Justin Trudeau announces three-step plan against Iran amid human rights protests

Oct 7 2022, 6:46 pm

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland held a press conference about the protests in Iran on Friday afternoon.

In light of recent protests in Iran that have sparked global human rights concerns, Canada is taking action against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“The women, the people of Iran have had enough of this oppressive regime,” said Trudeau. “Here in Canada, we will continue to use all tools to amplify the message of hope and freedom coming from the brave women in Iran and all those who stand with them.”

For years, Canada has condemned terrorist organizations in Iran been condemning Iran’s support for terrorism. Just this past week, the government announced new sanctions against 25 members of Iranian leadership and nine entities. This list included top military leadership, like those in the IRGC, intelligence agencies, and those directly responsible for the crimes against Iranian citizens, especially women.

Now, a three-step plan is in order against Iran.

Step one of the Liberal government’s plan is deeming more than 10,000 senior members of the IRGC leadership completely inadmissible to Canada forever. That number accounts for nearly half of IRGC members.

“This is a measure that has only been used in the most serious circumstances against regimes conducting war crimes, or genocide, like in Bosnia, and Rwanda,” the PM noted.

Step two involves “massively expanding” targeted sanctions imposed on Iran. Trudeau mentioned that this was not something previous governments could do, as Canada only expanded its sanctions to include human rights in 2017.

As part of the third and final step, Canada will expand its capacity to fight money laundering and illicit financial activity, as well as crack down on foreign interference to protect Iranian Canadians and other communities in Canada.

“We will accelerate the work to ensure that our agencies have the resources necessary to do the job. Therefore, today we’re announcing $76 million to strengthen Canada’s overall capacity to implement sanctions,” the prime minister said.

This step will ensure that Canada can quickly freeze and seize the assets belonging to sanctioned individuals. It’ll also mean that a new sanctions bureau will be established as part of Global Affairs Canada.

Both the PM and deputy PM also touched on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which was shot down by the IRGC on January 8, 2020, while on its way from Tehran to Kyiv. Among the 176 total casualties were 55 Canadians and 33 permanent residents.

Freeland said she’d spoken to Edmonton-based Iranian families affected by the attack.

“I want those families and all Iranian Canadians to know that our government will continue to take forceful action to hold this terrorist regime to account Canada will not be a haven for the IRGC for its money for its leaders, or for their henchmen,” she assured.

“Zann. Zindagi. Azadi,” said Freeland conclusively, repeating the headline slogan of the Iranian protests.

It translates to “Woman. Life. Freedom.”

GET MORE VANCOUVER NEWS
Want to stay in the loop with more Daily Hive content and News in your area? Check out all of our Newsletters here.
Buzz Connected Media Inc. #400 – 1008 Homer Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2X1 [email protected] View Rules
National Trending StaffNational Trending Staff

+ News
+ Politics
+ Canada
ADVERTISEMENT