Souri

CALL FOR AN AUDIT OF THE
CANADIAN EMBASSY IN IRAN

Montréal- September 30th 2008—Persian lawyer association of Quebec (AJPQ) has asked the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to conduct an evaluation and audit of the visa section of the Canadian Embassy in Tehran, following a number of complaints with regards to
abusive treatments of temporary visa applications.

AJPQ has been contacted by Canadian citizens wishing to denounce the abusive treatment their family members have been
subjected to while submitting an application for a visitor visa for Canada at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran.

Even though the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Act names the facilitation of the temporary entry of visitors as one of its objectives, it seems that immigration agents at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran do not process applications in a fair and equitable fashion, and thus violate the most fundamental rights of the applicants.

AJPQ accepts the premise that guaranteeing the security of Canadian is a noble and worthy cause. However we must not sacrifice in the process, the fundamental pillars of the rule of law by processing visa applications submitted in Iran and elsewhere unfairly. Refusing visa applications without even meeting with the applicants or requesting supplementary information and documents in no way secures our borders and our society, but constitutes a blatant violation of the
right to equitable treatment.

Although the Minister’s own directives require that visa applications be processed with the highest priority within the existing constraints, this process is lengthy and can take a few months and
often times applications are refused without interview and with arbitrary
motives. Moreover the processing of these applications completely disregards
the fundamental principle of uniformity in the application of the law.

AJPQ therefore asks the Minister of Immigration to hold an inquiry and evaluation of the visa section of the Canadian Embassy
in Tehran as soon as possible, and to adopt measures
ensuring that the processing of applications will be conducted fairly and in
accordance with the law.

Constacts :

ajpq.qc.ca

Vincent VALAI, ESQ.

Nima HEJAZI, ESQ.

Tel : 514 954 9998