So one catch to all these programs, and the opposition to them, is that in some cases, particularly in agriculture, is that these temporary workers are essential. This does not mean the workers should be able to stay after the crops are picked. Another case would be wild land firefighters, which is becoming a world employer, with crews and equipment shifting hemispheres with the seasons.Little-known program dominates Canada's massive guest-worker scheme
The International Mobility Program now brings in by far the most newcomers — with more than one million in the country now
Author of the articleouglas Todd
Published Sep 12, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
The International Mobility Program now accounts for by far the largest stream of guest workers in Canada, bringing in more than one million.
The International Mobility Program now accounts for by far the largest stream of guest workers in Canada, bringing in more than one million.
Union leader Mark Olsen is frustrated Canadians know almost nothing about Ottawa’s international mobility program. And he’s afraid company bosses want it that way.
The program is the vast federal guest worker program that now brings by far the most newcomers into Canada — with more than one million in the country now.
It’s also the program that Olsen believes makes it most easy for employers to exploit guest workers, which in turn harms Canadian workers.
As the western manager of the Laborers International Union of North America, Olsen said that the international mobility program is drawing more than four times as many guest workers as the more discussed temporary foreign workers program.
Two weeks ago Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to modestly trim the temporary foreign workers program by up to 80,000 workers after protests that it was responsible for a high number of low-wage workers at a time of high unemployment among Canadian young people.
An Angus Reid Institute poll released Tuesday shows that 56 per cent of Canadians believe the Liberals are bringing in too many temporary workers, which they think is making it harder to access housing and obtain decent wages.
Olsen believes Trudeau’s gesture with the temporary foreign workers program is window-dressing. If the past is a guide, he said, the federal government and corporations will just use the decline of that program to funnel more foreign workers into the expanding international mobility program.
The government’s strategy, Olsen said, will continue to “institutionalize foreign worker exploitation, discrimination and abuse, distort the labour market, suppress Canadians’ wages and lead to a loss of training opportunities and jobs for Canadian workers, including Indigenous people and women.”
There is a need, Olsen said, for qualified people to come from other countries to work in Canada. That’s especially the case in Canada’s gigantic construction industry, which employs most members of the Laborers International Union of North America. But guest workers, Olsen said, must be invited to the country in a way that’s fair both to them and to Canadian workers.
The major defect in the international mobility program, Olsen said, is that, unlike the temporary foreign workers program, it doesn’t require Canadian employers to provide evidence to the government that they’re unable to find a Canadian to do the job.
IMP
The guest worker track known as the international mobility program has expanded dramatically since the Liberals gained power in 2015.
“This has made the IMP (international mobility program) ripe for abuse of both the system and the temporary worker, and has fuelled explosive growth under the program,” said Olsen.
A second problem with the international mobility program is that employers are allowed to pay the foreign workers significantly less than they pay Canadians in the same job, whether they’re in the field of high tech, health care, retail or construction. That’s because bosses only have to commit to paying foreign workers a wage that is higher, even only slightly higher, than the median Canadian salary, which Olsen said is in the $23-an-hour range.
That leads to international mobility program workers often doing the same tasks as Canadian workers at far lower wages.
Obviously, Olsen said, the big wage disparity hands bosses an incentive to hire cheap labour through that program, rather than seek Canadian applicants.
“It results in employers paying substandard wages and often no benefits to foreign workers,” Olsen said in a joint memo with Eric Olsen, his brother, who is the political director for the western arm of Laborers International Union, which has about 400,000 members in the U.S. and 150,000 in Canada. “It also allows employers to pay Canadian workers less than the market would ordinarily require, distorting the market.”
The B.C. Building Trades this year put together a report on migration, with case studies showing how B.C. employers paid foreign workers much less than Canadians during construction of the Golden Ears Bridge, the Murray River mine project and the Canada Line.
Since 2015, the Liberal government has dramatically increased the number of temporary residents in Canada, to about 2.8 million. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said this year that nine per cent are in the temporary foreign workers program stream, 44 per cent are employed in Canada through the international mobility program category and another 43 per cent are foreign students, most of whom are allowed to work.
However, Mark Olsen is on to something when he worries ordinary Canadians have no idea about the country’s many guest worker programs — and the often crucial differences between them.
Olsen
Mark Olsen of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA).
