Foreign Minister Marc Garneau: Iran and Syria will remain listed as “State Supporters of Terrorism” under Canadian law.
Iran and Syria were initially listed as State Supporters of Terrorism under the provisions of the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA) passed by Parliament in 2012. The JVTA was originally proposed and written by C-CAT which successfully led the 8-year campaign for its passage.
The Canada Gazette is the official newspaper of the Government of Canada. It is considered the official notice of public announcements, new acts, regulations and proclamations. On March 26, 2021, the Gazette reported that Canada will continue listing Iran and Syria as “State Supporters of Terrorism”. Iran is widely acknowledged as the globe’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism, and its terror proxies have also injured and murdered Canadian nationals.
Canada’s State Supporters of Terrorism listings have been reviewed and reconfirmed every two years as mandated by law, since the passage of the JVTA in 2012. Countries listed under the JVTA can be sued as state sponsors of terrorism by terror victims. Iran was successfully sued by victims under the JVTA for billions of dollars in 2017. Currently, several Canadian family members of individuals killed in Iran’s shootdown of Ukrainian Airlines flight #752 in January 2020 are suing Iran in Canada under the JVTA’s provisions.
Tehran has vociferously objected to the listing and has sought unsuccessfully to have the JVTA overturned. The regime has also insisted that Iran must be delisted as a perquisite to reengagement with Canada. As noted by a prominent Canadian diplomat, the JVTA provided the framework for Canada’s decision to close the Iran’s embassy in Ottawa and to freeze diplomatic relations with Iran.
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