This past fall, Jowhari sponsored an e-petition organized by the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) urging the government to re-open the embassy and re-establish relations.

The petition was based on community consultation by the ICC, Jowhari said.

“What I’m hearing is a lot of people are saying the first step should be opening of the consular section of the embassy.”

The Iranian-born MP also travelled in November to Vancouver to discuss the petition with Iranian-Canadians there and met with a parliamentary delegation from Iran at his local constituency office, where they reportedly discussed a Canada-Iran parliamentary friendship group, urban development, Canada’s parliamentary system and air safety.

Critics question whether the federal government was aware of the meeting.

Spokesperson Kristine Racicot said Global Affairs Canada, the country’s lead agency for foreign affairs, was not involved, that the meeting was requested by the delegation.

Jowhari said the Iranians wanted to meet with him "as a parliamentarian with a significant diaspora." Having a dialogue does not mean agreeing, he added.

“It just means we are sitting at the same table and working on understanding the issues and we as Canadians have serious concerns. If we don’t tell them, who will?”

It's not the first time Jowhari has faced controversy. He was criticized for incorrectly claiming professional credentials and apologized for one of those misstatements in November.

This time, Jowhari’s actions have infuriated and frightened some Iranians who have sought refuge in Canada.

“He is getting everyone worried,” said Richmond Hill resident Hamid Gharajeh. “We escaped the atrocities and now we see all those elements following us here. He is opening the door to elements who can come here and spy on our people. It is a matter of life and death for their families in Iran and they don’t know what to do because they can’t speak out.”

"It’s especially dangerous for those who go back and forth to Iran or who have family members there," said Shiravand, who came to Canada as a refugee in 1989. Shiravand said his mother and brother were arrested for their political activities in Iran and he has become active in investigating concerns about safety for expats. But he says he is in the minority, that most are afraid to criticize the Iran government.

In an open letter to the MP, Sima Tajdini, former board member of the ICC and chairperson of the its human rights committee, questioned whether Jowhari addressed human rights violations when he met with the Iranians.

Jowhari said human rights was one of the main topics of discussion.

“Don’t you think I wasn’t fearful, meeting with these guys? But I am proud that I sat down and looked them in their eyes and told them what I just told you ... Who better to talk with them about this than a parliamentarian who has been in the country?”

Thornhill MP Peter Kent, the Conservative critic of foreign affairs, said he sympathizes with residents’ concerns.

Soon after Jowhari’s pro-embassy petition was launched, Kent organized a counterpetition arguing against re-establishing relations, but it secured only 607 signatures, far fewer than the 15,781 on Jowhari’s petition. Kent says many expats are afraid to sign a document speaking out against the regime, concerned their identities would be revealed and relatives still living in Iran punished in reprisal.

“The fact that (Jowhari) has instigated a petition raises a lot of questions,” agreed Farrokh Zandi, a professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business and former president of the Iranian-Canadian Congress. “It indicates he is not familiar with the parliamentary process in Canada, or something more, or both.

“And going to Vancouver, which is so out of his way for a Richmond Hill politician, at the very least leaves a bad taste.”

Local MPP Reza Moridi, an Iranian-Canadian, is also bothered by what he sees.

“The community at large should be concerned if he is supposed to be representing the people of Richmond Hill, to be their voice in Ottawa and instead he is lobbying with the Iranian regime.”

It is unusual for a politician to lobby his own government in the interest of a foreign country, Moridi said.

“The federal government is already conducting negotiations, working on the issue of establishing diplomatic relations. He should leave it to the foreign office; it’s a very complex issue with difficult negotiations ahead.”

If Jowhari wants to do something good for Iranian-Canadians, Moridi said, “he should be pressuring Iran, not his own government and party.”