Justice committee  That may not be an option that works for every organization. I'm curious. To the folks at Islamic Relief and World Vision, what's your view on the proposition that you may already have the legal authority to proceed, based on international humanitarian law? Is it just a matter of not wanting the legal headache of potential prosecution, given the ambiguities?

Justice committee  From our perspective, it's important that we understand that each agency makes its own legal and risk analysis and assessments. Even though Islamic Relief was still doing projects in Afghanistan, for us it's important that a lot of our colleagues in the sector have funds available for Afghanistan. However, because of the risk of prosecution and their own risk assessment, they weren't proceeding.

Justice committee  We now have Shabnam Salehi, as an individual. We have Usama Khan, chief executive officer of Islamic Relief Canada. Welcome. From World Vision Canada, we have Martin Fischer, head of policy. We also have Amy Avis, chief of emergency management and general counsel. I think they will be sharing their time.

Request for Emergency Debate  With the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism on the heels of record-high levels of violence against these communities, we need the debate in this chamber to discuss how serious this is and debate solutions to the problems. I want to cite specifically recent and brazen attacks at the Islamic Society of Markham, the Bagg Street Shul in Montreal and other communities across this country, where people are being targeted because of their faith and are receiving violent threats and violence against them directly.

Committees of the House  It has been organizing terror campaigns in the Middle East, both against opponents of the Iranian Islamic regime in Tehran and also against its own people. It has been successful at intimidating and bullying, but also at murdering its political opponents wherever they are, whether they are in Europe, in Africa, or in the Middle East, including right in Iran.

Committees of the House  We do not want former Iranian IRGC and military leaders to be able to claim asylum in our country. The designation the government has put on the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime means that all senior officials in the country are inadmissible. This includes heads of state, military leaders, intelligence officials, senior public servants, diplomats and members of the judiciary.

Committees of the House  This has now listed 127 Iranian individuals and 189 entities, as including senior officials in the IRGC and across the regime's security, intelligence and economic apparatus. On November 14, 2022, Canada announced the designation of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that engages in gross and systemic human rights violations and terrorism. This means that tens of thousands of senior members of the Iranian regime, including many members of the IRGC, are now inadmissible to Canada.

Committees of the House  Washington had already announced a slew of sanctions against the Iranian morality police and several security officials on September 22. Iran's strict dress code forces women to wear the Islamic head scarf, but according to videos posted online, women are leading the protests in Iran. Schoolgirls even organized rallies in several regions, where they removed their hijabs and shouted anti-regime slogans.

Committees of the House  Anyone identified by the government as a member of the regime should not be allowed to enter Canada. The next step is to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of terrorist organizations in the Criminal Code. Consequently, anyone who is in Canada and is a member of that group, has been a member of that group, or has assisted a terrorist group, would be allowed to go before the courts and have a judge decide whether they actually helped the group to persecute or intimidate citizens or violate Canadian law.

Committees of the House  The government is aware of the suspicious situations I just mentioned, of the presence of Iranian nationals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian Armed Forces, the Iranian Guidance Patrol or Iranian intelligence organizations. Nothing is being done. There is a sanction in place, although it is apparently difficult to enforce and cannot be applied to everyone.

Committees of the House  Iran is still a member of the United Nations and it approved the charter and articles under the United Nations, which includes respecting human rights. The final thing that is missing is that the organization called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has not been listed on the terrorist list, and it needs to be right now.

Committees of the House  In its report, Amnesty International says the following: Iran was rocked by an unprecedented popular uprising against the Islamic Republic system. Security forces unlawfully fired live ammunition and metal pellets to crush protests, killing hundreds of men, women and children and injuring thousands. Thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and/or unfairly prosecuted solely for peacefully exercising their human rights.

Committees of the House  Today, the Persian community faces coercion, intimidation and death threats from operatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We have seen it interfere with our politics. We are having this discussion right now about the foreign interference by the People's Republic of China, by the Communist regime in Beijing, influencing the elections here in 2019 and 2021.

Committees of the House  However, I would remind the House and all Canadians watching that, as we talk about the tragedy of the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 by the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it is a tragedy that has touched so many Canadians. I know that, although this happened a number of years ago, the impacts have reached far and wide, over the breadth of our country, with a number of personal connections made with my constituents.

Criminal Code  Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS all have been able to raise funds in the past to fund their terrorist activities around the world, so we have to be very diligent. The House of Commons passed a motion unanimously in 2018 recognizing the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, as a terrorist entity. If the Government of Canada would finally list it as a terrorist organization, we could also make sure it could not raise money here in Canada now that it does actually have assets.