MP Salma Zahid response to CDI Open Letter

Following our open letter to Member of Parliament Salma Zahid regarding concerns raised by members of the Iranian Canadian community, we received the attached response addressing the issues outlined in our correspondence. In the interest of transparency and informed public dialogue, we are publishing Ms. Zahid’s response in full so that members of the community may review her explanations and draw their own conclusions. We appreciate Ms. Zahid’s willingness to respond and engage with the concerns that were brought to her attention. As always, CDI remains committed to fostering respectful dialogue, accountability, and the informed participation of Iranian Canadians in matters of public interest.

 June 1st, 2026

 Hello Dr. Zandi,

Thank you for your note, and the opportunity to provide clarification on this situation.

Allow me to reiterate once more that I did not know this person, their history or their views. They also hid their shirt from me. I am told this person has a history of ambushing politicians in this way.

I was approached by a young girl in a restaurant with my family who asked for a photo, and this person was with her. I took the photo and tried to return to my family.

We did not have a conversation. I think you would agree given his history that he is not a reliable narrator. He spoke, and I tried to politely excuse myself to return to my waiting family.

I have had no conversations with CBSA or Public Safety regarding anything to do with Iran. The IRGC is a banned terrorist group and its members are not admissible to Canada.

You may be familiar with the Muslim Association of Canada, and their concerns about speakers invited to their recent MAC Convention who were stopped from entering Canada due to their statements regarding Palestine and the situation in Gaza. I believe this was the context of his comments.

This issue has been raised with me by a number of my constituents. My concern was to ensure there is and was due process and procedural fairness. What I told both public safety officials and my constituents is that I believe in the need for fairness and evidence-based decision making in these and all cases.

And I emphasized to constituents that CBSA operates independently and is responsible for making admissibility decisions at the border in accordance with Canadian law. Elected officials are not able to influence individual admissibility decisions. This this is how it should and must be.

I trust this provides further helpful clarity.

Yours sincerely,

Salma

Salma Zahid

Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre-Don Valley East