Ottawa, ON – Today, the Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, sent the following letter to Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree, calling on him to recommend that Kata’ib Hezbollah be immediately listed as a terrorist entity and to respond to the alleged Kata’ib Hezbollah-directed attacks in Toronto:

Dear Minister Anandasangaree,

I am calling on you to immediately recommend that the Government of Canada list Kata’ib Hezbollah as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.

Canada should not wait for another synagogue to be shot or another foreign consulate to be attacked before shutting down the terrorist organization allegedly directing these attacks.

In May, US authorities arrested Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an alleged senior commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah and operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to a US criminal complaint, Al-Saadi helped plan, coordinate and claim responsibility for nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and North America.

Those allegations include two attacks here in Canada: the March 10 shooting at the United States consulate in Toronto and an attack against a Canadian synagogue.

During recorded conversations cited in the complaint, Al-Saadi allegedly confirmed that his “people” were behind the attacks against “the consulate and the Knesset,” which investigators understood to mean the Toronto consulate and a synagogue. He also allegedly said he was running multiple teams and sought help carrying out further attacks against Jewish and other targets in Canada and the United States.

Kata’ib Hezbollah is an Iran-backed extremist militia closely tied to the IRGC. It has been listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States since 2009 under President Obama and receives training, weapons, financing, intelligence and logistical support from the Iranian regime.

Yet it is still not listed as a terrorist entity in Canada.

Listing Kata’ib Hezbollah would make it illegal to knowingly deal in its property or finances, allow authorities to restrain or seize its assets and strengthen Canada’s ability to prevent its members from entering or remaining in the country.

There is no justification for delay.

The Liberals have failed to enforce Canada’s terrorist laws with the urgency and strength Canadians expect. Parliament did not list terrorist entities merely to put their names on a government website. Canadians expect their laws to be enforced to the fullest extent: terrorist assets frozen and seized, financing networks dismantled, and operatives stopped at the border or removed from the country. Yet Canadians have seen little evidence of serious enforcement against the IRGC and other listed terrorist groups threatening our people, our communities and our national interests. A terrorist listing is only as strong as the action that follows it.

Jewish Canadians have watched their synagogues, schools and businesses targeted by shootings, vandalism, firebombings and threats. Iranian Canadians who escaped the brutality of the Islamic Republic have faced surveillance, harassment and intimidation from the same regime on Canadian soil.

A year-long Global News investigation reported that upwards of 700 Iranian regime-linked associates were operating in Canada and threatening the lives of Canadians. The RCMP subsequently acknowledged receiving reports of foreign interference committed by, or at the direction of, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Canadians deserve to know who these individuals are, how they entered Canada and what your government is doing to remove those who pose a threat.

The IRGC was finally listed as a terrorist entity only after years of pressure from Conservatives. Even now, your government has been unable to tell Canadians how many IRGC operatives have been identified, denied entry or removed from the country.

Listing the parent organization means little if its commanders, proxies, financiers and hired criminals remain free to operate here.

You must therefore:

  • Immediately list Kata’ib Hezbollah as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code;
  • Investigate whether its members, operatives, facilitators or financial networks are operating in Canada;
  • Disclose how many individuals connected to the Iranian regime and its proxies have been identified, denied entry, investigated, detained or removed;
  • Investigate and disclose any known links between Iranian terrorist proxies and organized crime in Canada; and
  • Explain what action Canadian authorities are taking in response to the alleged Kata’ib Hezbollah-directed attacks in Toronto.

Canada must be a safe haven for Canadians, not for the terrorists, agents and proxies sent to silence the victims of the Iranian regime.

Canadians must be free to worship without fear of gunfire. Iranian Canadians must be free to oppose the regime without facing its enforcers here at home. All Canadians deserve a government that stops terrorists before they attack rather than making excuses after the damage is done.

Ban Kata’ib Hezbollah. Shut down its financing. Find its operatives. Keep Canadians safe.