Liberals face credibility questions over whether announced Iran sanctions will actually happen – National Post

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'I worry that (the sanctions) are not going to be as effective as they could be, because the government doesn't want to be transparent on how that's being rolled out'

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OTTAWA The Liberal governments announcement of new sanctions against the Iranian regime Monday, in response to protests there over government oppression, was met with skepticism by observers concerned about Ottawas lack of transparency and follow-through with past sanctions.

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The Liberal government has overall a bit of an issue with following up on rhetorical commitments in its foreign policy in general, and specifically on sanctions, to actually implement sanctions, said University of Ottawa associate professor of international affairs Thomas Juneau. He said Canada already has a history of announcing but not fully implementing sanctions, which carries a cost in terms of credibility both with allies and opponents.The issue for me is always to actually follow through, he said.

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NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPhersonsaid she has already been struggling with trying to get information about how sanctions on Russians related to the war in Ukraine, which have been in place since February, have been implemented. We cant get information about how much, whats been seized, how effective have they been, she said. I worry that they (the new Iranian sanctions) are not going to be as effective as they could be, because the government doesnt want to be transparent on how thats being rolled out, said

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The Liberal government named 25 individuals and nine entities in a list of new sanctions Monday. The list includes individuals from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the countrys morality police and its notorious Evin Prison.

Protests against the cleric-led regime that has been in charge of Iran since the 1979 revolution have now reached their third week. They began after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in custody of Irans religious police, allegedly for violating the countrys hijab rules, which force women to cover their hair.

The protests have also spread worldwide, including protestors marching in the streets of Canadian cities. The biggest rally, in Richmond Hill, Ont. this past weekend, drew more than 50,000 people.

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Juneau said the symbol of announcing sanctions on these individuals is necessary, and its a good first step, but what I think we should all be looking at now is if it actually happens.

The Opposition Conservatives say the sanctions should go further, with the government listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity. The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian military, responsible for safeguarding the countrys Islamic regime.

The Iranian regime are known to have assets, are known to come and go freely in this country, and they should be banned as a terrorist organization, said Conservative foreign affairs critic Melissa Lantsman.Once an organization is listed as a terrorist entity, its property is automatically frozen, while persons seeking entry into Canada may be inadmissible if they are found to be associated with a listed entity, Public Safety Canada said in a press release last year.

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The IRGC as an entity has been under economic sanctions since 2012. Juneau said sanctioning each member of the organization would involve hundreds of thousands of individuals, some of whom are already legally living in Canada.

What if an individual shows up at the Canadian border, or an individual is a permanent resident or a citizen in Canada, and he says, yes, I was in the IRGC, but I was a cook as a conscript for one year in 1997. How do you know thats true? he said. Having to verify that information in hundreds of cases becomes a massive resource demand on the RCMP, CSIS, CBSA, and others who have to implement this.

Juneau said the United States, which has the IRGC on its terrorist list, has significantly more resources and actively more bureaucratic capacity than Canada does.

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The 25 individuals named on the Canadian sanctions list will have their accounts frozen and wont be able to enter the country. Lantsman said the government should go further and seize the assets of the Iranian regime in Canada, redistributing the money to victims of flight Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, which was shot down by Iran in January 2020 which killed 176 people, as well as seeking prosecution at the International Criminal Court of Justice for the attack on a civilian aircraft.

Lantsman noted that attack killed more than 50 Canadians. Thats what would do justice to those victims, she said.

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Liberals face credibility questions over whether announced Iran sanctions will actually happen - National Post