The federal government is refusing to answer questions about how a senior Iranian soccer official was able to obtain authorization to travel to Canada before being turned away, citing privacy laws and declining to provide any details about the case.

In response to a written parliamentary question from Michelle Rempel Garner, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada refused to disclose virtually all information related to Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj, who was denied entry to Canada in April.

Rempel Garner had asked for a detailed timeline of Taj's visa application, including when it was submitted, who approved it, whether Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab or her office reviewed the file, and how Taj was ultimately able to board a flight to Canada and arrive at Toronto's Pearson Airport.

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Instead of answering the questions, IRCC stated that it "cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws."

The department did confirm that Canada considers senior officials of the Iranian regime inadmissible if they served after June 23, 2003, and noted that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are also barred from entering Canada because the IRGC is listed as a terrorist entity.

"All individuals seeking to enter Canada are subject to screening for potential security concerns, including criminal activity and links to terrorist organizations," the department wrote.

The response leaves unanswered a key question raised by the incident: if Taj was ultimately found inadmissible, how was he able to receive travel authorization, board a flight and make it all the way to Canada before being stopped?

The government also refused to reveal when any visa approval may have been rescinded, when border officials were notified, whether the minister was involved in the file, or what internal decisions were made throughout the process.