Canada Opposition Leader Denies Role In Visa Case Of Iran Speaker’s Son

Canada's Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 19, 2023.
Canada's Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 19, 2023.

The office of Pierre Poilievre, Canadian lawmaker and the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, has told Iran International that he has provided no recommendation letter in support of granting visa to the son of Iran’s parliament speaker.

Earlier in the week, a Canadian Federal Court document emerged on social media indicating that in 2022, Es’haq Ghalibaf, the son of Iran’s parliament speaker and former IRGC commander, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, filed for the judicial review of the processing time of his immigration application and the federal court ruled that his application should be granted.

The document also revealed that Polivier's office made "repeated inquiries" about the progress of his application. They were unsubstantiated reports that the lawmaker provided him with a recommendation letter. Many Iranians have demanded an explanation from Poilievre, questioning why the lawmaker intervened in this case.

Poilievre’s office rejected the allegation about a recommendation letter, saying “no offers or letters of support were ever provided” for Es’haq Ghalibaf.

“In this case, a constituent inquired about the status of an application on behalf of the applicant [Es’haq Ghalibaf], which the office provided as it would for hundreds of other cases for the over 130,000 residents which it serves. This is a normal and routine function of a constituency office and had absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the case,” the office added.

“Conservatives continue to be very concerned about Canada being used as a safe haven for associates of the regime in Tehran to hide,” the office stressed, further urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action against the agents of the Iranian regime who “harass, intimidate, and coerce” Canadian citizens with impunity.

Poilievre is a staunch critics of the Islamic Republic in Canada and has supported the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.