentina.

The petitioners reaffirm the feeling of Canadian friendship with the Iranian people, regret developments that have created impediments to that friendship, and hold the Iranian people, their culture and their ancient and rich history in the highest esteem.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions I wish to present today.

I had the honour of participating in Raoul Wallenberg Day in Winnipeg in January. The students there started off this petition. They got a number of signatures on campus, throughout the city and across the province.

Essentially, the petitioners are calling on Parliament and the Government of Canada to take steps against the Iranian regime for what it has done on massive domestic repression against Iranian people, students and journalists.

They are also calling on us to make sure that we talk about the leaders of Iran, how they have denied Israel's right to exist and have denied the Holocaust. President Ahmadinejad has said that Israelis should be wiped off the map. The petitioners are also concerned about the prospect that the Islamic Republic of Iran will access nuclear arms.

They are calling upon the House to support Bill C-412, the Iran accountability act. They are asking government and Parliament to try to establish an international tribunal for the purpose of declaring Iran in breach of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide for state-sanctioned incitement to genocide.

They are asking us to support the United Nations Security Council in adopting additional measures against Iran, and that we help Interpol exercise the warrant for the arrest of the alleged AMIA bombers from Argentina. They also request that we take a strong stance against Iran in its quest to access nuclear arms, its support for global terror, and of course Iran's massive domestic human rights violations.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Chairman, I'll try this again.

The 1948 genocide convention has responsibility to prevent genocide and to punish those who incite genocide. On this issue of incitement, Mr. Cotler put forth a bill on June 9, the Iran Accountability Act. I'd be interested in your comments on it—in writing, given the limited time.

The other issue I would like to put on the table is the freezing of assets, one of the ways to get government's attention, and obviously that of the Iranian leadership. What are we doing on the issue of freezing assets, both of the government and of prominent business people who put money through this country?

Finally, on the Jundullah, the Soldiers of God, are there any comments you'd like to make on how you see that playing out, given the sensitivity of the Sunni insurgency in the southeast?

I would like certainly the first two responses in writing, if I could.

Thank you.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, how low Canadian foreign policy has dropped. In a week when world leaders turned their attention to the Iranian threat to world peace, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs opted for a local show as opposed to making a substantive contribution to world stability. Yet every day Iran is getting closer to backing up its vicious vitriol with nuclear weaponry. Responsible western nations need to stop Iran's steady march toward its goal and consequent regional destabilization.

Iran's military politics are a global threat, a threat that extends beyond the Middle East and should be treated as such. We need to act now. We need to back up talk with action.

My colleague from Mount Royal has introduced Bill C-412, An Act to combat incitement to genocide, domestic repression and nuclear armament in Iran, a bill which I proudly seconded.

If the government is serious about the Iranian threat, it should adopt the bill, make it law and prove that it can walk the talk.

Iran Accountability Act

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-412, An Act to combat incitement to genocide, domestic repression and nuclear armament in Iran.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Iran Accountability Act, seconded by my colleague from York Centre.

This is an important legislative measure to combat incitement to genocide, domestic repression and nuclear armament in Iran.

Simply put, Canada must not indulge the state sanctioned incitement to genocide, the impunities that attends it and the weaponization that underpins it.

Specifically, the Iran Accountability Act divests Canada from investment in Iran; establishes a mechanism to monitor incitement in Iran; renders the most virulent inciters inadmissible to Canada; freezes the assets of those who contribute to Iran's nuclear or military infrastructure as well as its machinery of hate; uses the framework of the international community, including Canada's bilateral relationships and the United Nations, to bring Iran to justice through recognized principles of international law; and targets Iran's dependence on imported petroleum.

I want to say that this bill targets the Iranian regime and not the great Iranian civilization or the Iranian people, who are increasingly victims of the repressive regime in that country.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)