Ex-envoy: ‘Stupid’ law prevents Canada’s re-engagement with Iran
OTTAWA — The real reason the federal government hasn’t been able to re-establish relations with Iran is due to its adherence to a “stupid” Canadian law allowing the seizure of Iranian assets, says Canada’s recently expelled ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Dennis Horak, who was expelled from Saudi Arabia in August after its rulers were incensed by a tweet from Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, offered that blunt assessment as he shed new light on another controversial moment in Canada’s Middle East relations.
Six years ago, the previous Conservative government abruptly severed its diplomatic relations with Iran, shuttering its embassy in Tehran and expelling Iranian diplomats from Canada.
The current Liberal government campaigned in 2015 on reestablishing diplomatic relations with Iran but has been unable to deliver because Iran appears unwilling to re-engage.
Horak, who retired recently, said one obstacle is in the way: the passage in 2012 of Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which allows victims of terrorism to sue countries that are listed as supporters of terrorism.
The law paved the way for last year’s Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the seizure of $1.7 billion US in private Iranian assets by a group of American plaintiffs whose loved ones were killed in terrorist attacks sponsored by the Iranian regime.
“It was a stupid law. And it’s still a stupid law,” Horak told a meeting of the Canadian International Council in Ottawa this week. “But we’re stuck with it.”
Then foreign affairs minister John Baird abruptly announced the Tehran embassy closure in September 2012, accusing Iran of being a state sponsor of terrorism and saying it was for the safety of Canadian diplomats.
An angry mob had stormed the British embassy in Tehran 10 months earlier. “The British weren’t even seizing Iranian government property. This law called for the seizure of Iranian government properties,” said Horak. “How can we reopen under those conditions?”