Victims of forced conscription should not be treated the same as those who chose to join a terrorist organization.
Today I joined members of the Iranian-Canadian community on Parliament Hill to demand that the government stop targeting conscripts and deport real IRGC terrorists.
Many of these conscripts have been among the most vocal opponents of the IRGC.
Conservatives have already shown the government a simple legislative fix to this problem. Thus far, Liberals have failed to adopt that fix.
Hundreds of Iranian conscripts are now facing inadmissibility to Canada because of compulsory service they never chose.
Among those affected are highly educated professionals, researchers, and academics who have built their lives in Canada and are contributing to the country’s advancement across many fields.
They did not join the IRGC. They were compelled to serve by a regime many had spent years trying to escape. Now, people who have spent years contributing to Canada are being put at risk because of circumstances they had no control over.
A conscript is not an IRGC member. A forced assignment is not a chosen affiliation. Canada must distinguish between genuine threats and ordinary people who were themselves victims of the regime.
This CBC investigation puts a human face on a deeply concerning issue that Canada cannot afford to ignore. Please read and share.
@MarkJCarney@gary_srp@LenaMetlegeDiab@PierrePoilievre@MelissaLantsman@GarnettGenuis@MichelleRempel@AliEhsassi@IJCollective@AmnestyNow@pfragiskatos
https://t.co/1ThAL1flC4
At the Cyrus the Great event in Toronto on September 19, 2026, attended by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered an important message: Canada must focus on the actual perpetrators—not innocent conscripts who were themselves victims of the regime.
In his remarks, Poilievre spoke directly about the concern that Canada’s response to the IRGC threat is being misdirected toward innocent conscripts who were trying to escape the regime:
“...the response of our government instead has been to go after the innocent conscripts who wanted to get away from those thugs. My friends, we should stand with the innocent people, not the terrorists.”
For former Iranian conscripts, compulsory service was not a choice, a political allegiance, or voluntary membership in the IRGC. Yet many are now facing serious immigration consequences because they were compelled to serve.
You cannot fight terrorism by inflating the numbers and turning victims into perpetrators.
Canada should focus its resources on individuals who actually participated in, supported, or willingly served the IRGC—not ordinary people who were forced into compulsory service.
Conscripts are not members. Victims are not perpetrators. Justice requires that distinction.
Special thanks to @PierrePoilievre for continuing to speak up for victims of the Iranian regime and for calling for fairness and a more targeted approach.
@MelissaLantsman@MichelleRempel@CostasMenegakis@vincentneilho@GarnettGenuis@MarcDalton@MarkJCarney@gary_srp@LenaMetlegeDiab@AliEhsassi
پیر پوالیور عزیزم چقدر زیبا راجع به ایران و ایرانیها صحبت کرد. 🥹
از تمدن ایران، از خدمات ایران به جهان، از خوبیها و موفقیت ایرانیهای دیاسپورا گفت.
از اهمیت اخراج مقامات عالیرتبه جا و توقف اخراج افراد به خاطر سربازی هم حرف زد.
از تغییر حکومت ایران هم قاطعانه حمایت کرد.
واقعا چی باعث شد که بعضیهاتون ترجیح دادید کارنی نخست وزیر باشه ولی پوالیور نه؟🚶🏻♀️
@theresemacdona6@MarkJCarney Conscripts are not members of IRG C. Conscription is mandatory in Iran and conscripts have no meaningful choice as where to compete their conscription. If they refuse they face jail time, torture and no civil rights. Please target genuine members instead of targeting conscripts.
📢 نامه سرگشاده جمعی از متخصصان ایرانی
جمعی از پزشکان، مهندسان، اساتید دانشگاه، پژوهشگران و متخصصان ایرانی با انتشار نامهای سرگشاده، نسبت به پیامدهای روند ناعادلانهای که در پیِ خدمت اجباری سربازی در سپاه پاسداران برای بسیاری از ایرانیان در پروندههای مهاجرتی ایجاد شده، ابراز نگرانی کردهاند.
در این نامه، متخصصان ایرانی تأکید کردهاند که خدمت اجباری نباید با عضویت داوطلبانه یا وابستگی ایدئولوژیک به یک نهاد یکسان تلقی شود و تصمیمات مهاجرتی نباید زندگی، آینده شغلی و فرصتهای خانوادهها را به دلیل خدمتی که تحت اجبار قانونی انجام شده، تحت تأثیر قرار دهد.
این مسئله تنها یک موضوع مهاجرتی نیست؛ موضوع زندگی، آینده خانوادهها و فرصتهای افرادی است که سالها برای ساختن آینده خود تلاش کردهاند.
📌 از شما دعوت میکنیم این نامه را بخوانید و برای آگاهیرسانی بیشتر به اشتراک بگذارید.
📢 Open Letter from Iranian Professionals
Doctors, engineers, professors, researchers, and other Iranian professionals have come together to raise concerns about the unfair immigration consequences faced by former Iranian conscripts who were forcibly conscripted to the IRGC.
Mandatory service is not voluntary membership. Their futures should not be defined by service they were forced to perform.
Please read, share, and help amplify their voices.
@AliEhsassi@kshahrooz@esmaeilion@ps752justice@IJCollective@NazaninAJ@MichaelParsa@rezamoridi@RezaVaisi@PahlaviReza@TinaGhazimorad
#ConscriptsAreNotMembers #JusticeForIranianConscripts #IranianConscripts #MandatoryConscription #IRGCConscripts #ImmigrationJustice
@GarnettGenuis Mandatory conscripts are not members of IRGC. Canada needs clear guidelines ti distinguish clearly between mandatory conscription and voluntary membership. @LenaMetlegeDiab@MarkJCarney
I fought hard to get the IRGC listed as a terrorist organization. When I put forward a bill to list them, I included a section to protect victims of forced conscription. Liberals failed to include this part of my bill.
We already have a clear solution to this problem. Liberals should adopt it.
🚨 CBC NEWS: Iranian told he may have to leave Canada over past IRGC Mandatory Conscription
This is not an isolated case.
Hundreds of Iranian nationals are facing possible inadmissibility and removal over past mandatory conscription in Iran.
Canada has consistently assured the Iranian-Canadian community that conscripts would not be affected by the IRGC listing and that cases would be assessed individually.
Yet what we are witnessing today raises a deeply troubling question:
Are those assurances being honoured in practice?
Families who built their lives in Canada are now facing uncertainty, inadmissibility findings, and the possibility of removal because of mandatory service they were compelled to complete.
🇨🇦 Mandatory conscription is not membership. Conscription is not ideological affiliation. Canada must keep its promise.
📢 This issue affects hundreds of families. Read the CBC report. Share their stories. Make their voices heard.
@MarkJCarney@gary_srp@LenaMetlegeDiab@AliEhsassi@PierrePoilievre@MelissaLantsman@GarnettGenuis@vincentneilho@CostasMenegakis