Government leader, as the Islamic Republic of Iran verges on collapse, Canadian security experts are sounding the alarm that regime officials, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, may soon attempt to flee and embed themselves in Canada, as others have done before.

Despite a 2022 ban on senior Iranian officials entering the country, at least 20 have been identified as living here, and only one has been deported. Legal experts and Iranian Canadian activists warn that our communities have become a haven for these actors, many of whom exploit asylum claims to remain here.

With still no foreign agent registry in place, government leader, how can Canadians trust that your government is prepared to prevent foreign regime insiders from finding a haven and safe harbour here in Canada?

Senator Gold, tomorrow marks one year since Bill C-70 received Royal Assent. Yet the foreign agent registry still does not exist; it’s not in place.

This initiative was first introduced by former MP Kenny Chiu in 2021 and reintroduced here in the Senate after he lost his seat to foreign interference by yours truly. Since then, the government has made repeated promises but delivered no results. Tell us frankly: Does the government truly take this threat seriously, or was Bill C-70 merely a public relations exercise? We still have a serious problem.