Canada's Border Services Agency Reports Ban on Entry for Dozens of Iranian Government Officials

The Canadian news agency CBC reported that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has prohibited the entry of dozens of senior Iranian government officials and is investigating around 100 Canadian residents for potential connections to the Islamic Republic. According to the report, the CBSA has also referred the cases of 9 individuals with residency status in Canada to the Immigration and Refugee Board to determine their admissibility to Canada. The prevention of entry and investigation of individuals at Canada’s border is a result of actions taken by the Canadian government last year amid widespread protests in Iran. The sighting of a former police chief of Tehran at a sports facility in the Toronto area in 2021 led many Iranian Canadians to claim that Canada was acting as a haven for senior members of the Iranian regime. Under pressure from the Conservative Party and members of the Iranian-Canadian community to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity, the Liberal government of Canada opted for an alternative policy through immigration laws. In November 2022, Marco Mendicino, then Minister of Public Safety, referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that has engaged in terrorism and systematic and egregious human rights violations, based on the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This designation, known as the 'IRGC regime IRP', rendered tens of thousands of Iranian government officials, including many members of the IRGC, inadmissible to Canada. In a statement provided to CBC, the CBSA stated that as of November 20, 2023, it had reviewed nearly 17,800 visa applications for potential inadmissibility under the 'IRGC regime IRP', resulting in 78 individuals being denied access to Canada. The agency also announced that based on referrals from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and public guidance, investigations into 141 individuals with status in Canada had commenced. The CBSA has closed 38 of these 141 cases because either the individuals were outside the country or the border agency determined they were admissible to Canada. Meanwhile, ten individuals were deemed inadmissible under the 'IRGC regime IRP', with 9 of them currently residing in Canada and undergoing hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board. At the end of the hearings, it will be determined whether their status in Canada should be revoked. The CBSA does not disclose the names of individuals under investigation or those denied access to Canada, citing privacy laws. Kaveh Shahrooz, a human rights activist, lawyer, and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, expressed satisfaction with the Canadian government's practical action, stating, 'I believe any member of the IRGC who has served willingly - not conscript soldiers - should be expelled from Canada.' The Canadian government has faced years of pressure to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This push intensified after the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 by the IRGC in 2020, which killed all 176 passengers, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents. Following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, which left around 1,200 dead, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, reiterated his calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to list the IRGC as a terrorist group. Hamas is a terrorist entity on Canada’s list and is part of what is known as the 'Resistance Axis', a coalition of militia groups in the Middle East supported by the Iranian government. Trudeau has resisted calls to list the IRGC, referencing his government's decision to designate the Quds Force, the IRGC's extraterritorial branch, as a terrorist entity in 2017. Previously, the Canadian government argued that listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization would be a blunt approach that could target lower-level individuals forced to serve in the militia. However, the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent think tank based in the United States, identifies the Quds Force as the main point of contact for Iran with members of the so-called Resistance Axis, providing them with 'training, weapons, and funding to advance Iran's regional goals.' Nevertheless, Leah West, an assistant professor at Carleton University teaching national security law, stated that adding the IRGC to the list of terrorist organizations is largely a 'symbolic gesture' that may conflict with Canadian laws. She told CBC, 'Criminal law is essentially defined to exclude military units or parties to armed conflict from the definition of terrorist activity.' West explained that the list of terrorist entities is dependent on the definition of terrorist activity, and listing the entire IRGC as a military force is legally challenging at a minimum. Leah West added that we should not sacrifice our commitment to our domestic laws to express what is essentially a political statement, as this would have very little real impact in terms of effectiveness. In recent months, the Canadian government has led international efforts in response to the actions of the Iranian government by imposing sanctions on 31 entities and 129 Iranian individuals for egregious and systematic human rights violations and serious threats to international peace and security.