culture and social fabric of their new country of residence and enjoying proper, and in the field, consular services, is their definite right.

Transcription

1 The statement by Iran s head of mission to Canada in respect of providing consular services to decent Iranian community and its reflection on Canadian media Mr. Kambiz Sheikh-Hassani, chargé d Affaires and Head of mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Canada in response to the questions propounded by Canadian media, highlighted some of the views and facts regarding the issues of providing consular services to the Iranian community and opening of consular offices in other cities like Vancouver. Following you could read Iran s head of mission views and then the articles of Embassy Magazine, Toronto Star and Vancouver Sun newspapers in this regard. According to Iran Embassy s estimates, more than 400,000 Iranians live in Canada. While they have decided to come to this country, yet most of them have kept their interests and bonds with Iran and travel to homeland to meet their different needs. Iranian Civil Law adopted in the 1950s, do not recognize dual citizenship and therefore, any Iranian residing outside, who wishes to travel to the country, should do so with their Iranian documents. To satisfy this need and right, Iranian Embassies and consulates all over the world provide the required consular services for these Iranians. In some of the countries where we have large Iranian expatriates, like Germany, Italy, UK, etc., beside the Embassy we have consulate offices in cities of Iranian population concentration. In few countries, this opportunity has been denied and, unfortunately, Canada is one of them. While the number of Iranians living in Canada has been increasing steadily in the course of the past three decades, different Canadian governments are yet to accept Iran s request to open consulate in big cities with sizable Iranian population. For example, we estimate that there are more than 150,000 expatriates in Toronto, around 120,000 in Vancouver, around 70,000 in Montreal and its periphery and also the rest in other cities, from coast to coast. These Iranians are one of the best communities in Canada, effectively contributing to the economy, science,

2 culture and social fabric of their new country of residence and enjoying proper, and in the field, consular services, is their definite right. Our only post in chancery Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa is doing its outmost to render the highest possible quality, professional, and timely services to the respected and noble Iranian community, but the increasing and overwhelming demands have exceeded the capacity of the Embassy s limited resources and manpower. Since Canada is a large country, coming to the Embassy in Ottawa is costly, time consuming and inconvenient especially for senior citizens, therefore; they have to mostly rely on mail for receiving these services. Mail service also incurs them extra time, money and constant fear of losing their voluble documents. The Embassy has strived to improve and facilitate the consular processes and services and has succeeded in reducing the waiting period for receiving the documents and eliminating previous backlogs. Yet some cases like issuance of Iranian birth certificate or power of attorney for valuable transactions, etc, need to be completed and to be signed in person. To respond to such urgent needs, Embassy at times has to go to the extra mile, like our October 2011 visit to Vancouver in which 400 cases of in the field service was provided in a 48 hours tour. In our view, all Iranians are entitled to enjoy on the field services through our consulates in big cities, like Vancouver and Toronto. Iran has even emphasized on the principle of reciprocity, and while they are very few Canadians living in Iran, has offered Canada to have a consulate in one of the Iranian cities, but, our offers so far have been rejected by Canadian governments. Our feedback from Iranian community in Canada is that they wish reconsideration in this respect and in our view, the productive and exemplary Iranian community in Canada has every right to enjoy easy and accessible consular services where they live and Canadian government is definitely in a position to show this courtesy to Iranian-Canadians.

3 December 7, Iran wants consulates in cities like Vancouver By Kristen Shane Iran wants Canada to let it open consulates across the country, something a Canadian policy currently blocks. It's a move some Iranian diaspora members say they would welcome, as it's inconvenient to now have all their consular services routed through Iran's single four-floor Ottawa mission. But they also recognize potential risks. They point to potential security problems and the possible monitoring of Canadian activists. Canada should only do it if it is in Canada's best interests, they say. And that may mean negotiating for Iranian concessions. At a time when Canada-Iran relations are strained, the Canadian government does not appear to be budging from its current limited engagement policy. As part of a wide-ranging interview late last month, Iranian Chargé d'affaires Kambiz Sheikh- Hassani told Embassy his mission wants to open consulates in different Canadian cities. Vancouver more than 4,000 kilometres from Iran's Ottawa embassy, and home to a sizeable Iranian community is the first priority location. By Mr. Sheikh-Hassani's estimates, Canada is home to 400,000 Iranians, including more than 150,000 in Toronto, about 120,000 in Vancouver, and about 70,000 in the Montreal area. Others say those numbers are too high. "My understanding is that there are fewer than 100,000 ex-pat Iranians in Canada which includes individuals of Iranian descent," said Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, in an . Statistics Canada counted an Iranian immigrant population of about 92,000 in But it also marked an upward trend in the number of Iranians immigrating to Canada in recent years. Citizenship and Immigration Canada figures show between about 6,000 and 7,000 Iranians per

