Friday 04 July 2008 OTTAWA: CANADIAN TERROR SUSPECTED RECORDED BY MI-5
The trial of an Ottawa software designer continued on Thursday with prosecutors presenting as evidence recordings of telephone conversations with now convicted terrorists during a three-day visit to Britain in February 2004. Momin Khawaja is accused on seven counts of being part of a bombing conspiracy for which five British Muslims were last year sentenced to life in prison. Police discovered the plot before it could be executed. The Crown played in court a recording of a telephone conversation in which Mr. Khawaja is heard describing to one of the five convicted men a transmitter, receiver and associated equipment. The chief charge against Mr. Khawaja is that he built a remote-controlled detonator for use to set off fertilizer bombs. In other conversations, the accused is heard to reminisce about his days in a training camp in northern Pakistan. Mr. Khawaja is the first person to be arrested under Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act.
Thursday 03 July 2008 OTTAWA:TERRORISM TRIAL CONTINUES
The lawyer defending terrorism suspect Momin Khawaja on Wednesday cross-examined the principal Crown witness. Mr. Khawaja is the first Canadian charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act passed in 2004 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. The Ottawa resident is accused of being an accomplice in a bombing plot in London that was thwarted by the British authorities, five of those involved being convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty. The witness, Mohammed Babar, agreed with Mr. Khawaja's lawyer that one of those convicted lured his client and others to a training camp in Pakistan with the notion that they would be trained to fight in Afghanistan and weren't told about the London bombing plot. Last week, the witness said Mr. Khawaja had talked of building a remote-controlled model airplane to carry explosives. The lawyer suggested that there's a difference between having an idea and actually moving to realize it.
Tuesday 24 June 2008 OTTAWA: TERRORISM TRIAL STARTS
The trial of the first terrorism suspect to be charged under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act passed by Parliament in reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks began under heavy security in the Canadian capital on Monday. Momin Khawaja faces seven charges in connection with a conspiracy to place homemade bombs in nightclubs, railway stations and subways in Britain. Five of his alleged co-conspirators of Pakistani origin have been found guilty in Britain and sentenced to life is prison. In his opening statement, the chief prosecutor accused Mr. Khawaja of plotting "to cause death, injury and damage for religious and political purposes." The prosecutor alleged that the co-conspirators in Britain had bought 600 kilograms of fertilizer to use to make bombs that would have caused massive destruction.
Wednesday 11 June 2008 BRAMPTON: WITNESS SAYS AIM OF ALLEGED PLOT WAS HAVOC
The prosecution's top witness in the trial of Toronto-area terrorist suspects testified for the first time on Tuesday. Mubin Shaikh was an informant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who infiltrated the alleged conspiracy. Police arrested 18 people, some of them minors, in 2006. The minor now being tried is the only one of the latter who is still being prosecuted. Mr. Shaikh testified that the accused wanted him to train others in a scheme to attack power grids, Parliament, RCMP headquarters, the head office of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Ten adults are still charged in the case.
Sunday 23 March 2008 TORONTO: LAWYERS URGE MORE HELP TO DEFEND NEW SECURITY LAW
Several of the 19 special advocates charged with upholding Canada's new security law are pressing the government to provide help that they say will be critical to their ability to function. Canada's newly rewritten national security law provides for testing top secret evidence against alleged terrorists. The lawyers fear that they lack resources. Under the legislation passed last month, the elite group of lawyers will gain access to top secret information that Canada's spy agency, CSIS, has against a suspected terrorist. They will be able to challenge its validity in front of a judge in closed hearings. Five men with alleged terrorism links have spent years without legal status in Canada because of undisclosed evidence. The Justice Department has no plans for a special advocates' office. That role will fall jointly to the Justice Department, to the immigration board and to the agency that provides administrative services for federal courts. The special advocates say that a separate independent office is required.
Tuesday 11 March 2008 TORONTO: ALLEGED TERRORISTS' LAWYER ACCESS SECRET EVIDENCE
Lawyers representing five accused foreign terrorists being held under "security certificates" were to meet on Tuesday with a Federal Court of Canada judge to discuss the revised law under which they are issued. Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the previous law unconstitutional and the revised version came into effect last week. Under the previous law, suspects could be held indefinitely or deported with their lawyers having access to evidence or being present at secret hearings. The lawyers will discuss on Tuesday how "special advocates" will gain access to the evidence and will discuss bail hearings as well. Of the five Muslim men who were arrested on the "security certificates," four are out on bail under stringent conditions.
Sunday 09 March 2008 U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday vetoed Congressional legislation that proposed to ban the use of waterboarding and other forms of torture. The ban was part of a broad bill outlining the extent of authorized activity by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA has been criticized for using waterboarding to interrogate three terrorist suspects. In vetoing the bill, Mr. Bush said that intelligence officers need to have the tools to stop terrorists. The majority party in Congress, the Democrats, will try to overturn Mr. Bush's veto, but it's unlikely that they can find enough votes. Both the Congress and the Senate passed the legislature.
Friday 07 March 2008 Most anti-terrorist spending is wasteful, claims a new study AFTER September 11th 2001, most countries beefed up security at airports and other vulnerable places. Tough-looking immigration officials no doubt made passengers feel safer, offsetting the irritation of longer queues. Yet doing something because it makes people feel good is not adequate justification. Is money devoted to counter-terrorism well spent?
Saturday 23 February 2008 OTTAWA: FIVE 'CERTIFICATES' ISSUED FOR TERROR SUSPECTS
Federal Court of Canada has approved five new "security certificates" for five suspected foreign Muslim terrorism suspects in the government's continuing effort to deport them. The certificates allow the federal authorities to detain and deport such individuals deemed a national security threat. A year ago, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the procedure unconstitutional and gave the government one year to bring the enabling law into conformity with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government responded by passing a new law which went into effect on Friday. It allows the suspects lawyers who can take cognizance of the evidence at a closed-door hearing and argue on behalf of their clients. The lawyers representing the five suspects say they'll contest the constitutionality of the new law in the courts on the grounds that it also violates their clients' rights.
Sunday 17 February 2008 OTTAWA: AIR INDIA INQUIRY ENDS
The independent inquiry into the Air India disaster of 1985 has concluded after 17 months. All 329 people on board the flight died when a terrorist bomb destroyed the airliner in mid-air near Ireland. Most of the passengers were Canadians of East Indian extraction. On the inquiry's final day, lawyers representing families of the victims called for a public apology from the federal government for the way it responded to the tragedy. The lawyers argued that an apology was justified given all the intelligence, policing and regulatory failures of which testimony was heard in the course of the inquiry, which was conducted by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Major. In addition to finding out what happened, his mandate is to ensure that proper security measures are in place to prevent a recurrence of the terrorist bombing. Only one person has ever been convicted of the crime.
2007
Thursday 13 December 2007 Reforming jihadists Preachers to the converted The persuasive powers of reformed jihadists are being used to “re-educate” terrorists. This story looks at Indonesia, the next looks at the Middle East (see article)
Friday 07 December 2007 OTTAWA: RCMP COMPLAINS OF LEGAL REQUIREMENTS IN TERRORIST CASES
The Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police says the mandatory disclosure of police files to defence lawyers in terrorism cases is complicating terrorist and other criminal prosecutions. William Elliot has told the inquiry into the Air India disaster that it has become increasingly more difficult for the police to satisfy the requirements imposed by the court. He questioned whether the burden of such disclosures doesn't outweigh its benefits. The head of the inquiry, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, John Major, suggested that a legal exception might be created for terrorism cases. Mr. Elliot responded that that could be a good idea, but that it might be impossible to do so while at the same time respecting a defendant's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Tuesday 20 November 2007 MONTREAL: RIGHTS GROUPS STAGE PROTEST AGAINST SECURITY CERTIFICATES
About 250 people gathered in a Montreal suburb on Sunday to protest against the government's use of security certificates to imprison suspected terrorists without charge or trial, as well as to deport them without explanation. The demonstration took place in the federal riding of Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion. Demonstrators urged Mr. Dion to oppose Bill C-3. The bill by Canada's minority Conservative Party government proposed to modify the security certificates, but would maintain their power to deport suspects. The Liberal Party indicated earlier that it would not oppose the bill.
