Police stymied in pursuing Canada’s jihadists
Candice Malcolm
https://torontosun.com/2016/08/26/police-stymied-in-pursuing-canadas-jihadists/wcm/2a1c3614-ca00-46f7-be4d-6a9f917139c7
Jihadists and terrorists are actively planning attacks in Canada, according to a new report from the Trudeau government.
Meanwhile, our law enforcement agencies claim that red tape and legal loopholes are stopping them from protecting Canadians.
On Thursday, the Federal Department of Public Safety released a report demonstrating that several terrorist groups and their supporters are active in Canada.
The chilling report tells us what we have long suspected.
We are, by no means, immune to the turmoil and bloodshed of jihadist insurgents.
At least 180 individuals with a connection to Canada are overseas fighting alongside terrorist organizations. That’s up from 130 known terrorists in 2015.
But those individuals aren’t necessarily the problem for Canada right now. A far greater security concern is the jihadists who are here in Canada.
The report discusses two types of terrorists in Canada: wannabe jihadists who have had their passports removed and therefore cannot travel to places like Syria and Iraq, and those who already went overseas to fight for the terrorists but have since returned to Canada.
Despite having significant information about these dangerous jihadists, there are major roadblocks in laying criminal charges and convicting both types of terrorists.
First, let’s look at the jihadists who are grounded in Canada.
Both men who murdered members of the Canadian Forces in Quebec and Ontario in October, 2014 were prohibited from leaving Canada.
So was Aaron Driver, killed by the RCMP in Strathroy, Ontario earlier this month.
In all three cases, the individuals were known and even monitored by authorities.
But this was not enough to stop them from planning deadly attacks.
Despite receiving significant information from agencies such as CSIS and the FBI, the RCMP are often powerless to act.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana told CTV News Thursday that police receive information about violent jihadists, but they “cannot proceed with criminal charges” because of legal limitations placed on them by our court system.
Known terrorists are able to plan attacks and recruit new members because our law enforcement officials are bogged down with legal technicalities that prevent them from doing their job.
The second terrorist threat to Canada is from returned foreign fighters.
The Paris attacks, as well as the Brussels airport bombing, were carried out, in part, by jihadists who had travelled to Syria and then returned home to Europe.
There are about 60 known returned foreign fighters in Canada, according to the federal government’s report.
And yet, in most cases, these individuals are living freely in Canada, without any criminal charges.
Our authorities simply don’t know what to do with them.
According to Larry Brooks, a former CSIS counter-terrorism official, it’s tough to prove to a Canadian judge that an individual participated in terrorism overseas.
In an interview with Postmedia, Brooks discussed the challenges of gathering incriminating information from a foreign combat zone.
“It’s tremendously difficult to collect credible evidence that would satisfy a Canadian court for prosecution,” said Brooks.
Believing in an extreme Islamist doctrine is not illegal.
Nor should it be, in a free society.
But traveling overseas or attempting to travel overseas to join a foreign army is against the law.
We need to remove legal loopholes that allow terrorists to stay out of jail, and we need to give police and prosecutors the tools they need to charge and convict terrorists who have broken Canadian laws.
Our safety and security depend on it.
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