Ottawa won’t stop victims of terror from suing Iran in Canada
After coming into office on a pledge of warming to Iran, Canada has apparently abandoned plans to make nice with the theocracy. In so doing, the Trudeau government is giving the green light to a flurry of lawsuits against the Iranian regime.
The Canadian government opted last month to continue listing Iran as a state supportive of terrorism, which will continue to keep relationships between Ottawa and Tehran virtually non-existent.
Being included on the list is an unenviable position for a foreign state, as those listed on it — currently just Iran and Syria — do not enjoy immunity when it comes to terrorism-related crimes. Normally, under international law, the courts of one state cannot allow legal action against another nation.
Iran has openly supported Hamas and Hizbollah in recent years.
The decision to keep Iran on that list was announced on Friday ahead of the Canada Day long weekend. The government must review the list every two years.
The day before the decision was released, an Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed Iran’s efforts to stop a massive lawsuit, launched by more than a dozen individuals and families who have all been the victims of terrorist attacks sponsored or supported by the Iranian regime.
Iran has openly supported Hamas and Hizbollah in recent years.
The families have already won their case in the United States — where it was ultimately unenforceable — but are now trying to enforce the judgement in Canada by seizing all of Tehran’s property and bank accounts that still reside in Canada. Read more.
Source: Vice.com
