terrorist

Friday February 5, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 5, 2021

Proud Boys: Canada labels far-right group a terrorist entity

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the decision was influenced by the group’s “pivotal role” in the 6 January riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC.

The designation allows the Proud Boys’ assets to be frozen, and members of the groups could be charged with terrorist offences if they commit violent acts.

The group is all-male and anti-immigrant, and has a history of violent political confrontations.

It was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Canadian co-founder of Vice Media. Vice has since worked to distance itself from Mr McInnes and the Proud Boys.

The Proud Boys’ platform includes ideas espoused by former US President Donald Trump, libertarianism and traditional gender roles.

The group was mentioned by Mr Trump during the first US presidential debate last October.

July 11, 2019

Responding to a question about white supremacist and militia groups, he said, “Proud Boys – stand back and stand by”, which members of the group online took as a call to prepare for action. Mr Trump later distanced himself from them.

The announcement in Canada comes one week after the US Department of Homeland Security warned of a “heightened threat” of domestic terrorism from violent extremists unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election. 

And just hours after the announcement, the US Justice Department announced it had arrested and charged a top member of the group’s Seattle chapter. Ethan Nordean, 30, who is also known as Rufio Panman, is at least the eighth group member to be charged in connection with the Capitol riots. 

In Canada on Wednesday, Mr Blair described a “growing threat of ideologically motivated violent extremism”. He did not specify how many Proud Boy chapters are currently in Canada.

The Canadian Proud Boy groups had previously been thought of as disparate and disorganised, but the new designation suggests their perceived threat has been elevated. 

The decision was made based on “a trove of new information”, Mr Blair said. “Over the past several months, basically since 2018, we have seen an escalation towards violence for this group [the Proud Boys].” 

The escalation has continued since the US presidential election, he added. (BBC) 

Friday August 19, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday August 19, 2016 Ottawa pledges deradicalization hire despite skepticism at anti-terror effectiveness Following the fatal police shooting of would-be suicide bomber Aaron Driver, CanadaÕs Public Safety Minister says the Liberals will Òup our gameÓ in the fight against terrorism by imminently hiring a deradicalization adviser. ÒWhat the incident in Strathroy demonstrates is that this is important,Ó Ralph Goodale told reporters on Wednesday. He said the new adviser will be hired within weeks and could succeed in counter-terrorism challenges where police and intelligence services are falling short. Mr. Driver, 24, from Strathroy, Ont., was killed last week. Federal authorities had red-flagged him as an aspiring terrorist, but nothing could make him reconsider his sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. Despite a degree of monitoring, he had managed to put together an improvised bomb and a video in which he promised to shed Canadian blood for the terror group. The creation of a deradicalization adviser, who will run a $10-million-a-year office, fulfills a 2015 campaign promise by the Liberals. At the time, the party criticized the then-Conservative government for its law-and-order approach to fighting terrorism. Details are under wraps, but observers are keen to see how the approach will take shape, especially since the global track record of such initiatives is mixed. ÒThere are all kinds of these programs all over the world. EveryoneÕs got one,Ó said Phil Gurski, a former analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. And yet, he added, no one has really figured out the best approach. CSIS recently canvassed outside experts for feedback on which governmentsÕ deradicalization Ð or Òcountering violent extremismÓ (CVE) Ð programs are working best. Many replied that none are known to be working particularly well. ÒSome expressed skepticism as to the relevance of CVE initiatives, highlighting

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 19, 2016

Ottawa pledges deradicalization hire despite skepticism at anti-terror effectiveness

