Trudeau tells Iran crash vigil he will pursue ‘justice and accountability’

Justin Trudeau, his voice sometimes breaking, has told a vigil for some of those killed in an Iranian plane disaster that he would “pursue justice and accountability” for what happened.

Iran says it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner on Wednesday, killing 176 people. At least 57 Canadians died, most of them of Iranian descent, in one of the biggest single losses of life Canada has suffered in 40 years.

“You may feel unbearably lonely, but you are not alone. Your entire country stands with you, tonight, tomorrow, and in all the years to come,” Canada’s prime minister told a crowd of 1,700 in a basketball gymnasium in Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday. Edmonton was home to 13 of the victims, with most having direct links to the University of Alberta.

As Trudeau spoke, young children could be heard in the audience, and boxes of tissues were passed among those present. Black-rimmed photos of the dead stood on the stage, where mourners had placed rose petals, candles and plates of dates.

“This tragedy should have never occurred, and I want to assure you that you have my full support during this extraordinarily difficult time … you give us purpose to pursue justice and accountability for you,” Trudeau said. “We will not rest until there are answers.”

Family and friends wept and hugged before the vigil started.

“Still I’m in shock, still I can’t believe it,” said Vahid Rezania, a friend of Edmonton engineering professor Pedram Mousavi, who was killed. “I am always thinking: ‘He is going to come. This hasn’t happened.’ It is very hard to accept.”

Alberta’s premier, Jason Kenney, a prominent political Trudeau foe, lamented an “epic demonstration of human folly” and told the vigil he had confidence the prime minister would give his all to find out what happened.

Edmonton’s Iranian community is collecting funds to pay funeral and other expenses for the victims’ families.

Earlier in the day about 2,000 people packed into a Toronto university hall, voicing grief and rage. “There is no justice in this world,” said Masoud Niknam, mourning his brother Farhad, a dentist and married father of two children.

“I don’t believe in anything anymore. We will have a hole in our hearts forever and that cannot be filled with anything.”

The memorials follow several days of grief in Canada, including candlelight vigils in many cities.

Fati Mortazavi, whose best friend died in the crash, said having a community come together helped her cope with the tragedy.

“It’s so comforting for us,” said Mortazavi. “As long as we know that someone cares for these people, that’s so important for us.”

Deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland attended the vigil in Toronto and said the loss goes well beyond the university.

“This is Toronto’s loss, this is Ontario’s loss and this is Canada’s loss,” an emotional Freeland told the vigil. Nothing will ever replace these brilliant lives that have been cut short. We will always … bear these scars.”

Three members of Canada’s standing rapid deployment team arrived Saturday in Iran to establish a base of operations for the Canadian government in the wake of the crash.

Foreign affairs minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Sunday that Iran has approved visas for six more members of the team, who are currently in Ankara, Turkey, as well as for two experts from the Transportation Safety Board.

The eight are to travel to Iran on Monday, Champagne said in a series of tweets.

A spokesman for Champagne said the officials “will be there to provide consular assistance to the families of the victims, including supporting repatriation of remains, to help identify victims and to assist in the investigation.”

Canada’s Transportation Board said on Sunday it also plans to deploy a second team of investigators who specialise in aircraft recorder download and analysis.