4 year were accepted as permanent residents to Canada in the last decade. Iranians in Canada must now maintain government documents in Canada through the country's Ottawa embassy. Most can be processed by mail from faraway places, but some people feel uncomfortable sending their passports or birth certificates through the mail. And the embassy noted in a follow-up statement that the issuance of an Iranian birth certificate or power of attorney for valuable transactions must be completed and signed in person. "To respond to such urgent needs, [the embassy] at times has to go to the extra mile, like [through] our October 2011 visit to Vancouver in which 400 cases of in the field service was provided in a [48-hour] tour," said the statement. The embassy has in the past set up shop to conduct consular services out of a hotel remotely. Acknowledging there are "very few" Canadians living in Iran, the embassy noted that if Canada were to accept Iran's consulate request, it would give Canada the opportunity to have a consulate in an Iranian city, "but, our offers so far have been rejected by Canadian governments." Controlled Engagement Policy Canada currently has a Controlled Engagement Policy governing its economic and political relations with Iran. The policy limits Canada's contact with the Islamic republic. It prohibits the opening of Iranian consulates and cultural centres, and bars the establishment of direct air links between the two countries. In 2005, Canada tightened the policy so that now, from Canada's perspective, official contact between the two countries is limited to only four subjects: human rights in Iran; Iran's nuclear program; the case of a Canadian killed in an Iranian prison in 2003; and Iran's role in the region. Canada in 2010 adopted a controlled engagement policy to govern its relations with North Korea as well. North Korea, however, doesn't have an embassy in Canada. Canada also doesn't count as large a North Korean immigrant community. Canada's relations with Iran have slumped further in recent weeks. Canada on Nov. 21 imposed deeper sanctions on Iran than the ones it had already. The Canadian government said it was responding to an international nuclear watchdog agency's report, which said "Iran has carried out...activities that are relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."

5 After the subsequent storming of the UK embassy in Tehran, a Canadian official met with Mr. Sheikh-Hassani to express Canada's concerns. Canada's chargé d'affaires in Tehran, alongside European ambassadors, visited the ransacked British residential compound and embassy grounds. In that tense context, Iranian-born Royal Military College of Canada professor Houchang Hassan- Yari, said he doubts the Iranians will get their way anytime soon. "It would serve the Iranian-Canadian community by creating maybe two or three consulates. But I don't think it's going to happen, especially now that the Conservatives are in power in Ottawa and they are much more forceful in pushing the international community to condemn [Iran's behaviour]." Mr. Hassan-Yari, who is head of the politics and economics department at the college, noted that if Canada were to consider the request, it should consult the Iranian-Canadian community to see whether they want the consulates. Behnam Esfahanizadeh, president of the Iranian Canadian Congress, wrote in an that "The opening of an office that issues certified documents for Iranian-Canadians will certainly save our community time and money, especially for those Iranians who travel frequently to Iran for visit." But, he noted, "In a city-region with a large and diverse Iranian-Canadian community, such a move poses its own challenges." There is the danger that more consulates would mean more embassy staff who conduct a degree of intelligence activities in the host country, said Mr. Hassan-Yari. That could mean, in an extreme case, the spying on diaspora community members, he said. Other community members noted that Canada would have to think about the additional security it would be required to provide to such a controversial country. Mr. Fogel said he doesn't see a need for an expanded Iranian presence in Canada, and there is a legitimate concern about new consulates serving as platforms for monitoring activities of Iranian activists. If Canada considers the request, said Mr. Hassan-Yari, it could use the opportunity to raise its concerns about Iran and get concessions from the Iranian government. Deepak Obhrai, a parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister, when asked whether he

6 was open to allowing consulates, said on Dec. 5: "At this current time...we have a controlled engagement [policy] with Iran. We will continue with our controlled engagement." kshane@embassymag.ca Ottawa won t let Iran add more consulates in Canada December 21, 2011 Kenyon Wallace Iran and Canada are in a tussle over the federal government s decision to prohibit any consulates from opening. Ambassador Kambiz Sheikh-Hassani says Canada should follow the example of European nations, such as Germany, Italy and Britain, and allow Iran to open consulates in major cities so that Iranian-Canadians in need of consular services don t have to send documents or, in some cases, travel to the Ottawa embassy. Since Canada is a large country, coming to the embassy in Ottawa is costly, time consuming and inconvenient especially for senior citizens, Sheikh-Hassani said in a statement. They have to mostly rely on mail for receiving these services. Mail service also incurs them extra time, money and constant fear of losing their valuable documents. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, so Iranians wishing to travel to Iran must use only Iranian documents obtainable through the embassy in Ottawa, he said. Other documents, such as birth certificates or power of attorney forms, must be signed in person at the embassy. Canada and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1996, but since 2005, Canada has adopted a strict Controlled Engagement Policy, which limits discussions with the Mideast nation to four areas: Iran s human rights record, its nuclear proliferation activities, its regional role, including its support for terrorist organizations, and consular issues. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ian Trites said the federal government will not alter its position. Iran has failed to address any of the concerns cited in the Controlled Engagement Policy. As such, we have no plans to change this policy, he said. Canada does not impede the ability of the Iranian embassy in Ottawa to perform consular services. In November, Canada imposed further sanctions on Iran which included the prohibition of financial transactions with the country, expanding the list of prohibited goods to include all goods used in Iran s petrochemical, oil and gas industry, and

