Its about time. The US did it 5 years ago but Trudno pussy resisted.
The designation will make it a crime to participate in or contribute to the group's activities, and give the government power to freeze assets of IRGC members
OTTAWA — After years of pressure, the Liberal government declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in front of the House of Commons, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government had received “very, very strong and compelling evidence” that it should list the IRGC as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code, effective June 19.
The designation comes six years after the House of Commons, including the Liberals, first supported a motion to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity. Last month, a similar motion once again passed unanimously in the Commons.
It is now a crime to participate in or contribute to the group’s activities. The designation also gives the government the power to freeze any Canadian assets of IRGC members.
“As an immediate consequence of this listing, Canadian financial institutions, such as banks and brokerages, are required to immediately freeze the property of a listed entity. It is a criminal offence for anyone in Canada and Canadians abroad to knowingly deal with property owned or controlled by a terrorist group,” LeBlan said in a statement.
LeBlanc faced multiple questions by reporters as to what took so long for cabinet to add the IRGC to the list of designated terrorists, something members of the Iranian diaspora have demanded for years.
The public safety minister said that there are ongoing reviews by Canada’s intelligence and security agencies of the IRGC’s activities and whether they have met the level of terrorist organization designation.
“I’m told that there’s literally a monthly review by the security agencies of different entities around the world and whether or not the threshold has been met” to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, LeBlanc said.
“The Government of Canada has concluded after a deliberative process based on very, very strong and compelling evidence that the cabinet received that now is the time to list the IRGC as a criminal organization.”
The IRGC is a major component of the Iranian military, virtually a parallel army that was formed after the Iranian revolution in 1979. It was designated a terrorist organization in the United States in 2019.
The IRGC numbers 150,000 and oversees the country’s missile program and nuclear efforts. It’s also linked to militias fighting throughout the Middle East and supports terrorist groups, including Hamas.
According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre, the IRGC is the Iranian regime’s “primary organization responsible for conducting covert lethal activities outside of Iran, including asymmetric and terrorist operations.”
It says the IRGC’s external operations force “has plotted and conducted covert operations worldwide, and it provides guidance, training, funding and weapons to Shia militant partners and proxies in other Middle Eastern countries.”
In its 2023 annual report, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) said the Iranian regime continues to conduct foreign interference operations against Canada, namely to silence political dissidents.
“Iran will continue to target its perceived enemies even when living in foreign countries in support of its ultimate goal of regime preservation. Iranian threat-related activities directed at Canada and its allies are likely to continue in 2024, and may increase,” CSIS warned.
The Liberals have long argued that listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization could have the unintended consequence of affecting Iranians who were conscripted into the military group as part of mandatory service.
Justice Minister Arif Virani said that an individual’s willingness and intent to support the IRGC is an important consideration under the Criminal Code.
“If an individual was conscripted at one point in time and no longer serves with the IRGC, that would affect the analysis and inform the analysis. If the person who is sending the money does not know what it is going to be used for and is, in fact, kept in the dark about that information, that would also affect the analysis,” he said.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday that listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization increases the chances of arbitrary detention of Canadians in the country.
“For those who are in Iran right now, it’s time to come back home. And for those who are planning to go to Iran, don’t go. We don’t have an embassy in Iran. We’ve cut diplomatic ties for years now, and therefore we won’t be able to provide the consular expertise that would be required,” Joly warned.
nationalpost.com
The designation will make it a crime to participate in or contribute to the group's activities, and give the government power to freeze assets of IRGC members
OTTAWA — After years of pressure, the Liberal government declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in front of the House of Commons, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government had received “very, very strong and compelling evidence” that it should list the IRGC as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code, effective June 19.
The designation comes six years after the House of Commons, including the Liberals, first supported a motion to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity. Last month, a similar motion once again passed unanimously in the Commons.
It is now a crime to participate in or contribute to the group’s activities. The designation also gives the government the power to freeze any Canadian assets of IRGC members.
“As an immediate consequence of this listing, Canadian financial institutions, such as banks and brokerages, are required to immediately freeze the property of a listed entity. It is a criminal offence for anyone in Canada and Canadians abroad to knowingly deal with property owned or controlled by a terrorist group,” LeBlan said in a statement.
LeBlanc faced multiple questions by reporters as to what took so long for cabinet to add the IRGC to the list of designated terrorists, something members of the Iranian diaspora have demanded for years.
The public safety minister said that there are ongoing reviews by Canada’s intelligence and security agencies of the IRGC’s activities and whether they have met the level of terrorist organization designation.
“I’m told that there’s literally a monthly review by the security agencies of different entities around the world and whether or not the threshold has been met” to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, LeBlanc said.
“The Government of Canada has concluded after a deliberative process based on very, very strong and compelling evidence that the cabinet received that now is the time to list the IRGC as a criminal organization.”
The IRGC is a major component of the Iranian military, virtually a parallel army that was formed after the Iranian revolution in 1979. It was designated a terrorist organization in the United States in 2019.
The IRGC numbers 150,000 and oversees the country’s missile program and nuclear efforts. It’s also linked to militias fighting throughout the Middle East and supports terrorist groups, including Hamas.
According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre, the IRGC is the Iranian regime’s “primary organization responsible for conducting covert lethal activities outside of Iran, including asymmetric and terrorist operations.”
It says the IRGC’s external operations force “has plotted and conducted covert operations worldwide, and it provides guidance, training, funding and weapons to Shia militant partners and proxies in other Middle Eastern countries.”
In its 2023 annual report, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) said the Iranian regime continues to conduct foreign interference operations against Canada, namely to silence political dissidents.
“Iran will continue to target its perceived enemies even when living in foreign countries in support of its ultimate goal of regime preservation. Iranian threat-related activities directed at Canada and its allies are likely to continue in 2024, and may increase,” CSIS warned.
The Liberals have long argued that listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization could have the unintended consequence of affecting Iranians who were conscripted into the military group as part of mandatory service.
Justice Minister Arif Virani said that an individual’s willingness and intent to support the IRGC is an important consideration under the Criminal Code.
“If an individual was conscripted at one point in time and no longer serves with the IRGC, that would affect the analysis and inform the analysis. If the person who is sending the money does not know what it is going to be used for and is, in fact, kept in the dark about that information, that would also affect the analysis,” he said.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday that listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization increases the chances of arbitrary detention of Canadians in the country.
“For those who are in Iran right now, it’s time to come back home. And for those who are planning to go to Iran, don’t go. We don’t have an embassy in Iran. We’ve cut diplomatic ties for years now, and therefore we won’t be able to provide the consular expertise that would be required,” Joly warned.
After years of pressure, Liberals designate Iran's IRGC as terrorist group
The designation comes six years after the House of Commons first supported a motion to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity.
nationalpost.com
