By Arthur Weinreb
Monday, March 12, 2007
The new year isn't even three months old yet but 2007 is turning into a boon for terrorists and violent foreign criminals who, at least temporarily, call Canada home. The Chinese have their Year of the Pig; we have the Year of the Terrorist. Several events occurred recently that do no make things look promising for Canadians who are concerned with law and order and the security of their country.
Last month Parliament voted not to extend two key provisions of our anti-terrorism legislation that automatically expired at the end of February. One of the clauses provided for detention without charge or preventive arrest for terrorism related matters. The other provision allowed for those believed to have knowledge of terrorist acts to be brought before a special court and forced to testify. In the five years that these provisions had been the law, they had never been used.
The extension of the provisions were defeated when the Liberals under new leader Stphane Dion did an about face and voted against the measures that the Liberal government originally brought in. Besides earning the Liberal leader the moniker of "Flipper", it became clear that a future Dion-led government, which cannot be ruled out, will be soft on terrorism and security related matters.
On February 23, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the country's security certificates which allowed for indefinite detention of permanent residents and foreign nationals who are believed to pose a security threat to Canada. Although the Court did not find this type of detention illegal per se, they found that the procedure under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act violated the principles of fundamental justice, thereby breaching section 7 of the Charter of Rights. The Court suspended its judgment for a period of one year in order to allow Parliament to redraft the procedure for detaining non-citizens who pose a threat to Canada's security. But unless Steffi flips again, it is hard to believe that this provision can be saved in the absence of a majority Conservative government coming into power within the year. Dion has made it quite clear that the rights of suspected terrorists take precedence over the security of Canada and the safety of its citizens and residents.
Jaballah has been detained on such a security certificate for more than five years. It is alleged that he is connected with Al Jihad, an Egyptian group that is led by Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman Al Zawahri. There are also allegations that Jaballah has ties to other terrorists in Canada.
Last week, Federal Court Justice Carolyn Laydon-Stevenson ordered his release although he still remains in detention while the details and conditions of his released are being worked out by the government. While Mahmoud Jaballah may have been released at some point anyway, it is hard to believe that the Justice wasn't swayed by the Supreme Court's decision, striking down the current procedure for the issuance of security certificates. He was ordered to be released notwithstanding the government argued that he remains a grave threat to Canada's security. It appears that the government's ability to use these certificates for the next year are more illusory than real.
This guy is really a piece of work. He came to Canada as a refugee from Somalia 12 years ago at the age of 14. Since then he has been convicted of 30 offences including biting his hand drawing blood and then spitting the blood at police while telling them he is HIV positive. As well as robberies and assaults he has also been convicted of threatening jail guards and their families.
Federal Court Justice Sean Harrington found Jilaow to be a dangerous man but then ordered that he cannot be deported to Mogadishu because that city poses too much of a danger to him. Jilaow is a member of the clan of former dictator Siad Barre; a clan that faces retribution by the clans that largely occupy Mogadishu.
Immigration officials can still deport Jilaow when his sentence expires next summer if they can send him back to the north of Somalia without necessitating that he go anywhere near Mogadishu. If they can't -- well, welcome to Canada Hussein!
As reported by Tom Godfrey in the Toronto Sun, a secret immigration hearing was held for Chowdhury, 57. The board ruled that he cannot be deported to his native Bangladesh because he has been sentenced to death and will most definitely be executed. Chowdhury's crime -- he was one of 15 people sentenced to death for the assassination of the country's prime minister, Sheik Majibur Rahman back in August, 1975.
It seems Mr. Chowdhury is in the pickle that he is in because he waited until 1997 to come to Canada. Two previous plotters of the coup that killed Rahman and 15 members of his family have already obtained Canadian citizenship. It seems you get to stay here even if you pop a prime minister.
What is truly scary about all of this is that it is all happening under a Conservative Party government. The mind boggles at what would be going on if Stphane Dion was running things.
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