Do more for Iran activists and Canada diaspora threatened by regime, groups urge

Conservative MP for Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman James Bezan looks on as Ardeshir Zarezadeh, president of the International Centre for Human Rights, holds up a paper during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — Iranian-Canadian groups are calling on Ottawa to do more to protect democracy activists inside Iran and to weed out transnational repression within Canada.

“Unfortunately since the January mass-atrocity crimes occurred in Iran this year, we have seen nothing practical from the Government of Canada,” Ardeshir Zarezadeh said Wednesday.

Zarezadeh says he was a political prisoner in Iran, and believes Ottawa should create a humanitarian program to help injured anti-regime protesters seek medical treatment abroad. He also thinks the government should do more to hold Tehran accountable.

He was speaking on Parliament Hill at a news conference hosted by Conservative MP James Bezan to mark Iran Accountability Week, a multi-party advocacy campaign that first launched in 2013.

This year’s event comes after the U.S. and Israel launched a war against the Iranian government, following large protests that caused Tehran to brazenly kill thousands of demonstrators and drastically restrict internet access.

Prime Minister Mark Carney initially expressed unequivocal support in February for the war on the basis that it would prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but a few days later he expressed regret that Washington did not consult the United Nations and added that the conflict likely violates international law.

Bezan said more attention must be paid to the suffering of anti-regime protesters within Iran as well as for Canadians reporting an uptick in threats emanating from Iran.

“The mullahs have done a terrible thing, in how they have continued to persecute anyone that has spoken against the regime, who have fought for women’s rights, who have fought for freedom,” said the Manitoba MP.

“Now, to see them actually use their proxies here in Canada against these individuals who have family back in Iran and try to exploit that, to try to get them to be silent, is disgusting.”

Zarezadeh said he has received frequent threats that he attributes to the Iranian regime, including in an email he received two days prior.

“These threats are coming from the Islamic Republic to dissidents, to those exposing the Islamic Republic in Canada, and fighting their influence in Canada,” he said.

Zarezadeh, who runs the non-profit International Centre for Human Rights, said Ottawa needs to be more clear when it says it has chosen diplomacy instead of joining the war against Iran.

He said Canada could launch cases at global courts, increase pressure on Iran at the United Nations, co-ordinate more with allies on sanctions and resettle protesters and journalists.

“So far, the government of Canada has not introduced a single humanitarian program or any kind of alternative for what they say is diplomacy over military strikes,” he said.

A UN rapporteur said in January that at least 5,000 Iranians had been killed in anti-regime protests, and that the death toll might be as high as 20,000 based on reports from doctors.

Groups have reported numerous arrests and executions since then, with weekly reports of lawyers, activists and even medical professionals being detained at checkpoints.

Ottawa has repeatedly said it is combating Iranian influence by working with allies, including through sanctions. Opposition parties have argued Canada is not doing enough, particularly to prosecute or deport Iranian officials in Canada.

Shortly before the war, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada would not restore diplomatic relations with Iran until “regime change” occurs. The Harper government cut diplomatic ties in 2012.

Bezan tabled a bill last fall that aims to overhaul parts of Canada’s sanction regime, with the goal of better enforcing sanctions against foreign officials. The bill would expand travel bans to include the relatives of foreign officials, such as preventing autocrats from having their children study in Canada.

The legislation would also define transnational repression in law. The legislation faces its first committee study this week, and Bezan said the government has taken a collaborative approach to the bill so far.

“We want to make sure that Canada is not used as, first and foremost, a safe haven for corrupt foreign officials, for human rights abusers, and for those that are trying to hide their illicit wealth that they’ve gained through their corruption and their kleptocracy,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press