EDITORIAL: Let’s hope Trudeau follows through on Iran motion vote

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprising policy reversal on Tuesday afternoon when he rose alongside the Liberal cabinet to vote in favour of a Conservative motion condemning the Iranian regime.

The motion, put forward by Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, called for the government to cease restoring relations with Iran, calls for the release of Canadians detained in Iran and seeks to have the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) designated a terrorist entity.

It’s a complete about-face from Trudeau’s previous policy of cozying up to Iran, something he’d even campaigned on. For the past two years, the Liberals have faced Conservative opposition as well as lobbying from Iranian dissidents to not follow through on this pledge.

The Liberals appear to have taken them up on that offer. And it was the right thing to do.

While the Iranian people deserve liberty and economic prosperity, they are not getting that while living under the current harsh regime. They are the first who will say this. Iranians are now frequently taking to the streets to protest their own government.

Many of them supported President Donald Trump’s decision to step away from the nuclear deal, which brought cash infusions for the IRGC but not the regular folks.

It’s unclear exactly why Trudeau made this decision and why he’s made it now. A government official told the National Post it had to do with the detention of Canadian-Iranian citizen Maryam Mombeini.

It could also be because Trump has urged other countries to get on the same page as the U.S. and to stop their companies from doing business with Iran.

Whatever the reason, Trudeau’s vote was a wise one. Similarly to how former PM Brian Mulroney declined to do business with South Africa while under apartheid, Canada should not engage with Iran as if they are on equal footing.

That said, Public Safety Canada has suggested to the Sun that the government may not in fact be listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity.

This calls into question why Trudeau voted the way he did and whether this gesture – which is all a motion vote amounts to – will translate into action.

Let’s hope Trudeau follows through.