More than 100 Iranian-Canadians call for party probe of Conservative nomination race
CBC
More than 100 Iranian-Canadians sent a letter to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday calling for an investigation of the party's handling of allegations of Iranian regime interference in an Ontario riding nomination race.
Those who signed the letter include academics, physicians and people who lost loved ones on Flight PS752 when it was shot down by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2020.
Kaveh Shahrooz, an outspoken critic of Iran's regime, announced on social media last month that he was withdrawing from the Conservative nomination contest in the federal riding of Richmond Hill. He said he faced "unprecedented" foreign interference and intimidation during his campaign.
Shahrooz also said his pleas to the party for more time to campaign and push back against the interference went "unheeded."
"While I wish the party well, I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed with their approach to this issue," Shahrooz wrote in his media statement on February 22.
Shahrooz launched his campaign on February 14. The Conservative Party told party members in Richmond Hill on February 21 that the vote would happen on March 6 and any new party memberships would have to be received by February 23 in order to allow those new members to vote in the nomination.
Shahrooz said that while the party chooses the date of nomination votes, he was left with little time to campaign. He said he wonders if the party "simply wanted to wash their hands clean of a candidate that had become controversial."
The Conservative Party has not yet responded to CBC's request for comment, submitted Tuesday morning.
The letter to Poilievre says the undersigned are "deeply disappointed by what we perceive as your party's failure to detect and combat the influence of the Islamic Republic in your election."
"We urge the [Conservative Party of Canada] to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the decision regarding the nomination date in Richmond Hill, including any potential influence, whether direct or indirect, from elements associated with the Iranian Regime, and to take decisive steps to safeguard the integrity of our democratic processes," the letter says.
The Conservative Party has repeatedly accused the federal government of failing to take the issue of foreign political interference seriously. The party called for a public inquiry into foreign interference after media reports last year accused China of interfering in the past two federal elections. That inquiry is expected to resume sometime this month.
The letter endorses Shahrooz's claim that Tehran amplified disinformation about him online to prevent a critic of the regime from being elected. The letter says the signatories want to meet with Poilievre to talk about it.
"As people who observe the Iranian regime's behaviour online, we are certain that the amplification was inorganic and completely consistent with the behaviour of the regime's so-called 'Cyber Army,'" the letter says.
The letter says it's "essential to recognize" foreign interference isn't "carried out by those who openly declare themselves supporters of the Iranian Regime."
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