Wednesday 24 October 2007 OTTAWA: PARLIAMENT STUDIES RENEWAL OF ANTI-TERROR MEASURES
The Canadian government has introduced in the Senate a bill to bring back two anti-terrorism measures that expired earlier in the year. Once again, police would be allowed to arrest as a precaution any person suspected of intending a terrorist attack. The law would also force anyone with information relevant to a terrorist investigation to testify before a judge. The bill contains new protection measures in reaction to criticism that the version of the law introduced after the Sept, 11 attacks was imprecise. The various measures were re-examined painstaklngly by separate committees of the Senate and House of Commons for some months.
Tuesday 23 October 2007 OTTAWA: SECURITY CERTIFICATE RÉGIME REVISED
The Conservative government has introduced legislation to revise the use of controversial "security certificates." Under the revised system, special advocates would be instituted for suspected terrorists and spies. The change is intended to bring the "certificates" into conformity with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms after the Supreme Court of Canada last February ruled the existing legislation authorizing the certificates unconstitutional, finding that more must be done to preserve individual rights. The high court, however, gave the government one year to revise the law. Under the existing arrangements, foreign suspects can be held indefinitely as a national security threat pending deportation without a right to see details of the case against them.
Thursday 04 October 2007 OTTAWA: IMPOSSIBLE TO ASCERTAIN HOW MUCH TERROR FINANCING
An official with the Canada Revenue Agency says that federal tax officials are stepping up their efforts to track organizations that finance terrorism. Donna Walsh offered that revelation in testimony at the Air India inquiry. Mrs. Walsh says the agency has increased the numbers of personnel working on the subject to 34 since 2004, one-half of them permanent staff and the others temporaries. Previously, the agents had numbered only four. But the witness also testified that there are 83,000 registered charities in Canada and that it's almost impossible to estimate the number that have been used to raise money for terrorists. Mrs. Walsh also says legislative changes have made it easier for the Canada Revenue Agency to exchange information with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, information that had been protected by confidentiality rules. As well, the federal government is now empowered to issue special certificates to close charities suspected of terrorist links, a power which it so far has not used. Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Major is investigating the terrorist bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985 in which all 329 people on board died when it exploded in mid-air near Ireland and whether current security arrangements are effective enough to prevent a recurrence.
Thursday 28 June 2007 OTTAWA: GOVT. RAISES MONEY-LAUNDERING GUARD
The Canadian government has announced it will reinforce existing measures against money-laundering and the financing of terrorist activities by imposing on financial institutions heightened vigilance. Henceforth, they will be obliged not only to report suspicious banking operations, but also attempts to carry such out. Financial institutions will be obligated to gather additional information about some of their customers, in particular those receiving or carrying out electronic transfers of funds. The new regulations require that financial institutions and middlemen report operations when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are linked to money-laundering or terrorist financing. The institutions must also check the identity of their clients and declare to the relevant authorities operations in cash or electronic transfers above $10,000. The new regulations come into effect in June 2008. Last year, the federal money-laundering watchdog reported $5 billion worth of suspicious transactions, $256 million of the funds suspected of being connected to terrorist activities.
08 June 2007 rci OTTAWA: GOVT. URGED TO DROP SECURITY 'CERTIFICATES'
The Canadian Council for Refugees and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group have called on the Canadian government to abandon the use of "security certificates" as a tool against terrorism. The "certificates" permit the government to arrest, to judge behind closed doors and to deport foreign nationals deemed security threats by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. The two rights groups suggest the government instead turn to criminal prosecutions at which evidence is fully disclosed. In February, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the "certificates" are unconstitutional and gave it one year to bring the procedure in line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. more
Saturday 02 June 2007 AUTHORITIES THWART 'CHILLING' BOMB PLOT AT NEW YORK AIRPORT U.S. authorities arrested and charged three men and searched for a fourth suspect Saturday in an alleged plot that included blowing up fuel tanks and a pipeline line into New York's John F. Kennedy airport.
