The House Immigration Committee must address the impact of the IRGC issue on Iranian conscript families. @JulieDzerowicz@SameerZuberi@SalmaZahid: please push for clear IRCC/CBSA guidelines distinguishing compulsory conscription from voluntary IRGC involvement. #ConscriptsAreNotMembers
Minister @LenaMetlegeDiab, Iranian families need clarity—not years of fear and uncertainty. Will your department issue clear guidance to IRCC and CBSA so compulsory conscription alone does not unfairly penalize applicants? #ConscriptsAreNotMembers
We call for clear, written guidelines for IRCC and CBSA to ensure that mandatory Iranian conscripts are not automatically treated as voluntary IRGC members.
#ConscriptsAreNotMembers
@UCAN_Advocacy سربازان وظیفه به اجبار تن به خدمت اجباری در ایران میدهند و حالا سالها بعد از آن دچار مشکلات عدیدهای در کانادا شده اند. این برخورد نادرست میبایست سریعا اصلاح شود.
@Unforgiven1371 از سر نادانیتونه اینقدر با اطمینان دروغ میبافید یا منفعتی توش دارید. بسیار بسیار جوونای مملکت بدون اختیار، خدمتشون افتاده اونجا، قطعا منظورم اونایی که سابقه بسیج داشتند نیست، بعد حالا داره ناعادلانه باهاشون برخورد میشه. دستتون به مقصر اصلی نمیرسه، اینها رو سیبل قرار دادید؟!
“A real IRGC operative understands concealment; a compulsory conscript has a conscription completion card. Somehow, the card has been easier to pursue than the operative! This is an astonishing inversion of justice.”
Those powerful words from Mehdi Moradi capture the frustration of someone who spent years advocating for the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Before June 2024, Mehdi campaigned for the IRGC listing, advocated for it publicly, met with Members of Parliament and senators, and accepted personal risks because he believed those responsible for the Islamic regime’s actions should be held accountable.
He supported accountability. He did not believe compulsory conscripts should become collateral damage.
As he continued:
“Conscripts are not IRGC members merely because the Iranian state forced them to spend months of their lives under an IRGC administrative command.”
This is the distinction that must not be lost.
Canada can stand firmly against the IRGC while recognizing the fundamental difference between voluntary membership and mandatory conscription.
The question is not whether the IRGC should be held accountable. The question is whether people who were compelled to serve should be treated as if they voluntarily joined the organization.
Go after the perpetrators. Do not turn compulsory conscripts into scapegoats.
@MarkJCarney@gary_srp@LenaMetlegeDiab@AliEhsassi@pfragiskatos@jacquesramsaypl@PierrePoilievre@MelissaLantsman@GarnettGenuis@vincentneilho@CostasMenegakis@MichelleRempel@IranIntl@Pratyush_Dayal_@CBCNews@CTVNews@globalnews@StewGlobal@mehdimoradi84
Canada has been “very selective” in its human rights advocacy and allows IRGC agents into the country, Melissa Lantsman, deputy leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, told Iran International’s Mahsa Mortazavi on Sunday.
Speaking at an event in Vaughan, in the Toronto area, Lantsman said Ottawa had not made good on its responsibility to Iranian-Canadians.
She said the monument commemorating people killed in Iran would ensure their names, faces and stories were remembered, and that local, provincial and federal representatives would continue to speak up for the Iranian-Canadian community.
Lorne Waldman — Immigration & Refugee Lawyer
With decades of experience in Canadian immigration and refugee law, Lorne Waldman joined us on September 22 to support former Iranian mandatory conscripts and affected families.
Mr. Waldman emphasized the importance of taking Procedural Fairness Letters (PFLs) seriously and, responding with the support of a lawyer experienced in inadmissibility matters.
Referring to the challenges these cases have already faced before the courts, he stressed the importance of bringing forward strong, well-prepared cases when challenging decisions through judicial review.
He also highlighted the importance of continued engagement with Members of Parliament—making sure they understand what is happening to affected families and asking them to take action.
His message was clear: September 22 was important, but it was not the last step.
We will continue to raise our voices, engage decision-makers, and demand justice for former mandatory conscripts and their families.
We demand justice. The work continues.
@MarkJCarney@gary_srp@LenaMetlegeDiab@AliEhsassi@pfragiskatos@jacquesramsaypl@PierrePoilievre@GarnettGenuis
At our September 22 gathering on Parliament Hill, MP @GarnettGenuis delivered a clear message: accountability for the IRGC must not come at the expense of innocent people who were compelled to serve.
As someone who has been a long-standing advocate for holding the IRGC accountable, he reminded us:
“I am the MP who put forward the motion initially to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This was a long fight, and in the process we have always been clear about the need to target the guilty and not the innocent.”
MP Genuis has also put forward a legislative solution addressing the consequences of forced conscription, and his message to the government was straightforward:
“We are not asking [Liberals] to develop a new or original fix; we are asking them to take the solution we have already put on the table and to use it in order to ensure that people are treated fairly.”
This is exactly what families affected by the current situation have been asking for: accountability for those responsible, while protecting people who were compelled to serve.
Thank you, MP Garnett Genuis, for standing with these families and for continuing to raise this issue in Parliament.
Conscription ≠ IRGC membership.
@MarkJCarney@PierrePoilievre@LenaMetlegeDiab@gary_srp@MelissaLantsman@shuvmajumdar@pfragiskatos@jacquesramsaypl@AliEhsassi
@UCAN_Advocacy@GarnettGenuis Keep Canada safe by targeting the right pwrson. Conscript themselves have been victims of the regime and its revolutionary guard.
This is about humanity. It should never be a partisan issue. As emphasized, all parties should come together to find a solution that holds actual IRGC members accountable while protecting innocent conscripts. Please stand together for human rights & for Iranians
@ElisabethBriere
Yesterday, we stood on Parliament Hill not only for former Iranian conscripts, but for the children and families whose futures are now hanging in the balance.
These children did not choose where their parents were born. They did not choose a compulsory service system. And they should not have to pay the price for something their parents had neither chosen nor any control over.
Families across Canada are facing separation, uncertainty, and the possibility of losing the lives they have built here because of compulsory service their loved ones were required to complete.
Canada can stand firmly against the IRGC while also recognizing the fundamental difference between voluntary membership and mandatory conscription.
We came to Ottawa to be heard. Now we expect action.
A special thank you to the human rights advocates, Members of Parliament, legal experts, journalists, and community members who stood with us and helped send a clear message:
Former conscripts must not become scapegoats for the actions of the regime in Iran. They are not responsible for decisions they did not make. They deserve protection and fairness, not punishment.
Conscription ≠ IRGC membership.
@MarkJCarney@PierrePoilievre@gary_srp@LenaMetlegeDiab@pfragiskatos@jacquesramsaypl@GarnettGenuis@shuvmajumdar@AliEhsassi@Ardeshirz@timmcsorley@mehdimoradi84@MortazaviMahsa@IranIntl@CdnPressNews@CTVNews@Pratyush_Dayal_
🚨 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