Canada’s migration system is complex and confusing. Even politicians, pundits and pollsters often make comments that suggest they mistakenly think the temporary foreign workers program is the only Canadian stream for “temporary” workers. It doesn’t help that the term, international mobility program, is itself fuzzy.
In the face of the public’s ignorance, which Mark Olsen believes companies capitalize on, the leaders of the Laborers International Union want to reform Canada’s guest-worker programs.
One top recommendation is that bosses using the international mobility program must prove there is a need for each guest worker. Such declarations exist with the temporary foreign workers program, when employers fill out a document called a labour market impact assessment.
And since news reports frequently arise about abuse and deception in regard to the rules of the guest worker system, the union says “there must be proper enforcement and significant penalties.”
In addition, the union wants all foreign workers in Canada to “have the same rights as Canadian workers” and “be paid the same as Canadian workers in wages and benefits.”
It also recommends providing foreign workers “a pathway to Canadian citizenship.” As the union’s policy paper says: “If these workers are good enough to be invited here to build our country, they are good enough to stay and build their families and communities.”
In regard to these last two reforms, Mark Olsen acknowledged that there is sometimes resistance from members of his union.
Temp workers
Fifty-four per cent say the foreign worker system is bad for ‘the labour market for Canadian citizens.’ Source: Angus Reid Institute poll, September 2024
Given changing public sentiment in Canada, that’s not surprising. One key finding in this week’s Angus Reid poll is that only 24 per cent of Canadians believe guest workers should be offered a route to citizenship.
Nevertheless, Mark Olsen said after he talks to members about the union recommendations on guest workers, they invariably end up embracing the union’s viewpoint, which he describes as “respect for all.”
dtodd@postmedia.com
View attachment 24678View attachment 24679
Temporary Foreign Workers: Canadians support reduced program; few want workers to have path to citizenship -
Majority believe program is ‘bad’ for labour market for citizens, Canada’s housing situation September 10, 2024 – As Canadians express more concern over immigration, the federal government is taking steps to rein in the number of temporary residents the country takes in. That includes changes...angusreid.org
Little-known program dominates Canada's massive guest-worker scheme
Douglas Todd: Labour head frustrated Canadians know almost nothing about International Mobility Program. He's afraid bosses want it that waytorontosun.com
Refugee/Migrant Crisis
- Thread starter Tecumsehsbones
- Start date
Want to make a metric fuck tonne of money. Buy a shiny new combine and 10t dumper in Texas and work your way north custom harvesting all the way to Peace River. When done sell it. It's paid for. You'll get the depreciation back at tax time.
Start over next June with two.
Trudeau has broken every aspect of our immigration system
System is falling apart due to mismanagement by Trudeau's Liberal team.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Sep 13, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
If it wasn’t clear already, this past week showed there isn’t a single facet of the immigration system the Liberals haven’t broken.
A man on a student visa was in court on terrorism charges, a TD bank report showed temporary workers are harming the economy, and the Trudeau government started talking about moving tens of thousands of asylum seekers across the country.
“We could open a hotel in any particular province and ship people there,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said at the Liberal caucus retreat.
He was reacting to news that some premiers don’t want the federal government to ship thousands of asylum seekers their way from Ontario and Quebec. Rather than fix the problem, Miller and the rest of Trudeau’s team are trying to spread it around.
We’ve gone from a few thousand people showing up at airports and declaring asylum to a few thousand a month.
The problem is that the Trudeau government relaxed the visa requirements, in some cases waiving them. That has resulted in people who would otherwise be denied entrance to Canada being given permission to fly here and claim immediate asylum.
India is currently the top source country for people claiming asylum with more than 15,000 claims in the first six months of this year, claims from Mexico are at nearly 9,000. People coming here from India and Mexico, with rare exception, are not refugees, they are economic migrants abusing a system meant to protect people from persecution.
The Liberals could fix this problem by fixing the visa system, but they’d rather talk about building hotels, busing people across the country and be arguing with premiers than looking for solutions.
When it isn’t letting the visa system rot, we have questions about how well we vet people coming into the country.
On Friday, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was in court on terrorism charges. Khan was arrested last week after the FBI uncovered a plot, they say would have seen Khan travel to Brooklyn, New York to carry out an attack on the Jewish community there.
