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Although the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) once recruited teens in Canada and was behind the 1992 storming of the Iranian embassy in Ottawa, it has now become the first group to be taken off the federal government’s list of outlawed terrorist entities.

The announcement by Vic Toews, the Public Safety Minister, means it is no longer a criminal offence to fund or otherwise support the MEK, which ran a branch office in Canada until it was outlawed in 2005 by the Liberal government of the day.

Mr. Toews offered no explanation for the decision.

“As recommendations to remove a specific entity are based on classified information, we cannot provide specific details. However, we can tell you that the recommendation is in line with similar actions recently taken by the USA and EU,” said Julie Carmichael, the Minister’s communications director.

At the same time that it de-listed a foe of the Iranian regime, the government added a pro-regime group to the list: the Quds Force, the clandestine branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that arms, funds and trains extremist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

Canada will not tolerate terrorist activities

The listing of terrorist groups makes it easier for prosecutors to lay criminal charges against operatives in Canada. Forty-four terrorist groups, ranging from al-Qaeda to the Jewish extremist group Kahane Chai are now on the list.

“The list of terrorist entities sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate terrorist activities, including terrorist financing, or those who support such activities,” Mr. Toews said, calling the move a “principled decision.”