Following the fatal police shooting of would-be suicide bomber Aaron Driver, Canada’s Public Safety Minister says the Liberals will “up our game” in the fight against terrorism by imminently hiring a deradicalization adviser.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday November 17, 2015 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will "do its part" in the military fight against ISIS, but remains committed to withdrawing warplanes from the mission. During a news conference at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, Trudeau said Friday's attacks in Paris will not prompt the government to reverse course on a plan to pull out Canada's fighter jets. Instead, Canada will step up training of local troops, he said. "I know that Canada will continue to, and be seen to be continuing to, do its part in the fight against this terrorist scourge," he said. The Liberal platform during the campaign for the recent federal election committed to end the combat mission and "refocus" on training local forces in Iraq. Trudeau said that commitment remains, but he has not set a timetable for when Canada will withdraw from the U.S.-led air combat mission. "We made a clear commitment in the campaign to stop the bombing mission by Canadian jets and replace it with a role for Canada that is still a serious military role, but leaned more towards training of local troops to be able to bring the fight directly to ISIL," he said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). "That's the commitment we made very clearly throughout the campaign and we have a mandate to do that." On Sunday, two of Canada's fighter jets were involved in a strike against an ISIS fighting position in Iraq, according to the Department of National Defence. The G20 leaders released a joint statement at the G20 summit, calling the attacks in Paris "an unacceptable affront to all humanity" and reaffirming solidarity in the fight against terrorism as a major priority. The statement says counterterror actions must be part of a comprehensive approach that includes fighting radicalization and recruitment, hampering terrorist movements and preventing terrorists from exploiting the internet. "The direct or ind

November 17, 2015

“What the incident in Strathroy demonstrates is that this is important,” Ralph Goodale told reporters on Wednesday. He said the new adviser will be hired within weeks and could succeed in counter-terrorism challenges where police and intelligence services are falling short.

Mr. Driver, 24, from Strathroy, Ont., was killed last week. Federal authorities had red-flagged him as an aspiring terrorist, but nothing could make him reconsider his sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. Despite a degree of monitoring, he had managed to put together an improvised bomb and a video in which he promised to shed Canadian blood for the terror group.

The creation of a deradicalization adviser, who will run a $10-million-a-year office, fulfills a 2015 campaign promise by the Liberals. At the time, the party criticized the then-Conservative government for its law-and-order approach to fighting terrorism.

Details are under wraps, but observers are keen to see how the approach will take shape, especially since the global track record of such initiatives is mixed. “There are all kinds of these programs all over the world. Everyone’s got one,” said Phil Gurski, a former analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. And yet, he added, no one has really figured out the best approach.

CSIS recently canvassed outside experts for feedback on which governments’ deradicalization – or “countering violent extremism” (CVE) – programs are working best. Many replied that none are known to be working particularly well.

“Some expressed skepticism as to the relevance of CVE initiatives, highlighting the lack of supporting empirical evidence thus far to measure their effectiveness,” says a CSIS discussion paper recently published online. Other experts told CSIS such programs are only valuable “provided that their implementation is not led by governments … [because] governments are not credible messengers.”

Speaking to reporters after a speech to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police on Wednesday, Mr. Goodale said he is mulling over who among two or three short-listed candidates will lead the government’s newest office. “We will be making the selection shortly,” he said. “That person will be directing a very important effort to up our game in Canada in terms of recognizing and understanding the process of radicalization.”

The minister said the new adviser will focus on how to nip extremism in the bud, as well as on how to unlock the psyches of hardened extremists. Mr. Driver was for years an active cheerleader of the Islamic State on Twitter. Last year, police compelled him to appear in court to swear a specialized peace bond that exists for terrorism suspects. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Thursday February 19, 2015

Thursday February 19, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 19, 2015

Via terror suspect pondered triggering Yellowstone volcano, court told

A man accused of plotting to derail a Canadian passenger train also thought about triggering a catastrophic volcanic blast in the United States, his trial heard Tuesday.

Testifying for a third week, an undercover FBI agent said Chiheb Esseghaier pondered the possibility of getting the volcano in Yellowstone National Park to erupt.

Thursday, April 25, 2013Esseghaier, who is charged with various terror-related offences along with co-accused Raed Jaser, spoke of the “death and destruction” a blast could cause, court heard.