Khan was living in the Toronto area for a little over a year but is a Pakistani national who was admitted to Canada in June 2023 on a student visa. The arrest came just five weeks after Ahmed Eldidi was arrested on terrorism charges with a plot allegedly targeting Toronto’s Jewish community.
Eldidi had come to Canada on a visitor’s visa in 2018, claimed refugee status a few months later and was granted Canadian citizenship in May 2024 just before he was arrested.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the strength of our vetting system during a news conference in Montreal. To listen to Trudeau, there are no problems with the system.
“First of all, this is an extraordinarily serious situation, and it highlights just how effective our security services and institutions are that we were able to interdict these, these very, very potentially devastating situations,” Trudeau said.
The arrests are one thing, but why are we not catching people before they enter the country. One of the charges against Eldidi is due to what police say was his participation in an ISIS terror and torture video in 2015.
Our asylum claims are off the charts, the visa system is broken, we can’t properly vet people coming into Canada and now a report from TD Bank that says the over reliance on temporary foreign workers is hurting the economy.
All of these problems have been created by the Trudeau Liberals and their mismanagement of the system.
blilley@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
System is falling apart due to mismanagement by Trudeau's Liberal team.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Sep 13, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
If it wasn’t clear already, this past week showed there isn’t a single facet of the immigration system the Liberals haven’t broken.
A man on a student visa was in court on terrorism charges, a TD bank report showed temporary workers are harming the economy, and the Trudeau government started talking about moving tens of thousands of asylum seekers across the country.
“We could open a hotel in any particular province and ship people there,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said at the Liberal caucus retreat.
He was reacting to news that some premiers don’t want the federal government to ship thousands of asylum seekers their way from Ontario and Quebec. Rather than fix the problem, Miller and the rest of Trudeau’s team are trying to spread it around.
We’ve gone from a few thousand people showing up at airports and declaring asylum to a few thousand a month.
The problem is that the Trudeau government relaxed the visa requirements, in some cases waiving them. That has resulted in people who would otherwise be denied entrance to Canada being given permission to fly here and claim immediate asylum.
India is currently the top source country for people claiming asylum with more than 15,000 claims in the first six months of this year, claims from Mexico are at nearly 9,000. People coming here from India and Mexico, with rare exception, are not refugees, they are economic migrants abusing a system meant to protect people from persecution.
The Liberals could fix this problem by fixing the visa system, but they’d rather talk about building hotels, busing people across the country and be arguing with premiers than looking for solutions.
When it isn’t letting the visa system rot, we have questions about how well we vet people coming into the country.
On Friday, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was in court on terrorism charges. Khan was arrested last week after the FBI uncovered a plot, they say would have seen Khan travel to Brooklyn, New York to carry out an attack on the Jewish community there.
Khan was living in the Toronto area for a little over a year but is a Pakistani national who was admitted to Canada in June 2023 on a student visa. The arrest came just five weeks after Ahmed Eldidi was arrested on terrorism charges with a plot allegedly targeting Toronto’s Jewish community.
Eldidi had come to Canada on a visitor’s visa in 2018, claimed refugee status a few months later and was granted Canadian citizenship in May 2024 just before he was arrested.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the strength of our vetting system during a news conference in Montreal. To listen to Trudeau, there are no problems with the system.
“First of all, this is an extraordinarily serious situation, and it highlights just how effective our security services and institutions are that we were able to interdict these, these very, very potentially devastating situations,” Trudeau said.
The arrests are one thing, but why are we not catching people before they enter the country. One of the charges against Eldidi is due to what police say was his participation in an ISIS terror and torture video in 2015.
Our asylum claims are off the charts, the visa system is broken, we can’t properly vet people coming into Canada and now a report from TD Bank that says the over reliance on temporary foreign workers is hurting the economy.
All of these problems have been created by the Trudeau Liberals and their mismanagement of the system.
blilley@postmedia.com
LILLEY: Trudeau has broken every aspect of our immigration system
Under the Trudeau Liberals there isn't a single part of our immigration system that is working as it should.
Man arrested in Quebec for alleged plot to kill Jews in NYC returns to court Dec. 6
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Sidhartha Banerjee
Published Sep 13, 2024 • 3 minute read
MONTREAL — The case of a 20-year-old man arrested over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jews in New York City was before a judge briefly on Friday and will return to court in December in Montreal.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani national living in Ontario, was arrested Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., allegedly on his way across the border into New York state. United States officials charged Khan with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, and they are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial.