7 amending the list of prohibited goods to include items that could be used in the country s nuclear program. The sanctions were imposed after the International Atomic Energy Agency said there was credible evidence that Iran was trying to build nuclear weapons. Sheikh-Hassani says his embassy estimates that there are more than 400,000 Iranians in Canada, with 150,000 expatriates in Toronto, and 120,000 in Vancouver. Using data collected for the 2006 census, however, Statistics Canada reports a total of 121,000 people of Iranian ethnic origin living in Canada, with 57,000 of those in Toronto and 27,000 in Vancouver. Behnam Esfahanizadeh, president of the Iranian Canadian Congress, said the opening of another office that issues documents for Iranian-Canadians would certainly offer convenience, especially for those who travel frequently to Iran. However, the opening of a full-scale consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a more complex matter. In a city-region with a large and diverse Iranian-Canadian community, such a move poses its own challenges such as the potential for protests in front of consular offices, he said. The federal government s prohibition of Iranian consulate offices is political, said Houchan Hassan-Yari, a Royal Military College international relations professor. He says the prohibition stems, in part, from a lack of trust after the death of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi while in custody in Tehran in When you don t trust somebody, whatever they say has a different connotation, he said. Iran wants Vancouver consulate, but Canada refuses BY TARA CARMAN, VANCOUVER SUNDECEMBER 18, Iran wants to open a consulate in Vancouver to serve the city s Iranian-Canadian population, but a federal-government policy prohibits it. There are about 120,000 Iranian-Canadians in Metro Vancouver, according to Kambiz Sheikh-Hassani, Chargé d affaires of Iran s Ottawa embassy. Sheikh-Hassani said in a statement that many Iranians living in Canada have business interests or family members in Iran and because Iranian law does not recognize dual citizenship, they must use Iranian travel documents to enter the country. The only place in Canada where these documents can be obtained is through Iran s embassy in Ottawa, which means Iranian- Canadians living elsewhere must send valuable documents such as birth certificates and passports through the mail, Sheikh- Hassani said. Other transactions, such as obtaining an Iranian birth certificate or power of attorney for valuable transactions, must be completed in person. This means the applicant must either go to Ottawa or wait for embassy representatives to come to them. Embassy staff visited Vancouver in October and completed over 400 transactions in two days in an attempt to clear a backlog, Sheikh-Hassani said. In our view, the productive and exemplary Iranian community in Canada has every right to enjoy easy and

8 accessible consular services where they live and Canadian government is definitely in a position to show this courtesy to Iranian- Canadians, he said, noting that Germany and Italy are among the countries that allow Iranian consulates outside their respective capitals. The Canadian government, however, prohibits Iran from opening consulates outside Ottawa under its Controlled Engagement policy, which limits contact between the two governments and also prevents the establishment of direct air links between the countries due to strained diplomatic relations. In 2005, Canada limited communication with Iran to four subjects: human rights, the country s nuclear program, Iran s role in the region and the case of Canadian Zahra Kazemi, who was beaten to death in an Iranian prison in Since then, Canada has implemented several rounds of sanctions against Iran, both under UN auspices and independently, over the nuclear issue. The Iranian embassy in Ottawa is lobbying the Canadian government for a change to the law. Reaction to the prospect of an Iranian consulate in Vancouver is likely to be mixed among the community, depending on the reason they left Iran, said Sonja Be, a Canadian of Iranian descent who lives in Vancouver and runs a news website. It s a touchy subject. Iranians that live here are here for different reasons, but I think they left Iran and moved here for a better life and maybe... [to be] farther away from the Iranian government. So, to bring them here in our own back yard, it s almost like a ghost that s following you. For some people, she said, adding that she couldn t speak for all Iranians. But she said it s also important to have a balanced perspective on the issue. If this service is going to help people like the international students... then maybe that s something worth looking into and seeing if, for them, it s easier for them to travel back to Iran with [the consulate] here. That could be a benefit. Local Iranians should be polled anonymously on whether they want a consulate here, Be said. Vancouver immigration lawyer Zool Suleman said he has many clients who are frustrated at the delays associated with dealing with the Iranian embassy in Ottawa, especially if they need something done relatively quickly. The three-hour time difference also poses challenges for locals trying to contact the embassy during business hours, Suleman said. The federal foreign affairs ministry did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun