We, members of the Iranian community in Canada, are writing with deep concern regarding recent CBC coverage related to protests calling for international action on Iran.

We want to begin by expressing our gratitude to Canada, its people, and its democratic values. Canada has given us the freedom to gather, protest, and raise our voices peacefully—rights denied to our families inside Iran. We recognize the real costs these demonstrations place on public institutions, particularly law enforcement, and we appreciate the professionalism and protection provided.

There are hundreds of thousands of Iranians living in Canada. We study in Canadian universities, work across many sectors, pay taxes, and contribute meaningfully to the social and economic life of this country. Canada is our second home, and we deeply respect it.

This issue is not about U.S. politics, Donald Trump, tariffs, or Canada–U.S. relations. Like many Canadians, we reject authoritarianism and oppose any threat to Canada’s sovereignty. What is happening in Iran is far more urgent.

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Iran.

Thousands of people have been killed, injured, or permanently blinded in a very short period of time. Thousands more have been arrested, tortured, and detained in prisons such as Evin Prison, many facing the imminent risk of execution. Injured protesters have not been safe even inside hospitals.

Iran is effectively under siege. The regime is using its own armed forces and allied foreign militias to suppress an unarmed population. Reports indicate mass killings of over 20,000 civilians, including children and teenagers, within only two days. To conceal these crimes, the government shut down the internet nationwide, hiding the true scale of the massacre.

This is not fiction. It is happening now.

We are united on one truth: this brutal regime must end. The people are unarmed, and under these conditions, meaningful change cannot occur without international intervention. Every day of delay costs lives.

We are marching in Canadian streets for 90 million innocent people held hostage in their own land by a regime that shows no mercy.

Our aim is not confrontation, but to amplify silenced voices.

We call on the United Nations to activate the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) for Iran. This is not a political preference—it is a legal and moral responsibility. If the international community fails to act in the face of mass atrocities, its commitment to human rights loses meaning.

Human rights have no borders.

 
On Media Coverage
Accurate reporting matters in moments like this. Unfortunately, some coverage risks misrepresenting or narrowing the reality of the crisis.

One example is the January 15 episode of CBC’s Power & Politics featuring Mona Ghassemi of the Iranian Canadian Congress. She does not represent the people inside Iran. Organizations of this kind function as lobbyists for the Islamic Republic, promoting carefully framed narratives aligned with the regime.

This concern does not end with one episode or one guest. It reflects a broader pattern in which regime-adjacent voices are platformed without sufficient context, while independent experts, human-rights investigators, and victims’ families are underrepresented.

We respectfully call on CBC to provide follow-up coverage that corrects omissions, restores balance and accountability, and meets the standards expected of public-interest journalism.