Authorities allege that Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting in support of the Islamic State at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
They allege he began planning his attack in November 2023, the same time he allegedly started posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging app about his support for ISIS; he also allegedly distributed propaganda and literature about the terror group.
Khan then began communicating with two undercover officers who posed as people willing to help him carry out his alleged attack plan. The accused allegedly implored the two officers to buy weapons for the plot.
During one communication, Khan noted, “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
U.S. officials said he took three separate vehicles while travelling to the U.S. border.
In announcing his arrest, the RCMP said, “as his actions escalated, at no point in time was Khan an immediate threat prior to his arrest.”
He was not present for a hearing on Friday before the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal, where lawyers said they are waiting for extradition documents and for authorization from Canadian officials before proceeding with the case, which will return before a judge on Dec. 6.
Khan’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, said U.S. authorities have 60 days to file the necessary paperwork and Canadian officials have 30 days to authorize the extradition process.
“He was arrested last week and they have 60 days to produce the evidence the United States has,” Bourassa said outside the courtroom. “On Dec. 6, if we receive the proof, then we’ll fix a date for the hearing.” Khan is expected to appear via video on that date.
Bourassa said he spoke with his client, who is “reacting very well.” He called the evidence in the case “complex,” noting there are witnesses in the United States whose names he doesn’t know.
Earlier this week, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Khan arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa granted to him the previous month.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about what is being done to ensure other ISIS supporters haven’t entered the country under false pretences.
“First of all, this is an extraordinarily serious situation and it highlights just how effective our security services and institutions are that we were able to interdict these, these very, very potentially devastating situations,” Trudeau told reporters in the Montreal area.
“We work with partners around the world … sharing intelligence and there’s many situations in which Canadian intelligence has been important to partners around the world.”
The RCMP said in a release last week that Khan faces three charges in Canada: attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist group; participating in activities of a terrorist group; and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating U.S. immigration law or attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully. He was later rearrested under a provisional warrant involving the extradition request.
Bourassa said Friday he’s unaware of any charges laid against Khan in Canada, and a Justice Department lawyer present in court on Friday referred questions to a spokesperson in Ottawa.
“He was surprised, he was arrested at the border under special circumstances,” Bourassa said.
Khan remains detained at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Sidhartha Banerjee
Published Sep 13, 2024 • 3 minute read
MONTREAL — The case of a 20-year-old man arrested over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jews in New York City was before a judge briefly on Friday and will return to court in December in Montreal.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani national living in Ontario, was arrested Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., allegedly on his way across the border into New York state. United States officials charged Khan with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, and they are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial.
Authorities allege that Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting in support of the Islamic State at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
They allege he began planning his attack in November 2023, the same time he allegedly started posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging app about his support for ISIS; he also allegedly distributed propaganda and literature about the terror group.
Khan then began communicating with two undercover officers who posed as people willing to help him carry out his alleged attack plan. The accused allegedly implored the two officers to buy weapons for the plot.
During one communication, Khan noted, “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
U.S. officials said he took three separate vehicles while travelling to the U.S. border.
In announcing his arrest, the RCMP said, “as his actions escalated, at no point in time was Khan an immediate threat prior to his arrest.”
He was not present for a hearing on Friday before the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal, where lawyers said they are waiting for extradition documents and for authorization from Canadian officials before proceeding with the case, which will return before a judge on Dec. 6.
Khan’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, said U.S. authorities have 60 days to file the necessary paperwork and Canadian officials have 30 days to authorize the extradition process.
“He was arrested last week and they have 60 days to produce the evidence the United States has,” Bourassa said outside the courtroom. “On Dec. 6, if we receive the proof, then we’ll fix a date for the hearing.” Khan is expected to appear via video on that date.
Bourassa said he spoke with his client, who is “reacting very well.” He called the evidence in the case “complex,” noting there are witnesses in the United States whose names he doesn’t know.
Earlier this week, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Khan arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa granted to him the previous month.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about what is being done to ensure other ISIS supporters haven’t entered the country under false pretences.
