Public safety minister, security officials testifying about Toronto terror plot suspects

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and several senior government officials are testifying today as MPs begin a study into Canada’s immigration and security screening processes in connection with a father and son accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Toronto.

With questions swirling around the timeline and circumstances of how the suspects in the alleged foiled terror plot came to Canada, Wednesday’s hours-long hearings will see parliamentarians press top security, intelligence, immigration and border officials about what they knew, and when.

Among those set to testify alongside LeBlanc are his deputy minister Shawn Tupper, interim CSIS Director Vanessa Lloyd, executive vice president of the Canada Border Services Agency Ted Gallivan and deputy RCMP Commissioner Bryan Larkin.

While LeBlanc is only scheduled to appear for one hour – previously expressing hesitance to comment on an active criminal case – the deputy minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Harpreet S. Kochhar will join the other officials for a second hour of questioning. 

This panel will be followed by a secondary two-hour meeting where additional CBSA, RCMP and immigration officials will be questioned beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

In late July, the RCMP arrested a father and son – Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, in Richmond Hill, Ont. – foiling their allegedly “advanced” plans for a “serious, violent attack” in Canada’s most populous city.

The federal police force said its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) became aware of the threat earlier that month and moved in to arrest the men the night after they allegedly acquired an axe and a machete. A raid of the men’s Scarborough, Ont., home occurred the same evening they were arrested.

Police have laid a total of nine charges in the case, including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group. 

Most of the charges stem from alleged activities undertaken in Canada. But, the father – who holds Canadian citizenship while the son does not – was also charged with committing an aggravated assault outside the country in June 2015 for the benefit of the Islamic State.

After the arrests were announced, Global News – citing unnamed sources – reported that the father’s aggravated assault charge stems from a video depicting him allegedly taking part in ISIS violence overseas, and that he immigrated to Canada after the footage was released. CTV News has not verified this reporting.

MPs on the committee unanimously agreed earlier this month to strike the special study into the case, stating that concerned Canadians deserve answers about the father’s citizenship given his alleged predating ISIS ties.

Parliamentarians said they also want assurances that potential security screening shortcomings with Canada’s permanent resident and citizenship application processes are addressed. 

Among the questions MPs will seek clarity on through today’s hearings and the ones to follow are when the Eldidis first entered Canada, which immigration program the elder entered through and the date he became a Canadian, as well as whether the government is aware of any other individuals with alleged terrorist ties who are living in this country.

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, the Official Opposition said given parliamentary privilege protections and the fact that the Eldidis are not charged with immigration fraud, federal officials should be able to answer these questions without impeding on the current criminal proceedings. 

While MPs from all parties agreed these hearings needed to happen, there has been some political pre-positioning from both government and opposition MPs about what the study may uncover.

The Liberals have made efforts to suggest the hearings could shed light on the consequences of nearly decade-old Conservative cuts, while the Tories say the case is just the latest example of how Canada has become less safe under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The committee has also called for Immigration Minister Marc Miller, former public safety minister and current U.K. High Commissioner Ralph Goodale and other senior agency officials to appear.

After MPs struck the study, Miller told reporters he was looking into revoking the elder Eldidi’s citizenship.

The federal government has the power to revoke citizenship if a person is found to have misrepresented themselves in the process of obtaining it.

As of mid-August, an internal review of the circumstances surrounding the case – including establishing a timeline of the father becoming a citizen – was ongoing.