Saturday 28 October 2006 FIRST SUMMIT TO BE HELD ON NUCLEAR TERRORISM
Canada and its partners in the G-8 grouping of nations will take part on Monday and Tuesday in a conference on ways to prevent nuclear terrorism. Australia, China, Kazakhstan and Turkey will also take part in the first "Global Initiative for the Fight Against Nuclear Terrorism," an initiative that was launched at the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 15 by U.S. President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The initiative aims at the monitoring and protection of nuclear and radioactive substances and of nuclear facilities to prevent terrorists from gaining access to them.
The head of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, Jim Judd, has warned that western security agencies like his face an uphill battle in dealing with terrorists' ability to conduct their operation using high technology. Mr. Judd says there is a bewildering host of high-tech tools which terrorists can adapt to plot attacks, to pass on information and to disguise themselves. The spy agency's head says that technology changes fast and that its suppliers don't always reveal the changes they've made in it to satisfy their customers, making life hard for security agencies. Earlier this year, CSIS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police combined in an operation that led to the arrest of 20 people in the Toronto area who are accused of planning terrorist attacks. All of the accused are Canadian citizens. Mr. Judd says the operation illustrates the danger of co-operation between international terrorist groups like al-Qaedan in tandem with homegrown terrorists.
maisonneuve.org ISLAMIST FASCISM'S UNFRIENDLY SKIES by Daniel
Tencer August 11, 2006
“Mass murder on an unimaginable scale.” Those words,
spoken by a senior British police officer yesterday to describe a plot to
take down between five and twelve US-bound airliners over the Atlantic
Ocean, are reverberating throughout the world’s news media today. The
National, the
Globe, the
Post, the
Citizen, La
Presse, CTV News and the Star (neither unavailable online) all front
yesterday’s raids on numerous London-area homes, which resulted in
the arrest of twenty-four people. The media quickly pointed a finger at al
Qaeda, citing US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s
assertion that the plot—involving large-scale, simultaneous
attacks—bore all the “hallmarks” of an al Qaeda assault.
But commentators pointed out the group led by Osama bin Laden no longer has
a unified command structure and al Qaeda may, in fact, be nothing more than
an idea—the idea of “Islamist fascism,” as US President
George W. Bush described it yesterday. The move from the use of the term
“war on terrorism” to “war on Islamist fascism” is
a significant one, the Citizen’s editorial
points out, eliminating the semantically ridiculous notion of a war against
a military tactic. But if, indeed, al Qaeda has become an idea, a symbol in
which “Islamist fascists” can couch themselves, then breaking
the back of the world’s most dangerous militant group could be more
of a Sisyphean task than previously imagined.
Virtually all the Big
Seven ran stories
on the parallels between this plot and a 1995 plot, hatched by Ramzi Yousef
and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, to blow up a dozen US airliners over the Far
East. The newsrooms also ran stories about the relative ease with which
certain liquids, such as nail polish remover and hydrogen peroxide, can be
brought on board an airliner and mixed into an explosive on the spot. But
perhaps the most unsettling story is the realization, by most observers,
that these alleged terrorists were “homegrown.” While most of
the twenty-four people arrested were of Pakistani descent, a few were
Europeans who had converted to Islam. The
Globe reports many of the suspects arrested were “fully
integrated” citizens of the UK, with university educations and
gainful employment, some of them even business owners. That, coupled with
our alleged home-grown terrorist cell, busted earlier this summer, has
given rise to a new fear in the media, not of foreign terrorists, but of
locals who have become radicalized by events in the Middle East. And that,
in turn, reports the
Citizen, could make tracking down militants all that much harder.