“First of all, this is an extraordinarily serious situation and it highlights just how effective our security services and institutions are that we were able to interdict these, these very, very potentially devastating situations,” Trudeau told reporters in the Montreal area.
“We work with partners around the world … sharing intelligence and there’s many situations in which Canadian intelligence has been important to partners around the world.”
The RCMP said in a release last week that Khan faces three charges in Canada: attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist group; participating in activities of a terrorist group; and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating U.S. immigration law or attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully. He was later rearrested under a provisional warrant involving the extradition request.
Bourassa said Friday he’s unaware of any charges laid against Khan in Canada, and a Justice Department lawyer present in court on Friday referred questions to a spokesperson in Ottawa.
“He was surprised, he was arrested at the border under special circumstances,” Bourassa said.
Khan remains detained at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail.
Man arrested in Quebec for alleged plot to kill Jews in NYC returns to court Dec. 6
The case of a 20-year-old man arrested over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jews in New York City was before a judge briefly
Terrorism sympathizer who planned to target Calgary Pride handed 6-year prison term
Author of the article:Kevin Martin
Published Sep 13, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read
The Calgary man who facilitated terrorist activities through online postings — which included targeting the city’s Pride activities — was handed a six-year prison term Friday.
With credit for time on remand, Zakarya Rida Hussein will have serve another four years and 45 days, and won’t be eligible for parole until he’s served at least half that time, Justice Harry Van Harten ordered.
The Calgary Court of Justice judge accepted a joint submission from Crown prosecutor Domenic Puglia and defence counsel Alain Hepner for that sentence.
Puglia said there were multiple aggravating factors to justify a significant penitentiary term, including the fact Hussein, 21, targeted the city’s LGBTQ+ community when he wrote in a June 1, 2023, Snapchat post: “Tomorrow my mission begins. It’s Pride month. I’ve been waiting.”
The prosecutor also noted Hussein was found in possession of written instructions on how to make a bomb and a pre-sentence report suggested he still wasn’t aware of the impact of his crime.
“He states … I didn’t harm anyone,” Puglia told Van Harten.
“He actively did harm people and although the bomb didn’t go off … that doesn’t mean there wasn’t harm.”
Puglia said a six-year sentence would recognize the gravity of Hussein’s behaviour.
“This is a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offence and society’s condemnation of terrorism.”
Despite the comments in the pre-sentence report, Hepner said his client was remorseful for his conduct and now understand he was “brainwashed” by radical influences on social media.
“The guilty plea … is a sign of remorse. He does have insight into what has occurred. His family was shocked and disturbed,” Hepner said.
“He was completely, in my view, radicalized at this point … in his words, brainwashed.”
Hussein also addressed court, reading in a prepared statement.
“I was immature, naive and impressed by my peers when I got involved in the horrific black hole where my actions speak of radicalization,” he said.
Hussein pleaded guilty last Dec. 1, to facilitating a terrorist activity.
According to agreed facts read in by co-prosecutor Kent Brown at that time, Hussein engaged in online discussions about terrorist activities in the months leading up to his June 15, 2023, arrest and a search of his home and vehicle.
Among the items seized, Brown said, was a “notebook containing handwritten notes with step-by-step instructions for making an improvised explosive device.”
A consultation with experts “determined that the handwritten instructions located in the accused’s room appeared to be a viable and accurate means for the creation of a homemade explosive.”
On May 14, 2023, Hussein “knowingly facilitated a terrorist activity by posting an ISIS recruitment video to TikTok,” Brown said.
KMartin@postmedia.com
X: @KMartinCourts
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Kevin Martin
Published Sep 13, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read
The Calgary man who facilitated terrorist activities through online postings — which included targeting the city’s Pride activities — was handed a six-year prison term Friday.
With credit for time on remand, Zakarya Rida Hussein will have serve another four years and 45 days, and won’t be eligible for parole until he’s served at least half that time, Justice Harry Van Harten ordered.
The Calgary Court of Justice judge accepted a joint submission from Crown prosecutor Domenic Puglia and defence counsel Alain Hepner for that sentence.
Puglia said there were multiple aggravating factors to justify a significant penitentiary term, including the fact Hussein, 21, targeted the city’s LGBTQ+ community when he wrote in a June 1, 2023, Snapchat post: “Tomorrow my mission begins. It’s Pride month. I’ve been waiting.”
