When will the Government of Canada list the IRGC in its entirety as a terrorist entity?

On May 9, 2024, Senator Omidvar asked Senator Gold, the Government Representative in the Senate, when will the Government Of Canada do what is necessary and list the IRGC in its entirety as a terrorist entity? Watch:

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Senator Gold, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, is brutal. I think we all know that. It has committed human rights abuses on its own people and perpetuated crimes around the world.

Last night in the House of Commons, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion, including government ministers, to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity. The chamber did the same last June. These motions are, of course, not binding on the government, but they are a clear expression of our combined parliamentary political will.

When will the government do what is necessary and list the IRGC in its entirety as a terrorist entity?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. This is a question that has preoccupied a great many senators over a great period of time. I will not repeat all the points that I’ve made on several occasions except to underline that the government — and I have always said this on behalf of the government — is looking seriously at an appropriate way to address this issue. There is no doubt of the complicity in the IRGC and the regime which it serves in the abuses to which you refer, and more could be said at length about that.

The other place voted unanimously to adopt the motion, as you correctly pointed out. Although this motion is not binding on the government, the Prime Minister said that the government is looking for ways to responsibly list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. I fully expect that announcements will be made in due course.

Senator Omidvar: Thank you, Senator Gold. There are lots of people who look forward to these announcements, in particular, members of the Iranian Justice Collective and The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims. They were in Ottawa this week, and I met with them. They expressed their concern that Iranian Canadians are being harassed in Canada by affiliates of the Islamic regime.

My question is this: When is the government going to take this seriously?

Senator Gold: I also met with the representatives and I shared both my experience and my knowledge of Iran and its activities, which goes back decades in another life, and the experience of my friends in Montreal in the Iranian community — some Muslim, some Baha’i, some Jewish. I don’t have a date for you, but the government voted in the motion and that sends a strong signal that we should expect a change in position.