“Wouldn’t it be great if my enemies’ worst national disaster could happen?” the agent cited Esseghaier, 30, as saying.

The Montreal PhD student from Tunisia was “very passionate” about the volcano in the park, the agent said. The volcano, which last erupted 640,000 years ago, straddles the borders of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

Ultimately, however, he decided the idea was not feasible.

Wednesday, April 24 2013“No. We cannot do anything to make the volcano erupt. It’s very deep. I don’t have any access,” Esseghaier apparently told the agent.

“It was his conclusion that we need to focus on the project or projects,” the agent told Superior Court.

“The train plot was a better bet than the volcano,” defence lawyer John Norris, who represents Jaser, said by way of clarification.

The idea of a train attack, apparently, had come from “The Responsible One,” a man Esseghaier had met in Iran who supposedly had close ties to top Al Qaeda leaders. (Continued: Toronto Star)

Tuesday October 2, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 2, 2012

The U.S. dumps a problem on Ottawa, with Omar Khadr’s return

For the Conservatives, Omar Khadr was an opportunity. Now he’s just a problem.

Mr. Khadr has finally returned to Canada, to serve out the remainder of his sentence for crimes committed against the United States in Afghanistan. Stephen Harper’s Conservative government had done everything in its legal power, short of a diplomatic breach with the U.S. government, to keep him interned at Guantanamo Bay, America’s problem.

But those efforts ran out, and now Mr. Khadr is coming home, where he will earn more than his share of unwelcome attention.

When Mr. Khadr was first apprehended on an Afghanistan battlefield by American forces and sent to Guantanamo, the Liberal government of the day treated him like the embarrassment he was. Foreign and Justice ministers spoke about him only when pressed, and then only in the most guarded of sentences. Ottawa was happy to let the Americans prosecute his crimes.

The Conservatives were less circumspect. Mr. Khadr was a wedge, one they were happy to exploit.

Human rights advocates saw Mr. Khadr not as a criminal or terrorist, but as a victim. At worst, he was a young offender, duped by his family into joining a war he was too immature to comprehend.

He was, in their eyes, a child soldier, no more complicit than the children impressed into the armies of African warlords. And his detention at Guantanamo was part and parcel of the Bush government’s abusive war against terrorists.

Conservatives have no truck with such talk; nor, they believe, do most Canadians, especially those Canadians inclined to vote Conservative. (Source: Globe & Mail) 

 

Thursday March 1, 2007

March 1, 2007

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 1, 2007

Terror vote fails as Dion reins in Liberals

Two controversial measures in the federal Anti-Terrorism Act will disappear from the law books after a vote last night in the House of Commons that marked the first major political test for Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.

In a vote of 159 to 124, the combined opposition defeated a Conservative minority government motion that would have renewed the extraordinary legal powers of authorities to detain and interrogate terrorism suspects.

The Liberal caucus was deeply divided on the issue as recently as last week. But by the time of last night’s vote, only one Liberal — Tom Wappell — abandoned Mr. Dion and voted with the Conservatives.

Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler abstained, and a dozen other Liberals were absent, some for health reasons.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Mr. Dion had to force his caucus into line, thus putting internal party politics ahead of national security.

Mr. Harper said the failure of the renewal motion is not the end of the matter, suggesting the government might introduce fresh legislation.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said “the government will get to work … to protect Canadians” by fashioning new tools to combat terrorism. He did not specify what the government intends to do.

Mr. Day once again hammered Mr. Dion for “this very distressing flip-flop.” The New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois have long opposed the renewal. But the Liberals took most of the political heat from the Conservatives.

Sensing an opportunity to drive a wedge between Mr. Dion and some of his caucus members, Mr. Harper last week called the Liberal Leader “soft on terrorism.”

The Prime Minister’s tone did not change Tuesday. He said Mr. Dion “denigrates the police in this country.” The Liberal Leader, meanwhile, said he was taking a principled stand in defence of human rights. (Source: Globe & Mail) 

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