One year after the destruction of Flight PS752, Canada is pursuing the facts on its own, says Goodale

Iran's pattern of behaviour since the destruction ofFlight PS752 by its military has convinced Ottawa it can't trust Tehran's version of events, says the prime minister's special adviser on the crash which is whyRalph Goodale says he'srelying on a specialized team in Canada to chase down the facts.

"We are very sceptical about the Iranian process," the former federal cabinet ministertold CBC News recently. "We're certainly not satisfied with what's been delivered so far by Iran through its investigation.

"The work to get to the truth is difficult. It's painstaking work. But Canada will be absolutely relentless in trying to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."

A year ago, Iran's IslamicRevolutionary Guard Corps shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 inthe skies over Tehran with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all176passengers, including138 people with ties to Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Goodale and Foreign Affairs MinisterFranois-Philippe Champagne metvirtually with the victims'families today for a private memorialceremony.

Canada doesn't have access to the crash site, the evidence gathered by Iranian authorities, witnesses or the accused. But it has created its ownteam, led by a former CSIS director, to try topiece together the sequence of events.

That team's forensic examinationis tapping into all of the government's available intelligence, along withdetective work being done by victims' families in Canada. Many of thosefamily members have been sortingthrough tips, gathering audio recordings from Iranian authoritiesand compilingevidence from a network of sources in Iran.

WATCH: Ralph Goodale on Iranian 'misinformation' aboutPS752crash

Misinformation 'designed to cause anguish' haunts the families of PS752 victims

4 years ago

Duration 1:27

Special adviser to the prime minister Ralph Goodale says misinformation around the downing of flight PS752 last year is debilitating for families and sows doubt about the legitimacy of Irans investigation into what happened.

Crash site bulldozed, belongings missing

Goodale said this work is requiredto fact-check Iran's version of events because Canada has good reasons todoubtIran's credibility and trustworthiness.

Iran originally denied any responsibility for the crash. Only after evidence mounted worldwide did Iranian officials admittheir military "mistakenly" shot down the passenger plane.

Within days, the crash site was bulldozed. Families claim victims' wedding rings, wallets and luggage were looted.Regime officials barred the families from planning their own funerals, and state-arranged funerals for the crash victims featuredbanners on thecaskets congratulating them on their "martyrdom."

It took six months for Iranian authoritiesto download and analyze the plane's flight data recorders. Back in July, Iran issued an interim report suggesting missile operators misidentified the passenger plane as a threat and fired two missiles without approval from senior ranking officers. But Champagne has said he doesn't believe Iran'sclaim thathuman error was to blame.

Iran said it hasset aside $150,000 in compensationfor each victim's family. Thefamilies have called the offer "hush money." Goodale said Iran cannot unilaterally offer families money and Canada'snegotiations have not started yet. He calledIran's compensation offer"at bestpremature."

Over the past year, victims' families in Canada have reported being stalked, threatened and intimidated by suspicious characters, said Goodale. On top of that "disturbing" behaviour, he said, families and authorities have been subjected to"a substantial amount" of misinformation disseminated by Iran.

"It seems to be part of a deliberate strategy to continue to harass and aggravate the families," said Goodale. "It's part of a pattern of behaviour that leads a great many people to be very skeptical about Iran's version of events."

'It's disheartening,' says chair of TSB

Despite repeated requests, Iran did not grant Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) full access to its investigation.

"That would be challenging for any country to investigate their own military, given the typical type of classified operations that take place," saidKathy Fox, chair of the Transportation Safety Board.

"It's one of the reasons we wanted to participate ...to help to ensure the completeness of the report, the accuracy and the credibility of the final report,once it's issued."

WATCH:Transportation Safety Board chairKathy Fox on the search for answers

With limited abilities the TSB tries to find answers on PS752 crash

4 years ago

Duration 1:36

A year after the crash, chair of the Transportation Safety Board Kathy Fox says its disheartening that the TSB isnt able to give victims' families more answers.

International protocols assign control of a crash investigation tothe country where the crash took place.Fox said the TSB doesn't have the powerto investigate the destruction of Flight PS752 on its own.

"It's disheartening," said Fox. "Our whole raison d'etre is to find answers, to help the families of those who've lost loved ones. to understand what happened, why it happened and, more importantly, what needs to happen to make sure this never happens again."

Fox is waiting for Iran to publicly release its final report into its safety investigation. She said she's hopingthe final report will give families answers they can believe. TheTSB will speak up if it believes the report is incomplete or inaccurate in any way, she said.

But the federalgovernment says it isworking onfinding the truth in other ways.

Jeff Yaworski,former deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, is working with ateam to collateforeign intelligence, classified materialsand tips sent to CSIS and the RCMP.

Yaworski's team is also studying the type ofRussianmobile defence unitused to shoot down the plane, said Goodale.

"Experts are looking at the capabilities of that particular equipment, the systems by which it operated, the systems by which it communicated," said Goodale. "Were they functioning or not? How did they function on that particular occasion? Were there defects? All of that can be assessed."

Iran 'cannot stop us,' says family member

Another valuable source of information has been victims' families themselvesandtheirnetworksofconnections around the world and inside Iran, Goodale said.

Javad Soleimanisaid heput his PHD on pause at the University of Alberta to focus on searching for answers.His wife, PHD student Elnaz Nabiyi, died on Flight PS752.

WATCH: Husband ofPS752victimon hisfight for the truth

Husband of Flight PS752 victim still seeking justice, one year later

4 years ago

Duration 1:25

Javad Soleimani lost his wife Elnaz last January when flight PS752 was shot down over Tehran. He says this past year has been a blind nightmare and says he will not stop until someone is held responsible.

Soleimanisaid heleads a fact-finding committee through the Association of Families of Flight PS752 that works with military and aviation experts to verify tips and evidence from a range of sources including people connected to Tehran's airport, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organizationand the IRGC.

Key informationhas leaked out of Iran already.Back in July, CBC obtained a recordingof a91-minute conversation that took place March 7between Soleimani and Hassan Rezaeifar, then the head of Iran's investigation into the crash.

In that exchange,Rezaeifar suggested Iran's highest authorities allowed commercial airliners to fly in and out of Tehran during the period of intense military activity when Flight 752 was shot down because closing the airspace would have given away the regime's plan to strike at U.S. military bases in Iraq.

After CBC News inquired with Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, Rezaeifar was replaced as the lead investigator.

"Right now,we are kind of like fighters," said Soleimani. "The Iranianregime cannot stop us seeking justice and hide the truth forever."

Soleimani said he's still in denial over his wife's death.He said hehas kept all of her clothes and belongings.

"I think the moment I fully accept that she's gone forever, I don't know how I'm going to live the rest of my life," he said.