MONTREAL - Quebec could lose millions of dollars of investments due to the latest Canadian sanctions against Iran, which halts the flow of migrant investors, experts said Tuesday.
In November, Canada imposed its third round of sanctions against Tehran since July amid renewed suspicion over its nuclear program. The measures target "virtually all transactions" with Iran.
Although there are exemptions to the rule, it has effectively barred Iranians seeking to immigrate to Canada from sending funds here as they cannot open a Canadian bank account, Montreal lawyer Vincent Valai told AFP.
But Iranians are the second-biggest group of immigrant investors after the Chinese in Canada. According to data in the French-speaking province of Quebec alone, they made 1,659 applications in 2010, compared to 5,999 for Chinese nationals.
Attorney Eiman Sadegh of Industrielle Alliance said that each immigrant entrepreneur brings capital allowing him to invest a total of Can$800,000 ($784,000) over five years with a bank loan as part of a government program.
But on December 22, Quebec's Immigration Ministry said it would no longer receive applications from potential investor immigrants as it awaits more details on the federal government's response.
Banks, meanwhile, have indicated they would no longer open accounts for Iranian immigrants, and thus would no longer offer them loans.
"There are many concerns among the Iranian community," said Sadegh, warning the new rules could also hit Canadian firms exporting and importing products from Iran as well as Iranian families with children studying in Canada who have no ties with the Tehran regime.