OTTAWA – The Liberals have launched a scholarship program to commemorate the victims of the Iranian regime-caused crash of flight PS752 in 2020.

The program provides 176 scholarships, one for each of the people who lost their lives when a Ukraine International Airlines plane was shot down outside Tehran.

The victims included 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, many of whom made significant donations to Canadian educational institutions.

The scholarships average $25,000 for each of the 176 students; $4.4 million will be paid out over five years and each scholarship will be named after a victim.

The scholarship was first advertised in January 2022.

Applications for the first round opened on Wednesday and close in 28 days.

Connections to victims

Canadian and international students enrolled in higher education in Canada can apply if their studies focus on air disaster prevention or they are in the same field of study or work as one of the victims.

Global Affairs Canada says it awards approximately 30% of scholarships to Canadian applicants and the remaining 70% to international applicants.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said the scholarship would be given priority to applicants who had family ties to the victims.

“The destruction of Flight PS752 is a human tragedy of immeasurable proportions that claimed the lives of large numbers of academics and students who not only had close ties to Canadian educational institutions, but also made important contributions to Canada,” Ms. Joly said in a press release.

Applicants must write a letter explaining “the connection between their chosen degree and the victims” and “the reasons why they feel connected to the victims.” The letter should also outline how the candidate understands the incident and how they want to contribute to the legacy of those killed.

Joly’s office said Canada is still considering whether to announce a similar program for the victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 after consulting with the relatives of the 18 Canadians who died in the 2019 plane crash related to a technical error during the flight of an aircraft Boeing 737 MAX 8.

International action

Ottawa is part of a consortium of countries trying to hold Iran responsible for the downing of Flight PS752, including through a slow process of taking the case to the International Court of Justice.

Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom have been trying to meet Iranian officials since 2020. They finally had a meeting this week but said Iran denied any legal responsibility.

“It was not possible to make any significant progress. “Iran continues to ignore our demands,” said a summary released by the group on Tuesday.

“Based on the discussions that took place this week, the group believes that our respective positions are too far apart to be reconciled through negotiations.”

The group is therefore continuing its efforts to bring the case to an international tribunal, adding that “full reparation means more than financial compensation.”