Juno News - Senior Iranian regime officials are fleeing to Canada？

00:00:00.000 Quebec announced it will be jailing inmates according to their anatomical sex instead of

00:00:10.280 an inmate's preferred gender identity. Reports of Iranian officials seeking refuge in Canada

00:00:16.600 sparks outrage and calls for deportations. Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced

00:00:21.480 new retaliatory tariffs against American steel. Hello Canada, it's Friday, June 20th,

00:00:28.020 and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin Gerja. And I'm Clayton Demain. We've got you

00:00:33.380 covered with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True

00:00:38.480 North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else. Quebec will now house transgender inmates in

00:00:47.320 provincial jails according to their anatomical sex under a new directive the province says is meant

00:00:54.000 to improve safety and fairness in detention facilities. Public Security Minister Francois

00:01:00.960 Bonardel announced on Wednesday that the change will apply across all provincial correctional

00:01:06.980 institutions. Bonardel said, quote, with this new orientation, the Quebec government is ensuring

00:01:13.140 equity in the treatment of all inmates in Quebec. Safety must always come first for the benefit of

00:01:19.060 correctional correctional officers, our fellow citizens and incarcerated people. Under the previous

00:01:24.980 policy, transgender inmates could request placement in a facility matching their gender identity.

00:01:31.480 The government says this allowed for requests by inmates who had not undergone total gender

00:01:36.520 surgery and created complications for inmates safety and reintegration. The change follows Muhammad 1.00

00:01:42.580 al-Balouz being sentenced to life in prison in 2023 with no chance of parole for 25 years after

00:01:50.200 murdering his wife and two children. The mother was stabbed 23 times in the incident. He subsequently

00:01:56.020 began identifying as a woman and was held at a women's detention center before eventually being 0.50

00:02:01.340 transferred to a men's prison. According to the government, the new approach will still include

00:02:06.660 case-by-case evaluations upon intake to determine how best to ensure the safety of all inmates. The

00:02:13.740 province said that despite the stricter placement criteria, accommodations will still be made for

00:02:20.240 transgender inmates where appropriate. Quebec's Minister of Public Security added that transgender

00:02:26.000 inmates were previously sometimes isolated from the general population in their living area

00:02:32.300 and during social reintegration programs and services. According to the Ministry, correctional

00:02:38.220 officers will be provided training and best practice guides to inform them about sexual and gender

00:02:44.180 diversity and LGBTQ rights. Quebec's correctional system houses individuals awaiting trial or serving

00:02:51.160 sentences under two years. Longer sentences fall under federal jurisdiction. As of June 13th, there were six

00:02:58.240 self-identified transgender inmates in provincial custody representing about 0.1% of the inmate

00:03:05.040 population. Federal correctional policy still allows for inmate placement based on gender identity,

00:03:11.200 not anatomical sex. Quebec's new rules apply only to provincial jails under its jurisdiction.

00:03:17.220 There are several women's groups in Canada that have been outspoken against the presence of biological

00:03:23.800 males who claim to be transgender women being allowed into women's prisons. And this is happening at the 0.64

00:03:31.440 federal level as well. It's not just the provincial level. The federal government is in charge of prisons

00:03:38.300 across the country. And there are several inmates who are currently housed in men's prisons at that level.

00:03:46.040 But this seems to be a positive step, at least for Quebec. Is this going to satisfy women who are concerned

00:03:53.480 about this issue? And is it a step in the right direction that might translate other provinces following

00:04:00.860 suit or the federal government doing so? Yeah, Cosmin. So this move is absolutely going to be viewed by

00:04:07.180 many of those women's rights advocates who are opposed to trans identifying males in female prisons

00:04:13.520 as a step in the right direction. Though obviously, it's not entirely what a lot of those activists

00:04:19.880 are wanting. Simply having breasts from hormone therapy, for example, will not be enough to be 0.62

00:04:26.400 considered an anatomical sex as according to this law. So I'm sure this will satisfy a lot of activists

00:04:36.400 as a key argument against males in female prisons is that they still have male genitals and are more 1.00

00:04:42.800 likely and capable of, you know, sexually abusing other inmates. But that isn't the only reason people

00:04:49.660 take issue with transgender males entering women jails. Another point that is often brought up

00:04:54.640 is the likelihood for male inmates to be violent and the higher likelihood that males are violent in

00:05:00.520 general, and the average strength differences between people who went through male puberty and

00:05:06.300 those who haven't. This new law is a sure way to curve those concerns of people who are worried that

00:05:12.280 some individuals lie about their gender identity to have a safer environment in prison only to victimize

00:05:18.280 other inmates. I'd wager most males who are simply pretending to believe they are women are likely not

00:05:25.620 going to want to remove their genitals for the ruse. 1.00

00:05:31.820 Israeli media reports alleging that senior Iranian regime officials are attempting to seek asylum in

