Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s aware of reports that Iranians are “interfering” with the lives of Canadians and his government is monitoring the threats.
CBC News reported Friday that Canada’s spy agency is investigating what it calls multiple “credible” death threats from Iran aimed at individuals in Canada. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said the threats undermine Canadians’ safety and it is working with allies to respond.
“We are constantly watching and evaluating the threats posed to Canadians from foreign interference from a range of countries,” Trudeau said at the Francophonie Summit in Djerba, Tunisia on Sunday.
“But obviously Iran is a significant concern these days, with not just the extraordinary heroics of women and girls in Iran standing up to the regime … We also know there are significant concerns about Iranians interfering with the wellbeing of Canadian citizens here in Canada.”
Trudeau says he’s aware of significant concerns about Iranians interfering with wellbeing of Canadians
CSIS told CBC News there are ‘credible’ death threats from Iran against individuals in Canada
Trudeau pointed out that the federal government announced a series of sanctions in recent weeks to ban Iran’s leaders — including officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — from entering Canada. He said the goal is to ensure they can “never benefit from Canada, interfere in Canada or consider Canada a safe haven.”
Reports of death threats come as Iran enters its third month of anti-government demonstrations triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police and died in custody after allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.
At least 341 people — including teenagers and children — have been killed and more than 15,800 have been detained in relation to Iran’s protests, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency, an organization of Iranian activists. Experts suggest the true numbers could be much higher, given the regime’s crackdown on the release of real-time information online.
Iran has kidnapped and assassinated activists, journalists and intellectuals abroad who speak out against the regime. Between 1988 to 1998, dozens of prominent Iranian dissidents abroad went missing or were killed.
CSIS investigating death threats from Iran against people in Canada
CSIS is among a group of international spy agencies investigating ‘credible’ death threats originating from Iran against people abroad — including in Canada.
Kaveh Shahrooz, a Canadian-Iranian human rights activist and lawyer, is now calling on Canadian police and intelligence agencies to take the threats seriously.
He said “our pleas for protection have fallen on deaf ears for a long time” and he now wants Trudeau to give additional resources to Canadian authorities tasked with protecting dissidents.
“Our lives are in their hands now,” Shahrooz told CBC’s News Network on Saturday.
Shahrooz is an Iranian-Canadian who is an outspoken critic of Iran’s regime. He was one of the organizers of a large anti-government protest last month in Richmond Hill, Ont. Police estimated more than 50,000 people attended.
He said Canadian authorities have not told him if he’s a target and hopes people are being warned they could be in danger.
“It is deeply frightening that it’s happening in Canada and may be happening to people I know,” said Shahrooz, who is also a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
Kaveh Sharooz, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, calls on Canadian authorities to take the threats seriously.
Canadian-Iranian Lily Pourzand fled Iran in 1999 but has always worried about her safety here.
“I don’t feel safe in Canada,” said Lily Pourzand. “I never felt safe in Toronto, the place that I am living for the past 24 years. We know regime people are here.”
Her mother, Mehrangiz Kar, was a human rights activist and political prisoner who was detained in Iran.
Her father, Siamak Pourzand, was a journalist who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2002 over allegations of spying and encouraging others to commit acts of corruption. Pourzand supposedly killed himself in 2011 while under house arrest, but his daughter said he was murdered by Iranian authorities.
Simak Pourzand (seen left), Mehrangiz Kar (centre), Lily Pourzand (right), Azadeh Pourzand (baby) in Tehran in 1985. (Submitted by Lily Pourzand)
In September, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Iran liable for hostage taking and torture, Bloomberg UK reported. Iran was ordered to pay Pourzand’s family, which includes American citizens, more than $34 million in damages. His daughter said it’s likely they’ll never see a dollar, but the symbolism matters.
“It took may years,” said Lily Pourzand. “But justice was the only thing my dad asked for.”
She said she finally feels validated by the fact that western nations like Canada are finally listening to concerns activists here have raised for decades.
Plot in 2021 to capture 3 Canadians
Canada’s government last year condemned Iran’s “pattern of intimidation and foreign interference” after U.S. authorities laid charges in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to kidnap five people — including three individuals from Canada — and take them to Iran. FBI documents allege the Canadians were among those put under surveillance.
Family members in Canada who have criticized Iran’s government after losing their loved ones in the destruction of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020 have also reported to RCMP that they’ve been targeted for threats and intimidation by Tehran.
Flight 752 was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after takeoff on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew aboard.
MI5, the United Kingdom’s domestic counter-intelligence agency, said last week that Iran’s intelligence service is targeting dissidents abroad they “perceive as enemies of the regime” and is responsible for at least 10 potential threats to kidnap or kill British or U.K.-based people this year.
CHARLOTTETOWN – Public health officials in P.E.I. say more than 550 people have experienced symptoms of gastrointestinal illness after an outbreak of norovirus was detected at a shellfish festival last weekend.
The province’s chief public health officer says the new number is based on responses to an online questionnaire aimed at people who attended the P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival in Charlottetown from Sept. 19 to 22.
Public health officials say four ill people went to emergency departments and one person was hospitalized.
Norovirus, which is spread through contaminated foods or liquids,has been detected in stool samples from some of those who became ill after attending the festival.
To minimize the risk of gastrointestinal illness at future events, officials are recommending additional health inspections before and during the festival, enhanced sanitation during food preparation and preventing food handlers from working when sick.
Other recommendations include: having more hand-washing stations; working with a sanitation company to clean common touch surfaces daily; and keeping samples of prepared food in cold storage for at least 48 hours after the event has ended.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
MONTREAL – More than 100 Quebec musicians, comedians and other artists are rallying behind a historic Montreal concert hall that temporarily closed its doors this week after a court ordered it to stop making too much noise.
Heavyweights of Quebec’s entertainment industry, like composer Robert Charlebois and singer-songwriter Coeur de pirate, signed the letter that was published in La Presse decrying the court ruling that led to La Tulipe’s decision to shut down.
This week the Court of Appeal ordered La Tulipe — which opened its doors more than a century ago — to ensure no noise from its sound equipment is audible in a neighbouring building.
Calling on the City of Montreal to intervene, the letter says the court ruling ignores cultural workers and that it has allowed unhappy neighbours to silence a “cultural jewel.”
On Thursday night, a crowd of protesters equipped with drums and other percussion instruments gathered in front of La Tulipe to show their support for the venue — and anger at the owner of the adjacent building that brought the venue to court.
That same day, The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough where La Tulipe is located took the first step to modify a bylaw, invoked by the court in its ruling, so that the rule no longer applies to concert halls.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be travelling to France next Thursday to attend the Francophonie summit.
The meeting of French-speaking countries, which happens every two years, will be held on Oct. 4 and 5 in Villers-Cotterêts and Paris.
The Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau will work with other heads of state to further shared priorities including democracy and human rights.
Representatives from Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec will also be at the meetings.
Leaders are also expected to make a decision on applications to join the international francophonie body, including Nova Scotia’s application for observer status.
Trudeau has attended the summit four times since he was first elected in 2015.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
