Canada’s attempt to deport Iranian regime members fails again
Global News
The Immigration and Refugee Board nixed Ottawa's bid to deport the Islamic Republic's roads director, saying he did not meet the criteria under rules that ban other officials.
A government strategy to prevent Iranian regime members from resettling in Canada is struggling to show results after border security officials lost their fourth deportation case.
In a decision obtained by Global News, the Immigration and Refugee Board declined to approve the deportation of Afshin Pirnoon, a former director general in Iran’s roads ministry.
Pirnoon came to Canada on a tourist visa in 2022 and was working as an Uber driver when the Canada Border Services Agency launched deportation proceedings against him.
The CBSA alleged the 50-year-old was not allowed in Canada because he was a longtime senior functionary and “political asset” of the Islamic Republic.
But on Aug. 12, Refugee Board member Madona Mokbel rejected the CBSA’s deportation case, ruling that despite his position and more than two decades in the service of the regime, Pirnoon didn’t qualify as a “senior official.”
“Though his title may suggest on its face that he had a high-level position within the civil service, when examining all of the evidence, the panel finds that he did not exert significant influence on the exercise of government power,” she wrote.
The case is the latest in which an IRB judge has rebuffed the CBSA’s attempts to oust Iranian officials from Canada under a program the government put in place to stop them from using the country as a safe haven.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government banned senior Iranian officials from entering Canada in 2022 on the grounds they were part of a regime engaged in terrorism and rights abuses.
American Olympian Katie Uhlaender was hoping to be the first woman to compete in the Winter Games six times for the U.S., but fell just short of qualifying.
The U.S. currently has multiple rounds of tariffs on key sectors of the Canadian economy, including steel, aluminum, autos and lumber.
Cree Nation of Mistissini Chief Michael Petawabano is urging members of the community to stay in their homes and lock their doors as police investigate.
Exceptions under the trade deal, known as USMCA in the U.S. and CUSMA in Canada, protect Canada from the heaviest impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when a truck driver went through a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey team's bus at a rural intersection.
Though a complete freeze is near impossible, a mixture of frozen surface water and mist can create the appearance that Niagara Falls has frozen.
The local police say they were called to a private residence in the Atikamekw community of Manawan on Sunday, and discovered two bodies.
The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News also found half of Canadians would trust Prime Minister Mark Carney to handle a potential military threat from the U.S.
Four adults face charges after a trespassing investigation at Western University led to a loaded firearm and hazardous chemicals near campus, police say.
The Federal Reserve pushed the pause button on its interest rate cuts Wednesday, leaving its key rate unchanged at about 3.6 per cent after lowering it three times last year.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is in the process of buying a building owned by Jim Pattison Developments to use as an ICE processing facility.
The former U.S. attorney who oversaw the prosecution and conviction of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman tells Global News there are similarities in both cases.
The city says it is receiving 3,000 to 4,000 calls daily, including many calls from residents reporting issues related to blocked sidewalks.