"This is … bad news,” CSIS veteran Michel Juneau-Katsuya
notes, “because this is probably the worst element to
investigate—the homegrown. (Authorities) don't have traces on them,
necessarily,”
Monday Jun 26, 2006 Terrorists who face increased security abroad will target Canada: expert TORONTO (CP) - Lax public security in Canada's largest city makes this country easy prey for terrorists increasingly thwarted by the vigilance of other nations around the world, a British counterterrorism expert warned Wednesday
Saturday Jun 24, 2006 gar Be afraid ...
A culture of fear has entered American life, with big business and politicians scrambling for money for the 'war on terror'. Paul Harris reports
Thursday Jun 22, 2006 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has told the delegates attending the United Nations Urban Forum in the western city of Vancouver that diversity is the country's best defense against terrorism. He said that Canada's openness to immigrants will make it nearly impossible for terrorists seeking to create a closed and homogenous dogmatic society to flourish. The World Urban Forum has brought delegates from 150 countries to discuss such issues as clean air and water, sanitation, pollution ans housing. About half of the world's people now live in cities. It's estimated that within 25 years, six out of ten people will be living in cities. The U-N says that increased urbanisation will bring serious problems with supplying water, sanitation, shelter and good health. The Urban Forum conference was first held in Vancouver 30 years ago. The city regularly ranks among the world's best cities in which to live.
EXPERTS WARN CANADA TO PREPARE FOR ATTACKS, PANDEMIC
Canada remains vulnerable to terrorist attacks and other potential disasters, such as pandemics. That's according to experts attending the World Conference on Disaster Management this week in the central city of Toronto. One expert noted that large office towers in Canada remain accessible to just about anyone, unlike those in the United States where security was greatly tightened after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The expert wondered why such measures weren't put into place following the recent arrest of 17 alleged terrorists who were reportedly plotting attacks in Toronto and Ottawa. For his part, federal Health Minister Tony Clement, who delivered the opening address, warned that a global flu pandemic now appears unavoidable. He called for a worlwide collaboration to ensure a co-ordinated and effective global response.
Tuesday Jun 6, 2006 rci TORONTO: ALLEGED TERRORISTS ARE CANADIAN RESIDENTS
The 17 people arrested in terrorism crackdown in Ontario on Friday and Saturday will make their next court appearance on Tuesday. Fifteen of the suspects appeared in a Toronto-area court Saturday. All will be on hand for Tuesday's court appearance. The suspects include 12 male adults and five youths from Toronto, the Toronto suburb of Mississauga and the eastern Ontario town of Kingston. Most if not all of those arrested are either Canadian citizens or residents. Those charged range in age from their teens to their early 40's but most are young men from the Toronto-area. They are charged with participating in a terrorist group and either receiving or providing terrorist training in the Toronto area and other locations in southern Ontario.
Police have not said what the suspects may have been planning to target, but they say the group had acquired three tonnes of ammonium nitrate--enough to make at least three huge truck bombs. A Canadian security expert, John Thompson, who is with the MacKenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think-tank, says he accepts that police are correct when they say they don't believe Toronto's transit system was a target. He says truck bombs can't be used on a subway station but are perfect for collapsing a building. Mr. Thompson says the list of possible targets is almost endless in a large, urban centre like Toronto. He says if the suspects were acquiring explosives, it's likely they had also chosen their targets.
Canadian Muslim groups are expressing shock about the terrorist operation and its results. The Muslim Canadian Congress says Muslim Canadians were stunned after hearing that young members of their community would contemplate carrying out terror attacks. The Canadian arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it condemns terrorism in all forms. The group is asking Canadian Muslims to fully co-operate with Canadian security agencies in order to combat any terrorist activities. Families of those charged say they were stunned by the terrorist bust. The father of one of the accused, a 30-year-old computer programmer from Mississauga, says the charges are crazy and make no sense. The brother of another suspect said the people who were arrested are good people who go to the mosque and to school.
