Athletes, artists among Canadians on ‘kill list’

Officials work to determine credibility of online threats supposedly linked to Daesh

They are 150 Canadians ranging from lawyers to photographers to artists to athletes, apparently united only by their inclusion on a terrorist target list.

The purported “kill list” of 8,300 individuals around the globe that was posted to social media by a proDaesh hacker group is nevertheless being taken seriously by Canadian police and security authorities, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Thursday in Ottawa.

“When this kind of threat to Canadians is put into the public domain all of the security and police and intelligence agencies in the government of Canada respond in a robust way to keep the country safe,” he said.

Aspokesperson for the RCMPsaid that the force is working with local and international police as well as intelligence agencies to assess the information and notify those Canadians who have been included on the list.

The people on the list that the Star talked to on Thursday said police had not contacted them.

“I have to say that this is one of the stranger calls I’ve had in my life,” said one man, a Toronto resident who works for the Ontario government.

The man, whose current home address and email were included, had read the news about the existence of the list but was shocked and unable to figure out anything that would have led to his inclusion.

He asked that his identity be withheld.

“I’m hoping it’s not serious or a real risk, but who the hell wants the attention?” he said.

The vast majority of the Canadian names on the list were women. Among them were a tattoo artist, the owner of a production company, a resident of a tiny town in Nunavut and an elite athlete.

The address listed for the athlete, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, is the current address of her parents.

“If you look at what they believe in and their dogma, I am someone they would absolutely not want to tolerate,” she said.

“To them I’m probably absolutely disgusting in their eyes.”

The fact that none of those individuals contacted by the Star had yet been approached by police or government officials about their inclusion on the list was a worry for some. For others it was a relief.

“If you look at what they believe in and their dogma, I am someone they would absolutely not want to tolerate.” A CANADIAN ATHLETE WHOSE NAME WAS ON THE LIST

“I don’t think this is as big as people think it is. If it was, the RCMP would have been at my house this morning,” said the athlete, who said she could recall incidents in the past where it appeared that her email accounts had been hacked or shown signs of irregular activity.

“It’s not exactly like I’m careful with where I shop online or what I do. I just think if somebody really wants your information they’re going to get it. Nothing’s all that secure.”

There are also questions about when this information was compiled.

One woman who lives in Guelph, Ont., and works as an artist was listed as living in another Southern Ontario town, a place she moved away from two years ago.

The only reason she could think of that might bring her to the attention of a terrorist group or its supporters would have been when she waded into a social media frenzy during last fall’s federal election.

But she acknowledged that this would in no way merit her inclusion on a kill list, she said as she headed out to do the groceries Thursday afternoon.

“Part of me wants to LOL and part of me wants to freak out a bit. It’s really weird that I’m a target. I’m just a gal who hangs out with her dog, knits and paints a little.”