Recent developments confirm that Canada has become a major hub for the Islamic Republic in Iran and its supporters, and perhaps an unsafe place for Canadian-Iranian democracy activists. On January 8, 2020, the regime shot down Ukraine Airliner Flight 752, resulting in the death of 57 Canadian-Iranians and 119 others. Despite receiving promises of justice from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, victims’ families have instead experienced threats and intimidation by the regime and its supporters within Canada, while Ottawa continues a fruitless policy of engagement with Tehran. Other Canadian-Iranians have been openly and publicly threatened with physical harm by regime sympathizers in Toronto.
Canada is a top refuge for regime officials and supporters. According to Canadian-Iranian democracy activists interviewed by the author (and confirmed by public reporting), many regime officials and associates have laundered billions of dollars from Iran to Canada, bought expensive property, and settled into comfortable lives in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver. Many Iranian currency exchanges in Toronto and elsewhere facilitate the laundering of money between Iran and Canada.
