Autumn

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

جامعه ایرانی از برخورد تبعیض‌آمیز با ایرانیان در کانادا خسته و ناامید شده است.

افرادی که پیش از این قربانی قوانین و اجبارهای جمهوری اسلامی بوده‌اند، امروز بار دیگر در کانادا با پیامدهای همان سیستم روبه‌رو شده‌اند.

همان‌طور که آقای زارع‌زاده در تجمع UCAN در تاریخ ۲۲ سپتامبر اشاره کرد، چگونه می‌توان با شناختی ناقص از نحوه عملکرد یک نظام دیکتاتوری، اطلاعات و برداشت‌های نادرست را مبنای تصمیمی قرار داد که سرنوشت یک خانواده بی‌گناه را تغییر می‌دهد؟

نتیجه چنین تصمیماتی چیست؟ خانواده‌هایی که سال‌ها برای ساختن زندگی‌شان در کانادا تلاش کرده‌اند، در ناامیدی و بلاتکلیفی قرار می‌گیرند و آینده فرزندانشان به خطر می‌افتد.

دولت کانادا بارها تأکید کرده که هدفش افراد مسئول و وابسته به رژیم است، نه کسانی که به اجبار خدمت کرده‌اند. با این حال، همچنان شاهد پرونده‌های مهاجرتی هستیم که در آن سابقه‌ی خدمت اجباری به تنها عامل تعیین‌کننده تبدیل شده است.

این پیام خطاب به همه کسانی است که درد فرار از یک حکومت سرکوبگر را می‌فهمند؛ کسانی که روزی از آن نظام گریخته‌اند تا در کشوری امن، آزاد و عادلانه زندگی کنند.

یک بار دیگر کنار هم بایستیم.

نگذاریم کسانی که خود قربانی اجبار بوده‌اند، هزینه‌ی جنایت‌های رژیم را بپردازند.

مجرمان را پاسخگو کنید؛ نه کسانی را که خود قربانی بوده‌اند.

@Ardeshirz @AliEhsassi @ICHRCanada @NazaninAJ @FarzinNadimi

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

@GarnettGenuis It was a pleasure having you with us today. Thank you for your continuous support and for standing with these families. Your presence meant so much to the affected families and was truly heartwarming.

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

@IranIntl_En Thank you @MelissaLantsman for standing with the Iranian community. One day Iran will be free from tyranny and we’ll celebrate our freedom with you 🕊️

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

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

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

At UCAN’s September 22 gathering on Parliament Hill, Tim McSorley, National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG), spoke about the serious human-rights consequences facing former Iranian conscripts and their families.

He described Canada’s terrorist-entity listing system as a “blunt instrument with little room for nuance” and highlighted the troubling reality that people who were themselves forced into conscription can face serious immigration consequences.

Importantly, he also emphasized that the impact does not stop with immigration applicants; it can extend even to Canadian citizens, including through citizenship-related consequences.

McSorley called for more than assurances of case-by-case assessment, urging the government to provide concrete answers and concrete steps to address these harms.

As he reminded us, protecting national security and protecting human rights are not competing objectives:

“It’s not a zero-sum game.”

Thank you, @timmcsorley and @ICLMG, for standing with affected conscripts and their families.

@MarkJCarney @gary_srp @LenaMetlegeDiab @pfragiskatos @jacquesramsaypl @AliEhsassi @PierrePoilievre @MelissaLantsman @GarnettGenuis @MichelleRempel @shuvmajumdar @vincentneilho @CostasMenegakis

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

From political prisoner to human rights advocate, Ardeshir Zarezadeh has spent decades fighting the IRGC.

He endured imprisonment in Iran, stood against the regime, and dedicated years of advocacy to holding the IRGC accountable in Canada.

Yet two years after the IRGC’s designation, he is witnessing a deeply troubling outcome: former conscripts and their families facing immigration consequences for compulsory service they had no meaningful choice in undertaking.

At our September 22 gathering on Parliament Hill, Ardeshir delivered a powerful message:

“Conscripts are already victims of the Islamic regime’s cruel laws, and they have no choice, no intention, and no ideological belonging to the regime to go serve in the IRGC.”

