Islamic radicalization of Canadian youth raises alarm bells, Report

The RCMP is developing a program to stop Canadians from becoming radicalized by violent ideologies, a new report reveals.

As of early 2014, about 130 people with Canadian connections were believed to be in countries such as Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan participating in terrorism-related activities, the Public Safety Canada report said.

Another 80 have returned to Canada, according to the 2014 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada.

“They may return to Canada or other countries imbued with knowledge, skills and experience gained in terrorist operations and training camps,” the report said. While some of these “extremist-travelers” won’t pose a threat, “some have the credibility to encourage and recruit aspiring violent extremists…and could plan and carry out terrorist attacks in Canada,” according to the report issued by the Public Safety ministry.

Canadian citizens have been involved in a number of high-profile terrorist attacks or causes. In January last year, two men from London, Ontario, died in an attack on an Algerian gas plant and more recently, several Canadians have traveled to Syria. One, Damian Clairmont, died in Aleppo, Syria while fighting for the group calling itself Islamic State, his mother, Christianne Boudreau, said.

Canada’s report came as the U.K. government said it would introduce legislation to make it easier to seize people’s passports to counter the security threat posed by Islamist extremists traveling to and from conflict areas like Syria and Iraq.

The Canadian government passed a law last year that makes it a crime to leave, or attempt to leave, the country to engage in terrorist activity. A suburban Toronto man was the first convicted under this law, according to the report, for attempting to travel to Somalia. He was sentenced in June to 10 years in prison.

Canada said its national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is in the midst of developing a program in conjunction with municipal lawmakers and local law-enforcement agencies to better identify individuals at risk of turning to terrorist efforts. The focus would be to single out Canadians who show signs of becoming involved in terrorist activity, but have yet to progress to the point where a criminal investigation or charges are warranted.

The government said security and law-enforcement agencies have succeed in uncovering and disrupting terrorist plots, but a “distinct challenge remains” on the prevention side of Canada’s antiterrorism policy.

“The process of radicalization to violence may be indiscernible to outsiders like law enforcement and government officials,” Friday’s report said, adding religious figures, teachers and social-service providers have emerged as important partners for Canadian security officials.

Agencies/Canadajournal