In a statement to the Canadian Senate, Senator Mobina Jaffer related how Iranian authorities conducted a series of coordinated raids on 30 Baha'i homes, confiscated computers and papers, and arrested the 16 Baha'is most closely involved with the organization of the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education. "We as Canadians can be proud that prestigious Canadian universities have admitted Baha'i Institute graduates into postgraduate programs where they have excelled. We also can be dismayed that Iran refuses to recognize these Canadian degrees when the graduates return to Iran," said Senator Jaffer. The Canadian government "has identified religious freedom as a key element of its foreign policy," she said. "The ongoing persecution of the Baha'i of Iran underlies its necessity, and I respectfully suggest that our government urgently assist the Baha'is of Iran."