TORONTO: POLICE CHIEF WARNS AGAINST MISDIRECTED ANGER
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said Sunday any anger or fear spawned by allegations of a home-grown terrorist ring in the city should not be directed at the Muslim community. Chief Blair said the intended actions of the 17 people arrested this weekend were not motivated by faith but a different ideology of hatred. His statement came hours after the discovery of an act of vandalism at a west-end Toronto mosque. About 28 windows were smashed overnight at the International Muslim Organization of Toronto. Chief Blair says his force and the city's people are committed to maintaining a safe environment for everyone and hatred in any form will not be tolerated. Police are looking for someone that may have needed medical treatment for cuts to their hands or arms.
OTTAWA: POLITICIANS PRAISE HANDLING OF SUSPECTED THREAT
Canada's political leaders are praising how authorities handled the terrorist threat. Prime Minister Steven Harper said his government will continue to support law enforcement agencies through tougher legislation and by providing more resources. Mr. Harper said Canada is a terrorist target because of its society, diversity and values. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty praised police and cautioned the arrests are a sobering reminder that Canadians are not immune to terrorism. Toronto Mayor David Miller said it's disturbing that young Canadians could be involved in a terrorist plot and he hopes the police investigation reveals their motivation. Mr. Miller said it was important that question is answered so strategies can be developed to stop others from going down that road. The leader of the New Democratic Party, Jack Layton, echoed that view, saying political leaders must do more to strengthen the positives in Canadian communities.
WASHINGTON: REPORT SAYS US OFFICIALS PLAYED ROLE
It appears information provided by United States officials played a part in the Canadian arrests. ABC News reported that an FBI affidavit alleges two Americans, both from the Atlanta, Georgia area, travelled to Toronto last year. The FBI said there are apparent links between the two American visitors and the police sweep in Canada. It says the pair may have had limited contact with some of the Canadian suspects. Meanwhile, a security expert said the elite team of police and intelligence experts who uncovered the suspected terrorist plot is second to none. Toronto security consultant Chris Mathers, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said the authorities involved are top-shelf investigators. He says they are as committed to stopping terrorists as the terrorists are to committing violence. The RCMP led the investigation that resulted in the 17 arrests. The investigation included significant co-operation with an Integrated National Security Enforcement Team that is made up of RCMP, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, federal agencies and provincial and municipal police.
WASHINGTON: RICE PRAISES CANADIAN ACTIONS
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is praising Canadian authorities for foiling the suspected terrorist attack. Ms. Rice said Sunday Canadians have been very active in the war on terror since the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the US and they are to be congratulated. Ms. Rice said there was no indication that those arrested had planned any American targets and she was confident US authorities will continue to share information with their Canadian counterparts. Ms. Rice also said the United States is very comfortable with border security co-operation with Canada.
2005
Wednesday Mar 30, 2005 WASHINGTON: AMBASSADOR DENIES CANADIAN BORDER POROUS
The Canadian ambassador to the U.S., Frank McKenna, has denied a contention made on the editorial page of the New York Times newspaper on March 21 that terrorists often cross the Canadian border into the U.S. The newspaper called it "shocking" how little progress has been made in security the northern U.S. border. Other American news media have made similar claims in the past. The ambassador says the claims are untrue, and that while it's impossible to create 100-per cent security, the two countries have worked together to reduce the threat of terrorism. Mr. McKenna referred in a letter published in The Times on Saturday to the "smart border" which both sides created several months after the Sept. 11 attacks as having been effective in thwarting terrorists. He also noted that none of the terrorists who carried out the attacks entered the U.S. through Canada.
