One-thousand one days after the Iranian military forces shot Flight PS752 out of the sky and killed 55 Canadians, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, ON.) stood in the House of Commons to grill the prime minister over whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a terrorist organization. ."Is the IRGC a terrorist group, yes or no?" Poilievre asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.)..Trudeau responded Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism and Canada is continuing to hold the IRGC to account, "including by putting sanctions on a number of their top leaders to make sure they can't take safe haven or buy property in Canada."."We will continue to hold this bloodthirsty regime to account as young Iranians and the people around the world stand with them in defense of their fundamental rights and freedoms," Trudeau said.."We don't need drama. We don't need acting. We need action," Poilievre calmly responded. "This group killed 55 Canadian citizens whose only crime was to get on a plane when they were shot out of the sky by a terrorist organization.".On Jan. 8, 2020, the IRGC fired two surface-to-air missiles at a Ukraine International Airlines plane that had just taken off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. The Iranian government denied shooting down the aircraft for three days after, but then admitted that a unit of the IRGC had "mistakenly" shot down the plane..Poilievre reiterated that the group can still legally operate, recruit, and fund raise in Canada because the prime minister has not put them on the terrorist list. "So again, yes or no, is the IRGC a terrorist organization?".Trudeau said Canada has some of the strongest sanctions in the world against the "bloodthirsty" regime in Iran. "We have stood with the families of PS752 over the past 1000 days to ensure accountability and justice. We will continue to sanction the leadership of the IRGC as we make sure that they are fully accountable for the crimes they're committing.".Trudeau added that the Canadian government designated the IRGC's Quds Force as a terrorist organization. The Quds force is one of five branches of the IRGC, which specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations.."The prime minister has a primary job of protecting our citizens," Poilievre said before posing his question once again..Trudeau responded that it was not only 55 Canadian citizens who were murdered, but also close to 150 people who were on their way to Canada to become permanent residents, and students "who we also grieve for every day and who we stand with as we hold this Iranian government to account."."I asked a simple yes or no question. The prime minister has had 1001 days to think about the answer," Poilievre said. "His officials informed him this group murdered our citizens and yet by failing to list the group as terrorist he's allowing them to raise money, coordinate, plan, operate and recruit right here on Canadian soil. They are not banned from doing any of those things."."One last time; will the prime minister show some respect and actually answer a question. Is this a terrorist group? Yes, or No?".Trudeau reiterated the federal government sanctioned the Iranian government and the leadership of the IRGC.."We will continue to stand up in support of the Iranian people who are so bravely protesting against this bloodthirsty regime," Trudeau said..Iranians have been protesting for weeks following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after being arrested for improperly wearing a headscarf.."The young women who are waving their hijabs in the face of these criminals, the strength they're showing every single day and standing up for their rights, is something that all Canadians stand with together," he said.
