Canadian passport holders sought by terrorist group

Ottawa reviews bill to revoke their citizenship

The terrorist group Hezbollah has been seeking operatives with Canadian passports, a senior intelligence official told MPs reviewing a bill Thursday that could strip terrorists of their citizenship.

Appearing before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service official said Canadian passport holders were being actively sought by terrorist groups.

“We see certain terrorist organizations in particular target the use of the Canadian passport because of its value, because it facilitates travel so easily and so smoothly,” said Michael Peirce, the CSIS Assistant Director of Intelligence. “And they will seek out dual nationals for the purpose of using that passport to facilitate travel.And we’ve seen that, at least some indications, in regard to Hezbollah, for instance. So that document is an extremely valuable document and gaining citizenship in order to be able to use that document is a noted goal.”

Mr. Peirce was testifying at a hearing into Bill C-425, a private member’s bill tabled by Conservative MP Devinder Shory. It would allow the government to revoke citizenship from dual nationals who commit acts of war against Canada. But Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney wants to amend it to add those who commit treason and terrorism.

Mr. Kenney told the committee those who engaged in such activities had effectively renounced their citizenship.

“We ought to read into their actions a renunciation of their loyalty to Canada and indeed their citizenship.”

Concerns about the involvement of Canadian extremists in overseas terrorism re-emerged in January when the govern- ments of both Algeria and Bulgaria said Canadians were responsible for recent attacks in their countries.

This week, the RCMP confirmed at least one of the alQaeda-linked terrorists who stormed a gas plant in the Algerian desert in January, resulting in the deaths of almost 40 foreign workers, was a Canadian citizen.

The RCMP is also investigating allegations a Lebanese-Canadian Hezbollah member was behind last July’s bombing of a bus full of Israeli tourists at Sarafovo airport on the Black Sea coast.

The suspect, who now lives in Lebanon, had used his Canadian passport to travel to Bulgaria.

“Canadians are rightly outraged that someone would commit violent acts using Canada’s passport. If the allegations are true, these terrorists clearly have no sense of loyalty or commitment to this country. Rather, they are violently committed to extremist ideas, and willing to kill innocent civilians and allies of Canada,” the minister said.

In his testimony, Mr. Peirce named Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen as countries that had attracted the “dozens” of Canadians who have left home to participate in overseas terrorism and armed conflicts.

“Tracking Canadians who travel abroad to conduct terrorist activities is not an easy task. They often escape into ungoverned spaces such as tribal regions along the AfghanistanPakistan border, or into conflict zones such as Syria, where the situations are fluid or very difficult to navigate,” he said. “A number” of those who went abroad are now dead but he said others have returned to Canada, bringing their extremism and skills with them. Individuals returning to Canada from conflict zones abroad have been known to radicalize others,” he said.

“Indeed because of their adventures overseas, such individuals often gain a large amount of credibility.”