QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 Tragedy
June 23, 2020
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader.
Leader, 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents lost their lives when the Iranian regime shot down their plane in January. On this National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, we think of them and their families who live with the unimaginable grief while Iran has yet to be held responsible.
In March, the regime said it would hand over the black boxes within 14 days. Months later, this has not occurred. Even though our Prime Minister bowed his head to the Iranian foreign minister and shook his hand, nothing has happened.
The families of Flight PS752 say the bodies of their loved ones were looted and their coffins desecrated. They want to see a plan and a timetable from the Government of Canada on how it will hold this terrorist Iranian regime to account.
Mr. Leader, will your government provide these families with their plans in this regard? From this point forward, how will the government seek justice for their loved ones?
Thank you for your question. The government continues to seek justice — long overdue — for those who lost their cherished loved ones in this tragedy.
I’ve been advised that on June 22 this year, Minister Champagne spoke directly with his counterpart, the Iranian foreign minister, emphasizing that Iran must cooperate immediately to provide a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the shooting down of the plane and to provide compensation to the families.
I’m advised that in that conversation Foreign Minister Zarif committed again for Iran to send the flight recorders to France without any further delay. I’m also advised that the foreign minister agreed to enter into negotiations for reparations for the victims’ families.
The government considers this the highest priority in its relationship with Iran. It will continue to work with its allies and put pressure on Iran to deliver justice and transparency for this event.
It’s amazing how the government finds so many things important and yet nothing gets done.
The Department of Global Affairs recently confirmed the Iranian regime has raised re-establishing consular relations between our countries. The previous Conservative government suspended relations with Iran in 2012 in response to Iran’s support of terrorism, widespread human rights abuses, anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide.
We learned yesterday that the Trudeau government has done absolutely nothing to help serve papers to Iranian officials in a class-action lawsuit brought in relation to January’s plane crash, as required by the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act. I assume the foreign minister did not deliver that either.
Leader, are these two events connected? Did the government refuse to support the class-action lawsuit because it wanted to re‑establish former ties with the Iranian regime? Can you assure this chamber that the government will not retract the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act as the price of normalizing relations with Iran?
Thank you for your question. I’m not aware of any plans or intentions of the government to retreat from the legislation to which you refer.
In relations with Iran and others, it is and has been the position of this government to seek all different avenues of persuasion and influence, and that includes working to see whether, despite our fundamental differences — differences in values, differences in our behaviour in the world — there may be peaceful solutions to these otherwise intractable problems. The government remains committed to seeking justice for the victims of the downing of the plane and will continue to do so.
