"Given the fact that the courts have not decided on a verdict, there is still no conclusive evidence connecting Iran to the shootings in Canada. Unfortunately, the article does not discuss the unconfirmed status of these allegations, but appears to treat them as sufficient evidence to support the article’s thesis, as reflected in the article’s title. While it is possible that it will eventually be determined that Iran is these incidents, reporting this as “likely” based on the evidence to date unfortunately adds fuel to rising Islamophobia in Canada, whose proponents use these anti-Iran conspiracies to normalize and justify anti-Muslim hate."
Mr. Jonathon Gatehouse, Investigative Reporter, CBC News
Basem Boshra, Senior Director of Journalistic Standards & Public Trust, CBC News
Paul Moore, Executive Producer of Programming and Engagement , CBC
Dear Mr. Gatehouse, Mr. Boshra and Mr. Moore,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) regarding the news article that was posted online on October 27, titled Why a spate of gun-for-hire shootings in Toronto were likely paid for by Iran. The article was a print version of a longer video segment broadcast on CBC’s The National.
Our main concern with the article is the misleading headline. To state that the shootings in the Greater Toronto Area were “likely paid for by Iran” is not supported by facts in your article or the video broadcast segment.
What the investigation confirms is that the shootings are linked by a multi-layered gun-for-hire network. Teens have been recruited through encrypted messaging apps to carry out the attacks. The targets of the attacks are local tow truck and waste management disputes, synagogues, Jewish schools and even the US consulate. On the question of foreign involvement, the article and video quote Chief Superintendent Joe Matthews, who is overseeing the Toronto Police Service investigation: "We have heard information that there may be foreign actors that are involved. We are investigating every angle. At this point, I'm not willing to confirm or deny that piece of it.”
What is not established through the facts in the article is any concrete link to Iran. Instead, this appears to be entirely in reference to intelligence reports from Canada (CSIS), the FBI, and the UK, which have raised concerns regarding alleged Iranian-linked plots against Jewish-Canadians. These reports themselves originate from an American federal court complaint which alleges that two attacks in Canada were ordered by an Iraqi national named Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi with potential links to Iran, who had been arrested in Turkey and extradited to the United States. The complaint cites multiple conversations between al-Saadi and an undercover FBI agent. These are allegations based on undercover FBI operations, not criminal findings.
Given the fact that the courts have not decided on a verdict, there is still no conclusive evidence connecting Iran to the shootings in Canada. Unfortunately, the article does not discuss the unconfirmed status of these allegations, but appears to treat them as sufficient evidence to support the article’s thesis, as reflected in the article’s title. While it is possible that it will eventually be determined that Iran is these incidents, reporting this as “likely” based on the evidence to date unfortunately adds fuel to rising Islamophobia in Canada, whose proponents use these anti-Iran conspiracies to normalize and justify anti-Muslim hate.
The CBC has a responsibility to provide accurate and impartial journalism. To suggest in your headline that Iran is “likely” the financier for the shootings is irresponsible reporting that is not supported at this time by the evidence. We ask, in the interest of accurate reporting, that you change the headline of your article to more clearly reflect what the evidence to date confirms.
Sincerely,
Debbie Hubbard
Kelowna, British Columbia