Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to support your study of the downing of flight PS752.
In October 2020, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, then the Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced the formation of a Canadian forensic examination and assessment team—the forensic team. I am honoured to be leading such important work. Our task is to uncover how and why Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 was shot down by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps near Tehran on January 8, 2020.
Iran's account of events has consistently lacked transparency, credibility and completeness. Significant questions remain surrounding the circumstances and causes of the tragedy.
The families of the victims of flight PS752 are rightly skeptical of Iran's intentions and actions. Iran's lack of transparency is deeply troubling. Its official account of events is dishonest, misleading and superficial, and deliberately ignores key factors. Iran refuses to provide answers to key questions.
The families who lost loved ones to this terrible tragedy deserve answers to these many unanswered questions. It is my hope that our work will help in this regard.
I report to Vincent Rigby, the national security and intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister. Since its creation, the forensic team has been hard at work to examine, organize and analyze all available information, evidence and intelligence about the flight PS752 disaster and advise the government on its credibility and probative value.
The forensic team was tasked with preparing an unclassified report on the circumstances and causes of the shoot-down. Once released, it will represent our best assessment of the tragedy, based on all information, evidence and intelligence available to the Government of Canada.
Thankfully, it has been a whole-of-government effort. Dedicated representatives from all relevant Government of Canada departments and agencies have supported us. The work is complicated and sensitive. Sifting through mountains of data, working with our allies and declassifying intelligence where possible, while protecting sources, has proven to be a time-consuming and labour-intensive undertaking. That said, the families and loved ones of the victims have always been central to our efforts, and we owe it to them to get it right.
Our report will not, however, answer all outstanding questions. Only Iran has full access to the evidence, the crash site, witnesses and those ultimately responsible. It therefore remains incumbent upon Iran to provide a full and credible accounting of the events, so that the world may finally know the truth about what happened to PS752.
While we have not been able to release our report yet, I will outline what I can on its development, in particular as it relates to the victims' families.
I met with the families very early in my mandate and started an important dialogue. We also set up a dedicated email address for families to use to provide investigative leads that they felt were significant. We have since received information of value to our investigative efforts.
The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims also set up its own fact-finding committee, which has provided investigative leads to the forensic team, including suggestions on the surface-to-air missile system and its operator, as well as information regarding other flights. We thoroughly investigated all of the material provided and sought to corroborate it with the expansive body of information available to the Canadian government. The forensic team also took great efforts to validate and answer questions from the families wherever possible.
I recognize that the gathering of this information by the families came with risks, especially given the actions taken by Iran. Their efforts are truly appreciated, and I want to use this opportunity to thank the families for their contributions.
When meeting with the victims' families, I committed to giving them access to the full report before it is made public. Because of this, I will not be able to answer any of the committee's questions on our key findings or any of its content. To do so would be to betray the trust we have developed. I appreciate your understanding of my predicament.
I would like to close by expressing my deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims of flight PS752. It is my hope that our work will help in some little way on their difficult journey to reconciling their unimaginable grief. The lives lost and the potential stolen of the 55 Canadians, 30 permanent residents and the other passengers and crew of PS752—176 victims in total—should never be forgotten.
Thank you.
I'd now be happy to take your questions.