Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded an immediate response to the recent discovery that Iranian regime agents are operating within Canada and interfering with national affairs.
“To think that we might have terrorist-linked Iranian regime thugs operating with impunity, spending stolen money and intimidating Canadian Jews and Iranians is appalling,” said Poilievre.
On Monday, the opposition leader responded to an investigation by Global News, which uncovered that hundreds of members of the Iranian regime are living within Canada.
Poilievre has previously advocated for a tougher approach on the Iranian regime, however, he expressed shock on Monday at the extent of the problem.
“That reporting was shocking,” he said.
Ramin Joubin, a lawyer from British Columbia, has been compiling a database that tracks the number of Iranian regime members operating in Canada for some time.
Joubin said that those who speak out against Iran are often threatened by them.
“We have about 700 names right now that either have temporary residence, permanent residence or citizenship that are in Canada and that are somehow regime affiliates,” said Joubin.
“They came to Canada knowing this was going to be their safe haven.”
Poilievre called Joubin’s estimate “staggering,” calling for “immediate action to kick them out of this country.”
Masih Alinejad, a prominent public critic of the Iranian regime and an internationally renowned human rights activist, has been on the run since July 2022, fleeing from one safe house to another, after an assassination attempt on her life last summer.
Alinejad said that she wasn’t safe in the United States, but now may be in even greater danger hiding in Canada.
“The FBI told me that the same group who are trying to kidnap me on U.S. soil were the same group from Revolutionary Guards in Iran trying to harass, kidnap and kill Canadians,” she said, according to Global News.
“FBI told me that as long as you are in America, we will protect you. But we suggest you not to go to Canada.”
Poilievre called the FBI’s warning “mind-blowing” and demanded that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. be listed as a terrorist entity in Canada.
“Who would ever have thought eight years ago that our allies would think Canada is too dangerous a place to go,” said Poilievre.
Additionally, the Conservative leader is calling for more sanctions against Iran, as well as the creation of a registry for foreign agents.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office nor any of his federal cabinet ministers have commented on the findings of the investigation.
