Mr. Speaker, I am also honoured to rise today, like my hon. colleague from Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill and my colleague from the Conservative Party. A number of us have received petitions from constituents and concerned Canadians about the appalling situation for the citizens of Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the petitioners note, has demonstrated a history of violence against its own citizens, including the killing of 1,500 protesters in November 2019, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is at the epicentre of the Iranian regime. We know that women in Iran have long faced legal, political, economic and social challenges, and we have seen increased violence in a crackdown against women and girls, who are being killed even for the simple failure to wear a scarf as prescribed by the regime. The women and girls have been at the forefront of the recent uprising.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to follow through with actions against the Iranian regime, which include making the regime, the IRGC and top leaders inadmissible to Canada, expanding sanctions against those individuals responsible for human rights violations, denying them entry into Canada and, through the Minister of Global Affairs and the Government of Canada, along with our partners and allies, having Iran removed from the Commission on the Status of Women within the United Nations.
These and many other measures the petitioners hope the Government of Canada will pursue with vigour.