Appreciation for ending the mistreatment of Iranians at the Canadian embassy in Tehran

The Honourable Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1

Dear Minister Kenney:
As an immigration consultant (CSIC Member:084774) dealing with mainly Iranians applying to immigrate to Canada, it is with great pleasure that I would like to congratulate you on dealing firmly and decisively with the problems Iranians for the past few years have had experienced at the Canadian embassy in Tehran. As you are surely aware of the growing concerns of Canadian citizens of Iranian decent reflected in the media and also through a petition with over 3000 signatures sent to your office, were all due to the unfair and unjust treatment their families and friends were receiving from the embassy employees especially during the 2008 summer. Too many visa applications were turned down which was unprecedented and mostly incoherent reasons were provided.

It has been brought to my attention by my clients and others that the visa office in Tehran is now treating fairly and justly all applicants, e.g. students coming to study in Canadian universities, parents travelling to visit their children and grand children, and tourists to discover the beauty of Canada or people traveling to explore the business opportunities with Canadian partners. They are now all receiving the warm welcome from the visa office employees which is representative of what the true Canadian tradition and values stand for regardless of how the local conditions might be. It would be hard to portray Canada as it really is while the embassy, which is the front end, does not showcase it overtly.

I would like to thank you again on behalf of thousands of Iranians inside Canada and in Iran whose lives are kindly touched by your actions.

Yours sincerely,

Ali Mokhtari, LLB, LLM, CCIC

CEO of CanPars Immigration Services, Inc.