Alberta MP backs exemption for former IRGC conscripts at Ottawa rally
Former conscripts and Iranian-Canadian advocates say a blanket inadmissibility rule is punishing people who were forced into military service, not volunteers.
Why it matters
An Alberta MP is pushing federal legislation that would directly affect how Ottawa handles immigration cases for former IRGC conscripts.
Members of the Iranian community and the International Centre for Human Rights held a press conference and rally on Parliament Hill Sept. 22, calling on the federal government to stop automatically deeming former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps conscripts inadmissible to Canada. Some former conscripts at the event said they support Canada's terrorist designation of the IRGC but argue they should not face immigration consequences for service that was mandatory rather than voluntary.
Alberta Conservative MP Garnett Genuis spoke at the press conference, urging the government to adopt legislation he introduced in 2023 that would have created an immigration exemption specifically for IRGC conscripts.
Ardeshir Zarezadeh, president of the International Centre for Human Rights, said he has raised the issue directly with the parliamentary secretaries for public safety and immigration, who told him they would look into it. The former conscripts say their immigration status remains uncertain as they pursue appeals.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.