‘Terrorists travellers’ can be rehabilitated, top researcher says
12 Canadians said radicalized
OTTAWA — A leading researcher on terrorist travellers says returnees to Canada can be rehabilitated, since those who come back to their home countries are often disillusioned or traumatized.
Others feel they have done their duty to defend Muslim lands and want to lead a more normal life, says Lorne Dawson, a sociology professor at the University of Waterloo and project director for the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society.
As the Islamic State scatters, the Liberals are under pressure to explain what they’re doing to contain any threat from foreign fighters returning to Canada.
Dawson says simply locking up extremist travellers is not the answer.
“No credible expert in the world thinks you arrest your way out of jihadist radicalization — it’s a social movement,” he said. “You can’t possibly arrest all the people who are engaged with this ideology.”
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has said it is aware of 180 individuals with a nexus to Canada who are suspected of terrorist activity abroad. This could involve front-line fighting, training, logistical support, fundraising or studying at extremist-influenced schools.
The intelligence service has also noted a further 60 extremist travellers who have returned to Canada.
But there appears to be scant information about who they are — and what threat they might pose. Dawson says his researchers know of about a dozen jihadist returnees to Canada from the Syria or Iraq.
“It is possible you could rehabilitate them,” he said. “But only with a very careful effort, which we’re not well-equipped for in Canada right now.”
Dawson’s network receives money for research on foreign fighters through a fund administered by the federal Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, established by the Liberals.
But he believes Canada is playing catchup when it comes to counter-radicalization efforts. He points a finger at the previous Conservative government, saying its contribution was limited to providing “minimal funding” for the RCMP’s outreach program.
“Everyone in Canada who’s informed on these issues, including inside the government, knew full well five years ago we had to be moving in this direction, but the Conservative government refused to do anything.”