Canada will list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, as a terrorist group. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, vowing Canada will "use all of the tools at its disposal" to combat the IRGC's activity in Canada. It is a crime to knowingly deal with the assets of a listed terrorist entity under Canada's Criminal Code.
Charitable organizations can lose their status if they maintain their connections to terrorist groups, and people found to be associated with those groups can be denied entry into Canada. It also allows banks to freeze assets. LeBlanc said the IRGC has demonstrated "disregard for human rights both inside and outside of Iran.
" In January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said publicly he was open to the move, so long as it was done "responsibly." He made the remarks during a vigil for victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which was shot down by the IRGC over Tehran on Jan. 8, 2020.
Of the 176 people killed when the plane was shot down, 55 were Canadian citizens and 30 were permanent residents. The IRGC said the plane was mistaken for a hostile target. At the time, international tensions were at a fever pitch after the U.
S. carried out a drone strike against Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani, killing him just days before. In May, members of Parliament voted unanimously in favour of a non-binding motion calling on the government to list the group as a t.