MPs condemn alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Irwin Cotler

OTTAWA — The House of Commons on Monday condemned an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler.

MPs in the House unanimously supported a Bloc Québécois motion saluting Cotler’s human rights work and recognizing his political contributions, and condemning what it termed death threats orchestrated by agents of a foreign regime.

The Globe and Mail first reported that the RCMP warned Cotler on Oct. 26 that there was an imminent threat of assassination within 48 hours, and then later said the threat against him had been significantly lowered.

It said Cotler, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, has been under RCMP protection since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Cotler’s office confirmed the Globe and Mail reporting to the Canadian Press.

Defence Minister Bill Blair told reporters on Monday that Canada’s national security and law enforcement agencies “do an appropriate and necessary job of protecting all Canadians, in particular parliamentarians and former parliamentarians.”

He said those agencies requested “we not comment on any particular investigation or effort that they’re undertaking.”

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne pledged to give Cotler “all the protection that the government of Canada can offer.”

The RCMP declined to comment on the case Monday. It said it bases protective measures on threat and risk assessments but does not confirm whether individuals are under protection or provide details about those measures.

Bloc MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe said in a statement to the House that Cotler “incurred the wrath of the Iranian regime” by calling for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be listed as a terrorist entity. The government did so in June, following months of mounting political pressure.

Brunelle-Duceppe also condemned the “growing temptation of foreign powers to commit political assassinations on Canadian and Quebec soil.”

In a statement Monday, B’nai Brith Canada called the plot an “assault on Canada’s democratic values and sovereignty” and said it should serve as a wake-up call.

“Canada must act now to confront extremism, mitigate foreign interference, and protect its citizens from those who seek to undermine the sanctity of our democracy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press