Sunday Mar 27, 2005 MONTREAL: SMALL CROWD STAGES DEMONSTRATION AGAINST CONTROVERSIAL SECURITY MEASURE
A man who was detained for nearly two years under Canada's controversial security certificate regulations took part in a small demonstration against those certificates in Montreal on Saturday. Adil Cherkaoui, 31, and several dozen other people marched along a downtown commercial street to protest that the use of the security certificates unfairly targets groups such as Muslims and Africans. The certificates allow federal police to detain suspects without charge indefinitely. "They arrested me, they didn't show any proof and they told me I was very dangerous," said Cherkaoui, a Moroccan who wears an electronic surveillance bracelet on his ankle since his release on bail last month. He was detained under suspicion of having ties with al-Qaeda. As one of five men detained using certificates since 2000, he is now appealing to the Supreme Court to avoid deportation. The wife of one detainee, Mohammed Harkat, travelled from Ottawa to join the protest. Harket faces imminent deportation to his native Algeria following a federal court ruling this week that upheld the security certificate against him. The son of an Egyptian-born detainee, Mahmoud Jaballah, was also at the rally. Two security certificates issued against Jaballah were later rescinded, but he faces deportation under a third certificate.
Tuesday Mar 15, 2005 TORONTO: AL-QAEDA DEEMED AS DANGEROUS AS EVER
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service says the al-Qaeda terrorist network retains its lethality despite the decimation of its ranks in Afghanistan by the U.S. military. That's the evaluation of the CSIS deputy chief of counter-terrorism, who cannot be named. The witness told a bail hearing that al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has amply compensated for his losses in Afghanistan by recruiting like-minded groups elsewhere to take up the fight. The CSIS official was testifying at a bail hearing for an Egyptian citizen, Mohammed Majoub, who has been detained in Toronto as a security threat since June 2000. The government says he's a member of an Egyptian terrorist group, the Vanguards of Conquest, which is linked to al-Qaeda. The Egyptian government tried him in his absence and sentenced Mr. Majoub to 15 years in prison. He contends he'll be tortured if deported to his homeland.
Saturday Mar 12, 2005 OTTAWA: COUNTER-TERRORISM MANEUVRES PLANNED
The new U.S. homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, will be in Canada next week for meetings with the Canadian public safety minister, Anne McLellan. They'll discuss plans for the joint five-day security drill that starts on April 4. Mrs. McLellan's department is organizing the Canadian part of the drill. Its mock scenario is a biological attack in the U.S. state of New Jersey and a chemical attack in Connecticut. The exercise will involve government department, international and private agencies, hospitals, firefighters and public health experts. Internal Canadian government memos criticized a similar drill last year for poor information sharing, the absence of key Canadian departments and lack of cross-border communications
Tuesday Mar 8, 2005 OTTAWA: MPs DENOUNCE TERROR 'CERTIFICATES'
In Canada's House of Commons, MPs representing the Bloc Québécois and New Democratic parties have denounced the "security certificates" which can be used to detain individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities indefinitely without charging them. The two parties have called on the federal govern to accelerate its procedures for dealing with such people instead of jailing them indefinitely. Five individuals have so far been detained on the basis of the "certificates" which are provided for in laws passed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. One of them, Adil Charkaoui, a Montreal resident of Moroccan origin, was granted bail last month after being imprisoned for two years without being charged. [so do we ..]
Wednesday Mar 2, 2005 ts Mountie secrets hinder rights monitor
Canada needs a brand-new watchdog powerful enough to make the Mounties and spy agencies answerable to the public, says the head of the RCMP`s complaints commission.
Monday Feb 14, 2005 ts ANTI-TERRORISM ACT STILL NEEDED: MCLELLAN
Anne McLellan defended the Liberal government's Anti-terrorism Act
Monday as she appeared before a special Senate committee looking into
whether Canada still needs such a piece of legislation, three years
after the 2001 attacks against the United States.
Friday Jan 28, 2005 Security certificates are an anti-terrorism weapon that have been on the books for more than a decade. Last month the Federal Court of Canada upheld their legality as tools to hold immigrant and refugee terror suspects indefinitely. Tom Sandborn is a social activist in Vancouver and was recently made a director of B.C's Civil Liberties Association. On Commentary, he says security certificates have sent Canadian law back to the dark ages.
BBC
Terrorism 
Global Security - security 
Anthrax