Ottawa, ON – Jasraj Singh Hallan, Member of Parliament for Calgary Forest Lawn, Adam Chambers, Member of Parliament for Simcoe North, Phillip Lawrence, Member of Parliament for Northumberland—Peterborough South and Marty Morantz, Member of Parliament for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, released the following statement on money laundering by the IRGC in Canada going undetected:

“Trudeau’s refusal to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity means that the regime’s illegal money laundering in Canada goes undetected according to testimony from Finance Canada officials yesterday. Officials also admitted that the Trudeau Government does not know if the IRGC is fundraising for terrorist activities through the Canadian charitable sector.

“Finance Canada officials testified that upwards of $100 billion is illegally laundered in Canada each year. A leading report recognizes that Canada has become known for “snow-washing” given the prominence of money laundering. Combatting money laundering is a federal responsibility and the Prime Minister has allowed criminal organizations and now the IRGC terrorist organization to take advantage of soft on crime Liberal policies. 

“The IRGC murdered 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents when they shot down flight PS752 four years ago. Senior IRGC officials have been able to enter, and covert IRGC agents operate in Canada consequence free. Now we learn that Trudeau’s refusal to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity means this terrorist organization is circumventing money laundering laws and raising money on Canadian soil to fund their terror campaigns around the world.

“The IRGC has already been named a terrorist organization by the United States, but the Trudeau government refuses to do the same. Just months ago, Iranian-American activist, Masih Alinejad said Trudeau only offers nothing more than ‘empty words’ and ‘cliché’ when talking about the IRGC. It is time to stop the crime and crackdown on the IRGC’s criminal activity in Canada.

“Common-sense Conservatives have put forward real solutions over Trudeau’s empty words, to mitigate money-laundering in Canada. Conservative Bill C-289 proposed changes to the criminal code to make it easier to catch and convict criminals laundering money in Canada, potentially including IRGC agents in Canada. The NDP-Liberal coalition voted against this bill. The failure of this government to take terrorism and money laundering seriously allows for murderous entities like the IRGC to operate freely in Canada. Trudeau must finally list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.”