00:05:38.420 Canada in the wake of Israeli military strikes have ignited a storm of criticism, sparking calls for

00:05:44.760 deportations from conservative leader Pierre Polyev. Laura Sellier, the host of Middle East Now on I-24 News

00:05:51.900 English, announced Tuesday that top Iranian officials were reportedly fleeing Iran and seeking asylum in

00:05:59.440 Canada as Israel carries out offensive strikes. Casey Babb, a senior fellow at the McDonnell-Laurier

00:06:06.020 Institute, suggested senior Iranian officials may be attempting to do so as, quote,

00:06:11.360 their former colleagues have already made it to Canada. Former IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus

00:06:17.760 echoed Babs' analysis and alleged that Canada has become, quote, maybe one of the worst places in the

00:06:23.980 West for Jews and that Canada has, quote, no political will to actually defend itself. Polyev called for their 1.00

00:06:31.320 immediate deportations on X, saying, quote, thugs from the Iranian regime hiding in Canada must be deported

00:06:38.180 and we must stop any more from entering our country now that they are fleeing defeat in the Middle East. 0.70

00:06:44.640 As True North reported in January, Iranian Canadians have been sounding the alarm about Canada giving safe

00:06:51.260 haven to regime officials. Salman Seema, a survivor of torture and a staunch advocate for a free Iran,

00:06:58.160 told True North that hundreds of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members have been reported in Canada

00:07:04.420 re-traumatizing many members of Iran's refugee diaspora. He said that the Canadian government

00:07:10.960 needs to do more to ensure human rights violators and dictatorship officials do not have a haven in

00:07:17.080 Canada. Seema added that Canadians who side with the Islamic regime and protest Israel's attack on

00:07:23.520 Iranian officials are no friends of the Iranian people. As reported by True North, the PS-752 flight

00:07:30.820 shot down over Tehran in 2020 killed 176, including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

00:07:39.160 Rebecca Purdy, a senior spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency, told True North that

00:07:45.200 several factors affect the ability to remove a person from Canada, which stand in the way of immediate

00:07:52.560 deportations, including subsequent applications an individual can make, such as the pre-removal risk

00:07:59.300 assessment applications. She said that, quote, most of the data the agency has on the Islamic

00:08:05.380 Revolutionary Guard Corps and Islamic regime asylum claims comes from data reported as of June 6,

00:08:12.840 2025, before Israel began bombing Iran. According to the report, the agency had reviewed 17,800 applicants

00:08:21.680 for potential inadmissibility in connection with the Iranian regime. As of that date, 20 senior officials

00:08:28.780 of the Islamic regime in Iran have been found inadmissible to Canada by the CBSA. The CBSA further

00:08:36.120 explained that 19 senior officials were already in Canada, with one having been deported so far and

00:08:43.340 another being denied entry. So, Cosmin, there's a lot of talk online about the Iranian-Israeli conflict

00:08:49.660 and what that means in terms of national defense and security concerns for the Western world at large.

00:08:56.580 How much of a security threat is Iran and their pro-regime expatriates to Canada? 0.98

00:09:03.240 Well, it's a national security threat from many perspectives, including intelligence gathering.

00:09:09.860 We know that there are Islamic regime officials already in Canada. They have family members in

00:09:16.600 Canada, and they have associates within Canada, and who knows how much information is being passed on to

00:09:22.980 the Iranian government. And on top of that, the government refuses to enforce its foreign agent registry,

00:09:30.660 which would not solve this problem, but it would at least create a resource where people are required to register

00:09:40.400 when they're acting on behalf of foreign governments. And if there's Iranian agents within Canada,

00:09:46.740 the Canadian public deserves to know that. But the added issue is the fact that it's just such a stain

00:09:54.180 on Canada's reputation. We allow war criminals to roam freely in this country. And this isn't the first 0.98

00:10:03.800 time. It might be news right now. But Canada has a history of allowing people who were involved in

00:10:11.340 heinous activities in war in other countries, even in World War Two, we know that the Canadian government

00:10:18.460 continues to hide the names of former SS members, particularly those who were involved in the Ukrainian

00:10:29.900 branch of the SS that was associated with Nazi Germany from the public. They don't want to be culpable

00:10:38.980 for the amount of individuals who made it to Canada and continue to live freely. And it's not just as far

00:10:45.980 back as World War Two. There was a story in 2020, an individual by the name of Bill Horace, who was a ex-Liberian

00:10:57.220 warlord accused of massacres and recruiting child soldiers. He was murdered in his home in London, Ontario,

00:11:05.460 in June 2020. Now, this individual was allowed to live freely. He wasn't charged for any of the suspected crimes he

00:11:16.460 committed while in Liberia. And there are other cases as well. For example, currently Hassan Diab, who is a

00:11:24.460 sociology professor at the University of Ottawa, was convicted in absentia in a Paris court of a suspected terrorist attack,

00:11:34.460 terrorist attack in the 1980s, where a synagogue was bombed, and it killed four people. Now, Diab denies

00:11:43.460 being involved in that. But this is the case where we have people who are suspected of committing crimes,

00:11:49.460 terrorism, war crimes in other countries, continuing to live a life as free individuals in Canada. Now, I'm sure the

00:11:59.460 Canadian government is aware of allegations against these people. I mean, they have to be but they decide

00:12:06.460 to not do anything or investigate further, or potentially remove these individuals so that they

00:12:12.460 can face prosecution where these crimes were alleged to have been committed.

