Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, everyone, for having me.
As transnational repression, or TNR, continues to grow, it is critical to remind ourselves that transnational repression is not waged against abstract entities or states, but against people and communities. Canada's response must therefore be grounded in human rights.
With my time, I will emphasize three points and conclude with a number of recommendations. First, TNR in Canada is inextricably linked to human rights violations committed in source countries. Second, understanding these links means tackling both, by holding perpetrators accountable. Third, the threats of TNR are growing and include states that Canada considers allies.
TNR is not separate from repression in source countries. It's an extension of it. Those who call out and push back on atrocities in Iran, Russia, China, India, etc. are targets for repression here. How Ottawa responds must appreciate that it is those who dream of human rights in their homelands who face the nightmare of transnational repression in Canada.
Given it's the springtime, consider the following analogy. If Canada continues to focus only on how repression is expressed on Canadian soil, it will be cutting the dandelion flowers while leaving the roots intact. Worse, current Canadian policies might even allow the weedy world of repression to flourish.
I have studied the presence of Iranian regime figures in Canada and what responses are available to authorities to hold them accountable. Like others, I was troubled to see some members of Parliament calling for Iranian regime figures to be deported back to Iran. Trying to tackle TNR in Canada by sending perpetrators back to a regime engaged in the oppression of civilians is potentially reckless and dangerous. Sending agents back risks strengthening the Iranian regime and its repressive capabilities.
It was thus a lost opportunity in some ways when Canada decided last week not to investigate or potentially prosecute, but to return a former IRGC commander, Mehdi Taj, back to Iran. If Canada's response to TNR is to deport perpetrators, what lesson will those engaged in repression learn? “We can send our guys in to terrorize diaspora communities. The worst that will happen is Canada will send them back to us.”
Canada cannot tackle repression here by exporting its perpetrators abroad. We must instead uphold our sovereignty by reaffirming the human rights of those targeted by TNR. We can do this by holding perpetrators of repression and atrocities accountable in our own courts and under our own laws. Canada can become a world leader in this regard.
There is a framework that Canada can use to identify emerging threats of TNR. Look for states that perpetrate atrocities against their own people with impunity and that lack respect for state sovereignty. That means we must look not only at states like China, India and Iran, but also at the United States as an emerging risk of TNR.
Canadians are rightly worried that ICE, a paramilitary force engaged in rights violations in the United States, including the kidnapping and killing of migrants and citizens, might do the same in Canada. It's a reasonable fear. The U.S. may not be engaged in repression in Canada today, but it is precisely states that behave as they do that enable repression and seek to silence those who push back against their crimes.
Canada must be indiscriminate in our fight against repression and not allow the aspiration of good relations to blind us. Our commitment to accountability must not rest on double standards or partisan games.
Please allow me to conclude with three recommendations.
First, Canada should allocate new resources to the war crimes program and encourage it to open a structural investigation into transnational repression linked to the investigation and prosecution of atrocity perpetrators residing in Canada. This could include an analysis of whether transnational repression may in some cases amount to a crime against humanity.
Second, Canada could create a non-partisan working group to study the creation of a bill of rights for victims of TNR to offer them an effective institution to seek protection and remedies, including access to compensation from the seized assets of perpetrators.
Finally, Canada should review current ICE operations in the country. Ottawa should explain to Canadians why ICE, a force of an increasingly autocratic government, should still operate through its five offices in five Canadian cities.
It's not a matter of whether Canada can do this. We have the right people, the right resources and the right institutions. It's only a matter of whether Canada has the will and the courage to do so, in line with human rights and the goal of accountability. I certainly hope that it does.
I thank you very much for your time.