RCH_N_JUL26

Page 11

BY KIM ZARZOUR

kzarzour@yrmg.com

An Ontario lawyer said this week he is planning to challenge the constitutionality of TD bank account closures affecting Iranian-Canadian customers. The bank has closed the accounts of some ex-pats in a bid to comply with new government sanctions forbidding Canadian financial institutions from providing financial services to anyone in Iran or for the benefit of Iran. The sanctions are intended to hamper the Iranian government’s nuclear program and to protest the regime’s record on human rights. The move left many Iranian-Canadians scrambling to make alternative arrangements and complaining that they were unfairly targeted. Emir Crowne, an associate professor with the faculty of law at the University of Windsor, said he intends to represent affected individuals by challenging the constitutionality of the regulations in federal court. He said Monday he hopes to have something filed with the appropriate court or tribunal by the end of next week. The Iranian Canadian Congress, meanwhile, has discussed the issue with TD officials and plans to investigate the possibility of holding public forums to explain the situation to members of the community. Some ex-pats have called the bank move racist and a witch hunt, organizing a Facebook site and petition calling for the boycott and denouncement of TD Canada Trust. “If TD wants to stop the flow of money to

Canada by Iranian officials or people connected to the government of Iran there are better ways to do so without penalizing many innocent people,� Thornhill’s Sia Mansouri wrote on the online petition. Best-selling author and Aurora resident Marina Nemat, who was born in Tehran and spent more than two years in a political prison there, announced on Facebook that she has pulled her money from TD and asked followers to do the same, saying that while she supports sanctions against Iran, “closing people’s bank accounts only because of the place of their birth is against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and destroys innocent lives.� Richmond Hill resident Saeed Soltanpour said he is considering organizing a class-action lawsuit, saying that while he is against money laundering (by the Iranian regime), the Canadian government should meet with members of the Iranian community to work out a solution that doesn’t impact innocent newcomers. �We need to have a town hall meeting to tell the community that this is the problem, we have to find the solution, the past is gone, let’s work together.� He accused Richmond Hill MPP Reza Moridi of failing to support the large Iranian ex-pat community in south York Region and described the MPP’s letter to the president and CEO of TD Bank Group “crocodile tears�. Mr. Moridi, who was born in Iran, sent a letter to TD suggesting the government directives may have been misinterpreted. “Iranians living in Canada have come here to escape oppression and have already endured

hardship and loss by the regime in Iran,� he wrote. “Causing further strain for them for the indiscretions of the people in power in their homeland is not who we are as Canadians.� Mr. Moridi said he and his staff have been working hard on the issue, and he has received countless emails from across the country thanking him for his support. “I am MPP for Richmond Hill, not MPP for Iranians in the whole country,� he said. “This is not an easy issue. We know there are people here who are directly connected to the Iranian regime and sympathetic to the regime. But there are also many Iranians who come to this country because of the existence

of the regime.� He said many retired here and depend on their pension or other income from Iran, but may have given TD their former Iran address — something he explained to bank officials and the bank has promised to address. Tim Hockey, president and CEO of TD Canada Trust, met with the Canadian Iranian Congress last week and the congress’ vicepresident Kaveh Shahrooz said the bank recognizes the process was flawed and promised to re-consider activating some accounts. “It’s an important first step but the issue is not completely resolved,� he said. “We are happy someone at the CEO level met with us on this, showing they’re taking it seriously.�

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‘I am MPP for Richmond Hill, not all Iranians,’ Moridi

11, The Liberal, Thursday, July 26, 2012

Legal challenges brew against bank closing Iranian accounts

NS

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