The prosecutor also noted Hussein was found in possession of written instructions on how to make a bomb and a pre-sentence report suggested he still wasn’t aware of the impact of his crime.
“He states … I didn’t harm anyone,” Puglia told Van Harten.
“He actively did harm people and although the bomb didn’t go off … that doesn’t mean there wasn’t harm.”
Puglia said a six-year sentence would recognize the gravity of Hussein’s behaviour.
“This is a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offence and society’s condemnation of terrorism.”
Despite the comments in the pre-sentence report, Hepner said his client was remorseful for his conduct and now understand he was “brainwashed” by radical influences on social media.
“The guilty plea … is a sign of remorse. He does have insight into what has occurred. His family was shocked and disturbed,” Hepner said.
“He was completely, in my view, radicalized at this point … in his words, brainwashed.”
Hussein also addressed court, reading in a prepared statement.
“I was immature, naive and impressed by my peers when I got involved in the horrific black hole where my actions speak of radicalization,” he said.
Hussein pleaded guilty last Dec. 1, to facilitating a terrorist activity.
According to agreed facts read in by co-prosecutor Kent Brown at that time, Hussein engaged in online discussions about terrorist activities in the months leading up to his June 15, 2023, arrest and a search of his home and vehicle.
Among the items seized, Brown said, was a “notebook containing handwritten notes with step-by-step instructions for making an improvised explosive device.”
A consultation with experts “determined that the handwritten instructions located in the accused’s room appeared to be a viable and accurate means for the creation of a homemade explosive.”
On May 14, 2023, Hussein “knowingly facilitated a terrorist activity by posting an ISIS recruitment video to TikTok,” Brown said.
KMartin@postmedia.com
X: @KMartinCourts
Terrorism sympathizer who planned to target Calgary Pride handed six-year prison term
Terrorism sympathizer Zakarya Rida Hussein sentenced to six years in prison on a charge of facilitating a terrorist activity.
Calgary man sentenced to six years in prison for sharing terrorism videos on TikTok
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Sep 17, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read
A Calgary man who pleaded guilty to sharing Islamic State recruitment videos and propaganda on TikTok will spend the next six years behind bars.
A Calgary man who pleaded guilty to sharing Islamic State recruitment videos and propaganda on TikTok will spend the next six years behind bars.
CALGARY — A Calgary man who admitted to sharing Islamic State recruitment videos and propaganda on TikTok has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Zakarya Rida Hussein, 20, was sentenced in court Friday after he earlier pleaded guilty to one of four terrorism-related charges.
Hussein admitted that he owned social media accounts that posted ISIS propaganda. Court heard that one recruitment video, posted in May 2023, received comments from other users that included “I$I$ and proud” and “the video itself is very motivational.”
An agreed statement of facts submitted in court says Hussein later shared a longer version of the same video in a text message.
The document says Hussein also posted a message to Snapchat on June 1, 2023, saying his mission would begin the next day — nearly two weeks before he was arrested by RCMP and Calgary police.
“It’s Pride month,” he wrote. “I’ve been waiting.”
The court document says Hussein shared a video to a group chat containing “extremist ideological interpretations that encouraged the killing of gay men.”
Hussein also replied to an automated text message from Alberta’s United Conservative Party asking for his support, the document says.
“No,” he wrote back. “I’m gonna do a terrorist attack on you guys.”
“I’ll blow you guys up with an explosive,” he said in response to another automated text asking if the UCP could put a sign up at his house.
During a search, police recovered a notebook with step-by-step instructions for making an improvised explosive device, an ISIS flag, several electronics, a black collapsible baton, knives and imitation brass knuckles.
Canada’s crown prosecution service said in a statement Tuesday that Hussein will need to submit DNA results and will be under a lifetime ban from owning firearms after he’s released.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Sep 17, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read
A Calgary man who pleaded guilty to sharing Islamic State recruitment videos and propaganda on TikTok will spend the next six years behind bars.
A Calgary man who pleaded guilty to sharing Islamic State recruitment videos and propaganda on TikTok will spend the next six years behind bars.
CALGARY — A Calgary man who admitted to sharing Islamic State recruitment videos and propaganda on TikTok has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Zakarya Rida Hussein, 20, was sentenced in court Friday after he earlier pleaded guilty to one of four terrorism-related charges.