This is not what the fight for accountability was meant to achieve.

Those who stood against the regime should not have to watch innocent people and their families bear the consequences of a system they never chose.

Canada must distinguish between voluntary IRGC membership and mandatory conscription, protect affected families, and focus its resources on those genuinely responsible.

Thank you, @Ardeshirz, for your advocacy and solidarity with affected families.

Accountability for perpetrators. Protection for conscripts.

Conscription ≠ IRGC membership.

@MarkJCarney @gary_srp @LenaMetlegeDiab @pfragiskatos @jacquesramsaypl @PierrePoilievre @GarnettGenuis @AliEhsassi @shuvmajumdar @MelissaLantsman @MichelleRempel @CBCNews @CTVNews @IranIntl @ICHRCanada @MortazaviMahsa

[Kosher @koshercockney]

Unforgivable

[Autumn @__Autumn__99]

@mahmoud_azimaee ی�� جوری تحت تاثیر قرار نگرفتن که الان بعد دو سال همشون دارن اخراج میشن!!!

[Mahmoud Azimaee @mahmoud_azimaee]

قدم ��همی برای چند هزار ایرانی-کانادایی که درگیر مشکل سربازی در سپاه هستند. اشاره مستقیم وزیر انرژی دولت فدرال کانادا به این مشکل: اضافه کردن سپاه به لیست سازمان‌های تروریستی تحت قوانین کانادا کار ساده‌ای نیست و ما می‌خواهیم مطمئن شویم که سریازان اجباری تحت تاثیر قرار نمی‌گیرند.

[Babak @BabakNi2584]

Mandatory conscription is not the same as membership. Iranian conscripts are drafted by law, have no meaningful choice over their assignment.
@PierrePoilievre @MarkJCarney @LenaMetlegeDiab @AHousefather
@AliEhsassi @vincentneilho @GarnettGenuis @Rob_Oliphant @BradRedekopp

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

At UCAN’s September 22 gathering on Parliament Hill, the Honourable @AliEhsassi, Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary, spoke about the treatment of Iranians affected by compulsory conscription.

He emphasized that individuals who had no say in where they were required to serve should not be treated the same as genuine members of the IRGC, while also making clear that Canada must continue to take national security seriously and prevent actual IRGC members from entering the country.

His message reflects an essential distinction at the heart of this issue: protecting Canada’s national security and treating compulsory conscripts fairly are not competing objectives. Canada can do both.

We sincerely thank MP Ehsassi for attending, listening to affected families, acknowledging their concerns, and encouraging continued advocacy toward a fair resolution.

Those who had no choice should not bear the consequences intended for those who did.

@MarkJCarney @gary_srp @LenaMetlegeDiab @pfragiskatos @jacquesramsaypl @CTVNews @CBCNews @MortazaviMahsa @IranIntl @globalnews

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

@Ardeshirz Thank you for standing with the families of conscripts. Your support truly matters. Hope one day soon no one is punished for circumstances beyond their control!

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

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_

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

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

[Garnett Genuis @GarnettGenuis]

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.

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

If you care about humanity, fairness, and standing up for people who have been forced to endure the actions of a regime they never chose, please join us tomorrow in Ottawa.

Hundreds of Iranian families are facing fear and uncertainty because their history of compulsory conscription is being used against them in their immigration cases.

These are not abstract cases. They are parents, children, professionals, students, and members of our communities who have built their lives in Canada.

We are not asking Canada to compromise national security. We are asking for fairness, due process, and a clear distinction between those who willingly served the IRGC and those who were forced into conscription.

📍 Parliament Hill, Ottawa
🕛 12–2 PM | September 22

If you believe that a victim is not a perpetrator, please stand with us tomorrow.

Your presence matters.

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

📢 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 فر��ت‌های 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

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

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

[UnheardConscripts @UCAN_Advocacy]

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

[ویرجینیا وولف مناطق محروم @13virginiawoolf]

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؟🚶🏻‍♀️