00:12:18.460 Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new retaliatory tariff rate for steel imports as Canadian negotiators

00:12:27.460 aim to reach a trade deal with US counterparts in the next 30 days. Carney gave a press conference on

00:12:33.460 Thursday outlining the status of negotiations and announcing the new measures which are scheduled to

00:12:39.460 be reviewed in 30 days and extended if a deal isn't reached within the month. Carney said, quote,

00:12:45.460 We will take the time we need to negotiate the best deal for Canada, but no longer. In parallel, we are ensuring

00:12:52.460 the workers and industries are protected from the unjust US tariffs. Canada will adjust or back off from the

00:12:58.460 counter tariffs on July 21st pending the results. Carney also announced his intention to implement reciprocal

00:13:04.460 procurement rules by June 30th limiting access to federal procurement of steel and aluminum to only

00:13:12.460 Canadian producers or tariff-free trading partners. The new tariff rate quota of 100% of 2024 levels on

00:13:20.460 imports of steel products from non-free trade agreement partners was also announced. The government will create

00:13:26.460 two stakeholder task forces, one for steel and another for aluminum, to convene committees to monitor trade and

00:13:33.460 market trends supporting government decision making. The final announcement from Carney's press remarks

00:13:39.460 included a $10 billion large enterprise tariff loan facility which eligible large businesses can use to access

00:13:46.460 liquidity when struggling. When Carney was asked about his goal in the near future, the Prime Minister said, quote,

00:13:53.460 We need to have ready access to US markets for Canadian companies, not have our hand tied in terms of our dealings with the

00:14:00.460 rest of the world. The American tariffs first came on March 4th after brief delays due to increased attention to

00:14:06.460 border security related matters amounting to a 25% across the board on Canadian products and 10% on energy and critical

00:14:14.460 minerals. Canada then responded in turn with 25% tariffs on around $30 billion worth of American goods. On the one hand, you had the

00:14:23.460 Carney government essentially exempt a large portion of the retaliatory tariffs of the goods swept up by the

00:14:32.460 retaliatory tariffs introduced by Canada by him and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before him. But now he's

00:14:39.460 introduced this new, or rather he's upped the quota on this new steel tariff, given this 30 day timeline to reach this deal. Now that was

00:14:49.460 Now that was actually announced earlier when he met with Trump at the G7. Trump was questioned how long this

00:14:57.460 deal would take and they both essentially agreed that it's going to be a 30 day timeline before there's any

00:15:02.460 answers as to what it might look like. So, Clayton, how is this announcement, this new, I guess, increase to the steel

00:15:11.460 tariffs going to affect negotiations with the United States and potentially determine the new trade deal?

00:15:21.460 Well, other than Carney's tariff hike being vague, not defining how much the counter tariffs will rise beyond the

00:15:27.460 current 25%, the indication that Carney would be willing to back off counter tariffs could indicate to the US that

00:15:34.460 Canada is ready and willing to make a deal like other countries faced with tariff threats. But dropping those tariffs are conditional,

00:15:42.460 so it's still a signal that Canada is going to retaliate towards Trump's increasing tariffs. But so far, after more than a month in

00:15:50.460 power, we've seen the elbows up Prime Minister take increasing blows from Trump and not much fighting back. He has, however, increased diplomatic and

00:16:00.460 economic ties with other countries outside of Canada, however, so maybe that'll play a role in the US if

00:16:06.460 they think that Canada can just export to other countries. But the tit for tat dollar for dollar tariff

00:16:12.460 plan is always going to disproportionately harm Canada, who relies on exporting to the US at a far greater rate than the

00:16:20.460 US economy relies on exports to Canada. Bloc Quebecois leader Francois Blanchet called out Carney just on Wednesday saying

00:16:28.460 that he's flip flopped on the counter tariff issue, just like you were mentioning at the top there that

00:16:34.460 he's quietly removed these counter tariffs during the election. And he also criticized Carney for being

00:16:42.460 a candidate who said he was, you know, there for the crisis. The crisis seems to be unsolvable at this point. And

00:16:50.460 Carney said that there was going to be a deal between the two countries by the G7 and we're now past the G7.

00:16:56.460 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by subscribing to the Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit us with a five star rating and please leave a review.

00:17:16.460 We'll see you next time.

Juno News - June 20, 2025

Senior Iranian regime officials are fleeing to Canada？

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