Hussein admitted that he owned social media accounts that posted ISIS propaganda. Court heard that one recruitment video, posted in May 2023, received comments from other users that included “I$I$ and proud” and “the video itself is very motivational.”
An agreed statement of facts submitted in court says Hussein later shared a longer version of the same video in a text message.
The document says Hussein also posted a message to Snapchat on June 1, 2023, saying his mission would begin the next day — nearly two weeks before he was arrested by RCMP and Calgary police.
“It’s Pride month,” he wrote. “I’ve been waiting.”
The court document says Hussein shared a video to a group chat containing “extremist ideological interpretations that encouraged the killing of gay men.”
Hussein also replied to an automated text message from Alberta’s United Conservative Party asking for his support, the document says.
“No,” he wrote back. “I’m gonna do a terrorist attack on you guys.”
“I’ll blow you guys up with an explosive,” he said in response to another automated text asking if the UCP could put a sign up at his house.
During a search, police recovered a notebook with step-by-step instructions for making an improvised explosive device, an ISIS flag, several electronics, a black collapsible baton, knives and imitation brass knuckles.
Canada’s crown prosecution service said in a statement Tuesday that Hussein will need to submit DNA results and will be under a lifetime ban from owning firearms after he’s released.
Calgary man sentenced to six years in prison for sharing terrorism videos on TikTok
Hussein admitted that he owned social media accounts that posted ISIS recruitment videos and propaganda.
Despite deportation order, migrant influencer likely stuck in U.S.
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Sep 17, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A migrant influencer who went viral on social media by flaunting American money and other handouts while encouraging others who crossed into the country illegally to squat in vacant homes has reportedly been ordered deported.
However, the deportation likely won’t happen anytime soon due to a diplomatic rift between the U.S. and Venezuela.
According to the New York Post, 27-year-old Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno was ordered out of the country by an Ohio-based immigration judge on Sept. 9, citing U.S. Homeland Security sources.
But because Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his authoritarian regime followed through on a threat to no longer accept migrants flown back to the country from the U.S. last February, it appears that Moreno isn’t going anywhere.
The almost weekly flights of migrants being returned to Venezuela were halted in late January, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal.
No domestic flights are allowed from the U.S. to Venezuela since 2019 after the U.S. government cited reports of unrest and violence.
Moreno, who crossed the U.S. southern border illegally into Texas in April 2022, went viral on TikTok after he shared a video that encouraged migrants to come to the U.S. and invoke “squatter’s rights” to empty and dilapidated homes so that they can be renovated and sold for profit.
He also bragged of not being employed and buying supplies for his American-born baby with food stamps while flaunting wads of cash.
“I don’t like to work,” he told his followers. “Boys, in the U.S. there are a million tricks, a million things to do” to live for free.
Earlier this year, he said his family received $350 a week from the federal government and claimed to bring in $1,000 a day begging for cash.
Moreno, who remains in custody at the Geauga County Jail in Ohio, spoke in April claiming to be a victim of “persecution” in both countries.
“I came here to the United States because of persecution in my country … But they’re doing the same thing to me in the United States — persecuting me,” Moreno told the Post.
“It’s all misinformation in the media about me. They’re defaming me. They’re misrepresenting me in the news … I am a good father, a good husband, a good son, a good person, humble, respectful to people who respect me.”
nypost.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article
ostmedia NewsPublished Sep 17, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
A migrant influencer who went viral on social media by flaunting American money and other handouts while encouraging others who crossed into the country illegally to squat in vacant homes has reportedly been ordered deported.
However, the deportation likely won’t happen anytime soon due to a diplomatic rift between the U.S. and Venezuela.
According to the New York Post, 27-year-old Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno was ordered out of the country by an Ohio-based immigration judge on Sept. 9, citing U.S. Homeland Security sources.
But because Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his authoritarian regime followed through on a threat to no longer accept migrants flown back to the country from the U.S. last February, it appears that Moreno isn’t going anywhere.
The almost weekly flights of migrants being returned to Venezuela were halted in late January, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal.
No domestic flights are allowed from the U.S. to Venezuela since 2019 after the U.S. government cited reports of unrest and violence.
Moreno, who crossed the U.S. southern border illegally into Texas in April 2022, went viral on TikTok after he shared a video that encouraged migrants to come to the U.S. and invoke “squatter’s rights” to empty and dilapidated homes so that they can be renovated and sold for profit.
