Canada faces questions over treatment of Iranian conscripts as U.K, Australia take different approach
Legal fight grows over Canada's treatment of IRGC conscripts
Mostafa Tasbandi lost his job last Thursday.
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fight → face → job
It's just one of the many ways his life has taken a turn since he and hundreds of other Iranians living in Canada received letters on Aug. 6 and 7 informing them they may be inadmissible to stay in the country because of mandatory military service they were forced to complete in Iran as young men.
uncertain
they → take → men
"I don't have a future right now," Tasbandi, who lives in Halifax, told CBC News this week.
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who → have → News
For years, Tasbandi, who arrived in December 2023, had been waiting for a work permit renewal, a situation that prevented his wife from getting a work permit of her own.
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that → arrive → own
His 11-year-old daughter has had serious trouble at school since she discovered her father's immigration troubles, he said.
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he → have → troubles
Tasbandi, a computer engineer, isn't sure he will be able to renew his own work permit following his dismissal at work.
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he → renew → work
His boss told him he was letting him go because the company didn't have enough work for him, but Tasbandi suspects a sudden decrease in his productivity due to the stress of his immigration situation had something to do with the dismissal.
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decrease → tell → dismissal
"If I can't get another work permit, I don't have money to pay my bills and I cannot go back to my country because I am afraid.
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I → get → country
What shall I do?" said the 44-year-old who has participated in several protests against the Iranian regime while in Canada.
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who → do → Canada
Iran has since undertaken campaigns to identify and punish citizens demonstrating abroad.
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Iran → undertake → citizens
CBC reported last week that former conscripts of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their family members increasingly face inadmissibility to Canada because of Ottawa’s designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
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conscripts → report → organization
Men across the country who were forced into that military service now tell CBC they feel branded as terrorists by the country they sought refuge in.
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they → force → refuge
They are calling on federal Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab to publish guidance distinguishing conscripts who were forced into service and didn’t commit any terrorist acts from full-fledged, regime-supporting members — similar to what the United Kingdom and Australia have done.
"Canada has a very aggressive policy vis-a-vis national security issues that leads to some decisions which I would say are absurd," said Lorne Waldman, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer representing nearly 40 former Iranian former conscripts targeted by the procedural fairness letters (PFLs).
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Waldman → call → letters
'Why is Canada doing this?'
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Canada → do → this
Tasbandi and five other Iranians who were forced into mandatory IRGC service in their late teens and early 20s tell CBC they self-disclosed the mandatory military service in their permanent residency applications and now feel penalized for their honesty.
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they → force → honesty
"Why is Canada doing this?
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Canada → do → this
We trusted them.
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We → trust → them
They’re treating us differently than other countries [would]," Tasbandi said.
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Tasbandi → treat → us
In response to questions from CBC, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said the department recognizes "that some individuals may have served as a result of conscription."
The department "cannot disclose details of our screening processes," spokesperson Mary Rose Sabater wrote in an email, adding the procedural fairness letters sent out in August provide "applicants with an opportunity to respond before a decision is made."
They came to Canada for safety.
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They → say → safety
Now they’re suspected of supporting the regime they fled
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they → suspect → regime
They fled Iran after years of fear and protest.
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They → flee → fear
Canada's new asylum law has put them in limbo
But
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law → put → limbo
Yalda Ghani, an Iranian immigration consultant in Toronto, says several of her clients were deemed inadmissible before the August wave of procedural letters was sent out, despite having been conscripted and performing only menial tasks for the IRGC and are challenging the decisions in Federal Court.
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wave → say → Court
"I have many clients who are scared to death, honestly," Ghani said.
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Ghani → have → death
"They are afraid that if they become inadmissible in Canada, they will lose their chances for other countries, too, because this is a very serious thing to be labelled inadmissible under security and being a ‘member’ of a terrorist organization.
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this → become → organization
Canada designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization in 2024, following the lead of the United States.
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Canada → designate → States
Every conscript CBC spoke with say they agree with the designation itself.
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they → speak → designation
"I want Canadian immigration to … understand that we are not members of them and we were not members of them," Tasbandi said.
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Tasbandi → want → them
U.K., Australia recommend examining cases closely
The United Kingdom and Australian appear to have taken different approaches, where conscripts are not automatically considered "members" of an organization.
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conscripts → examine → organization
In March, Australia's Parliament published guidance on the matter, saying authorities should distinguish involuntary conscripts from supporting members.
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authorities → publish → members
The U.K. government published similar guidance in August, stating military service is compulsory for men and that conscripts are unlikely to be required to commit acts "contrary to the basic rules of human conduct."
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conscripts → publish → conduct
The six Iranians CBC spoke with for this story, who received PFLs in August, say they or their family members were randomly assigned to IRGC service among Iran's military and security organizations and were tasked with menial or administrative work.
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they → speak → work
None were in a combat role, nor did they carry weapons, they said.
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they → carry → weapons
Tasbandi said that when he completed his service in 2008 and 2009, he was appointed to the guard's sports office, due to its substantial involvement in state sports, and was tasked with printing posters and booking appointments.
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he → say → appointments
He also briefly worked in a library.
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He → work → library
After he finished the service, he got an unrelated job in a refrigerator factory in his hometown of Mashhad.
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he → finish → Mashhad
The impact of the letters has extended beyond former conscripts themselves.
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impact → extend → conscripts
In some cases, family members have also received procedural fairness letters because of a relative's past IRGC service.
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members → receive → service
Reza Rajaei, who came to Canada with his wife and daughter in 2022, said his wife and four-year-old daughter also received PFLs because they are part of his permanent residency application.
"What should I respond for her?" Rajaei said of his daughter.
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Rajaei → come → daughter
Samira Chahargoli, who lives outside Toronto with her family, said she also received a PFL because of her husband's compulsory military service in 2002, when he was 18 years old.
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he → live → 2002
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
