Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller takes part in a press conference in Ottawa, Jan. 29.Blair Gable/Reuters
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he will investigate whether a man accused of plotting an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack in Toronto should have his Canadian citizenship revoked.
On July 31, RCMP announced Ahmed Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, had been arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., and faced nine terrorism charges, including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of the Islamic State. The older of the pair has Canadian citizenship.
Authorities have said the arrests foiled an imminent plot to carry out an attack in Toronto and the intended violence would have involved a machete and an axe.
Police have said the older Mr. Eldidi also faces a Canadian charge alleging that, in 2015, he committed an aggravated assault in a foreign country “for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with” the Islamic State.
Parliamentary hearings are set to begin the week of Aug. 26 on the terror case and the immigration history of the elder Mr. Eldidi. Cabinet ministers including Mr. Miller and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc will testify.
Mr. Miller, speaking to reporters in Nova Scotia Wednesday, described himself as “disgusted as any Canadian” about the case.
He said he has asked his deputy minister to probe the timeline of Mr. Eldidi’s immigration to Canada, including when he obtained permanent residency and citizenship. “Who knew what, when and how?” Mr. Miller said.
“I hope to be able to provide answers in a relatively short timeline about what happened.”
He said Canadians “deserve answers” on the file.
“I’m also going to take the next step, which is to start the preliminary work, with the evidence at hand, to look at whether the individual in question’s citizenship should be revoked,” Mr. Miller said.
The Mounties said the two men were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.”
The Islamic State was designated a terrorist group in Canada in 2012, at a time when the group’s members had begun carving a self-styled caliphate out of Syria and Iraq while its leaders urged followers to launch attacks on people in the West.
Global News reported earlier this month, citing anonymous sources, that the older Mr. Eldidi immigrated to Canada after allegedly being filmed taking part in Islamic State violence overseas. Sources told Global the charge dating from 2015 stems from a video released by the Islamic State that year that shows a man dismembering a prisoner with a sword.
The Immigration Minister’s office has declined to say when the Eldidi men entered Canada or under what program.
“Due to privacy legislation, we cannot comment on any specific cases,” Aissa Diop, director of communications for Mr. Miller, said Tuesday.
“As we’re working on an internal review of the situation, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
Neighbours of the two suspects in east Toronto have described the Eldidis as part of an Egyptian family who had arrived in Canada at some point within the past three years.
The Canadian government can revoke citizenship if it determined someone obtained their citizenship “by false representation, fraud or knowingly concealing material circumstances.”
Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said those being stripped of their citizenship have recourse to a lengthy appeal process.
“Because of the appeal process, actual removal, or physical removal, is unlikely for many years to come,” he said.
“For an elderly person, they’re more likely to see their coffin before the airport tarmac.”
MPs to probe how suspects in alleged Toronto terror plot were able to immigrate to Canada
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said in a statement that Canadians are “rightfully furious and deeply concerned to learn that a man allegedly linked to a terrorist group and heinous terrorist acts was given Canadian citizenship.”
“This alarming failure only adds to the concerns that Canadians already have about Canada’s public safety and immigration system,” she said.
Ms. Kwan said Mr. Miller “should exercise his authority to revoke citizenship in cases that may involve an allegation of security, human or international rights violations.”
Conservative immigration critic Tom Kmiec said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is responsible for what he called a “colossal security failure” and said his party also supports revoking citizenship “for those who were inadmissible when they entered Canada.”