Canada will deny temporary residency to Iran's former health minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said on Monday, citing Tehran's human rights record, after Hashemi was reportedly seen in Montreal.
"Based on an assessment of the relevant facts recently brought to my attention, I have exercised my authority under s. 22.1 of the IRPA to prevent Mr. Seyed Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi from becoming a temporary resident of Canada for the maximum period of 36 months," Miller said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Section 22 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act gives the Canadian immigration minister the authority to deny temporary residency to a foreign national for up to three years.
"The decision itself, as communicated to the individual, is tied to Iran's disregard for human rights," Miller added, without disclosing Hashemi's location, whether he had sought residency, or how the information was conveyed.
Hashemi served as the minister of health for the Iranian government from 2013 to 2019 under former President Hassan Rouhani. He submitted his resignation to Rouhani who accepted it.
He was widely seen as the key official behind the 2014 launch of a plan for universal medical insurance.
Iran International, a US-based news outlet focused on the Iranian diaspora, reported earlier in August that Hashemi was spotted in Montreal. It cited screenshots from a promotional video for the Quebec province's tourism industry.
“Foreign Interference by the Islamic regime in Canada is a real and present danger. This is only one of the many signs, “Iranian social activist Hamed Esmaeilion said in a post on X.
Esmaeilion was the spokesman of The Association of Victims' Families of Flight PS752, the Ukrainian plane that was downed by an IRGC missile in southern Tehran in 2020. In the incident, he lost his wife and daughter.
Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 and listed the country as a supporter of extremism. It also recently imposed sanctions on Iran over alleged human rights abuses and the killing of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died in the custody of Iran's morality police that enforced strict dress codes.
This is not the first time that the presence of a former Iranian official in Canada has sparked debate in Iran.
In Feb., footage of Tehran police chief General Morteza Talaei exercising in a fitness club in Canada sparked anger among Iranians.
Some human rights organizations demanded that the Canadian government investigate Talaei over his role in the establishment of the morality police and the crackdown on protests that occurred as he was assigned his post.
Talaei said that he was on a business visit.
Tehran has been demanding for years that Canada arrest and deport Mahmoud Khavari, the former director of Bank Melli Iran, Iran’s largest bank that is facing accusations of being involved in the biggest embezzlement in the country.
