Question Period Note: Listing the IRGC as a Terrorist Entity Pursuant to the Criminal Code

The Opposition has long called on the Government to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity pursuant to the Criminal Code.

• With respect to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, Canada has taken a number of actions, including listing the IRGC’s Qods Force as a terrorist entity. The Qods Force is responsible for the IRGC’s terrorist operations and providing arms, funding and training to other terrorist groups.

• The Government continues to list a number of these terrorist entities who have benefited from the Qods Force’s patronage and who help advance Iran’s interests and foreign policy. These include Hizballah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Taliban.

• Furthermore, in June 2019, Canada added three new Iran-backed groups to the Criminal Code list: the Al-Ashtar Brigades, the Fatemiyoun Division, and Harakat al-Sabireen.

• The listing of entities is an ongoing process, and government officials continue to assess all groups and monitor new developments.

• The Government also imposes sanctions on Iran, the IRGC, and its members. The IRGC and its leadership continue to be sanctioned under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations, and Iran continues to be designated as a state supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act.

On June 13, 2018, the House of Commons adopted an Opposition motion which called on the Government to, among other things, immediately designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. The downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 by an Iranian missile in January 2020 refocused calls for the IRGC to be listed under the Criminal Code. In particular, B’nai Brith Canada launched a petition calling on the Government to action the June 2018 motion and list the IRGC.

Canada has several punitive measures already in place in response to Iran’s support of terrorism, and against the IRGC. These include the listing of the IRGC’s Qods Force (QF) as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code, which occurred on December 17, 2012. The QF is the branch of the IRGC responsible for extraterritorial operations, and for exporting the Iranian Revolution through activities such as facilitating terrorist operations. They provide arms, funding and paramilitary training to other listed groups, including the Taliban, Hizballah and Hamas.

On June 21, 2019, Canada added three new Iran-backed groups to the Criminal Code list. Al-Ashtar Brigades is a militant group supported by Iran which aims to overthrow Bahrain’s monarchy. The Fatemiyoun Division is a QF led militia fighting in Syria comprised mainly of Afghan refugees recruited from Iran and Afghanistan. Harakat al-Sabireen is an Iranian-backed group which operates in the Gaza Strip and has fired rockets into Israel.

The Criminal Code sets out a terrorist listing regime to help prevent the use of Canada’s financial system to further terrorist activity, and to assist in the investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences. Once listed, banks and financial institutions must freeze an entity’s assets all persons in Canada, as well as Canadians abroad, are prohibited from knowingly dealing with such assets. A listing can also lead to the de-registration of a charity or the refusal to register an organization as a charity, if there is an affiliation with a listed entity. Finally, once listed, certain offences related to terrorist financing, terrorist-related travel and terrorist recruitment may apply. This strengthens law enforcement’s ability to take action against domestic members and supporters of terrorist entities.

The Minister of Public Safety may recommend to the Governor in Council that individuals or groups be designated as “terrorist entities” pursuant to s. 83.05 (1) of the Criminal Code (Establishment of list) if there are reasonable grounds to believe that an entity:
a) has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity; or
b) has knowingly acted on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with, an entity referred to in paragraph (a).

Canada has listed the IRGC as a designated entity under Canada’s autonomous sanctions regime, the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations (the Regulations). Sanctions imposed on Iran were closely coordinated with like-minded countries (e.g., the U.S., the EU) and explicitly target the IRGC, its branches, and its leadership, by prohibiting certain dealings with these individuals and entities. The Regulations are also intended to restrict Iran’s access to sensitive and dual-use goods from Canada, especially related to nuclear proliferation and the development of ballistic missiles. Specifically, sanctions under the Regulations prohibit:
- Dealing in the property of individuals and entities subject to asset freezes; and,
- The export, sale, supply or shipment of any goods listed in Schedule 2 of the Regulations, to Iran, to any person in Iran, or to a person for the purpose of a business carried on in or operated from Iran; and,
- The transfer, provision or disclosure to Iran or any person in Iran any technical data related to goods in Schedule 2.

Canada has implemented sanctions decisions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) into domestic law under the United Nations Act. Among a wide range of restrictions, the Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on Iran also include a dealings ban on persons listed by the UNSC, including senior members of the IRGC.

 
Moreover, on September 7, 2012, Canada listed Iran as a state supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act. As a result, Iran’s immunity from civil proceedings was lifted in relation to its terrorist activity or support for terrorism. Known Iranian assets in Canada, with the exception of diplomatic properties, were seized to satisfy civil proceedings under the Justice For Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA). The JVTA allows victims of terrorism to launch civil actions against perpetrators of terrorism and those that support them for loss or damage that occurred as a result of an act of terrorism committed anywhere in the world. In order to bring a claim under the JVTA, a person must have suffered loss or damage in or outside Canada on or after January 1, 1985 as a result of an act or omission that is, or had it been committed in Canada would be, punishable under Part II.1 of the Criminal Code (terrorism offences).

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