A national fundraiser for relatives of the Canada-bound victims of a flight shot down by the Iranian military last month has exceeded the $3 million target as the families continue to demand answers from Iran about what exactly happened that day.

“It’s amazing to see the outburst of support and the fact that all different levels of government are working together in this, business owners, individuals. That is very heartwarming,” said Masoud Niknam, whose brother, Thornhill dentist Farhad Niknam, was killed when the Ukraine International Airlines plane crashed near Tehran.

“It is a major emotional support,” he said. “The only silver lining in this incident is that we realized this is the place to raise our children and the fact that we moved here is one of the best decisions of our lives.”

He says the Canadian government must continue to push for answers and accountability from the Iranian government, which has said the flight was shot down by mistake.

“There are so many questions,” he said. “Everyone is focusing on the black box. My main question is why there is nothing released from the centre that did this.”

Fifty-seven Canadians and 29 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed in the crash of Flight 752. A total of 138 passengers were en route to Canada, including students and professors returning after the winter break.

The fundraising total of $3,293,624.75 was announced by the Canada Strong campaign founder Mohamad Fakih, the Lebanese-Canadian head of Paramount Fine Foods and Fakih Foundation, in front of the mayors of Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton and relatives of some of the crash victims.

Fakih, who was introduced as a man who “works miracles,” said Canadians stepped up and exceeded the call for $1.5 million in donations, which the federal government pledged to match.

“We have wrapped around those in grief and in need of our help and we have shown that together we are Canada Strong,” he said. “It is such a warm feeling when a community comes together.”

After handwriting the final amount onto a giant cheque, Fakih was hugged and thanked by Farhad Niknam’s wife Mozhgan Faghaza.

“Meeting her — she lost her husband and they have two children — it made me really not stop and maybe be a little unapologetic about the way I’m doing it,” Fakih said. “We had to get it done for them.”

Omar Alghabra, the Liberal MP for Mississauga Centre, said the government remains committed to “finding truth, justice and accountability.”

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Mayor John Tory thanked Fakih for creating a way for people to contribute. He said the money will go to meet the short and long-term needs of the relatives of the crash victims, and will now be distributed through a volunteer committee in a similar way to the fund for the Yonge Street van attack victims.

“You have kept your promise,” he said to Fakih. “I think we should be proud of ourselves that we came together and raised this money ... it was the right thing to do.”

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