He also bragged of not being employed and buying supplies for his American-born baby with food stamps while flaunting wads of cash.
“I don’t like to work,” he told his followers. “Boys, in the U.S. there are a million tricks, a million things to do” to live for free.
Earlier this year, he said his family received $350 a week from the federal government and claimed to bring in $1,000 a day begging for cash.
Moreno, who remains in custody at the Geauga County Jail in Ohio, spoke in April claiming to be a victim of “persecution” in both countries.
“I came here to the United States because of persecution in my country … But they’re doing the same thing to me in the United States — persecuting me,” Moreno told the Post.
“It’s all misinformation in the media about me. They’re defaming me. They’re misrepresenting me in the news … I am a good father, a good husband, a good son, a good person, humble, respectful to people who respect me.”
Exclusive | ‘Migrant influencer’ Leonel Moreno, who encouraged migrants to be squatters, is ordered deported — but here’s why he likely won’t be kicked out of the country
“Migrant influencer” Leonel Moreno, who went viral on TikTok for encouraging illegal border crossers to squat in US homes, was ordered deported by an immigration judge — but he li…
nypost.com
Despite deportation order, migrant influencer likely stuck in U.S.
A migrant influencer who went viral on social media by flaunting American money and other handouts has reportedly been ordered deported.
RCMP feared they didn’t have enough evidence to hold terror suspect
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Sidhartha Banerjee
Published Sep 18, 2024 • 3 minute read
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man from Ontario wanted in the U.S. for an alleged Islamic State inspired terror plot to kill Jews in New York City reveals the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man from Ontario wanted in the U.S. for an alleged Islamic State inspired terror plot to kill Jews in New York City reveals the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
MONTREAL — Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn’t have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
The RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan on Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., as he allegedly prepared to cross the nearby border into the United States.
U.S. officials have charged Khan, 20, with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization — Islamic State — and they are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial in the Southern District of New York.
Authorities allege that Khan, a resident of Ontario who also went by Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting in support of Islamic State at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
The RCMP had grounds to arrest Khan based on information provided by the U.S. — but police feared they didn’t have enough evidence to hold him in the country, according to an affidavit filed with Ontario Superior Court on Sept. 4. The affidavit was part of an application for a provisional arrest warrant to keep Khan detained on the U.S. extradition request.
Khan was living in Mississauga, according to court documents, and federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller has said the accused arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa granted in May of that year.
RCMP in Quebec arrested Khan on Sept. 4 after their Ontario counterparts notified U.S. officials that he was planning to cross the border with the help of a human smuggler.
According to the affidavit, Khan was arrested on three terror-related charges: Attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terror group; participating in the activities of a terror group; and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating U.S. immigration law. However, the police didn’t have enough evidence to keep him detained.
“The RCMP had grounds to arrested Khan on the information provided by the U.S. but they do not have enough evidence to keep Khan in custody,” Det.-Const. Charlene Smith of Toronto Police said in the affidavit seeking the arrest warrant under the Extradition Act.
“If Khan is released, the RCMP do not know if he will continue on to the U.S. to commit the offences set out in this request.”
Authorities feared that Khan was a flight risk with no ties to Canada and that if he fled to Pakistan, it would limit the United States’ ability to extradite him.
“There are no charges pending against Khan in Canada and although we understand Canadian law enforcement is attempting to gather more evidence related to their arrest, Khan will be released shortly if those efforts are not fruitful,” according to a Justice Department affidavit authorizing the request for an extradition-linked arrest warrant.
“If Khan were to flee to Pakistan, the United States would have limited ability to arrest and extradite him.”
While the U.S has an extradition treaty with Pakistan, that country is not a “co-operative partner in extradition,” according to the documents filed in the case.
U.S. officials said Khan allegedly began planning his attack in November 2023, the same time he allegedly started posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging app about his support for ISIS; he also allegedly distributed propaganda and literature about the terror group.
Khan then began communicating with two undercover officers who posed as people willing to help him carry out his alleged attack. The accused allegedly implored the two officers to buy weapons for the plot.
During one communication, Khan noted, “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
He is not charged with any crimes in Canada for the time being, his Montreal attorney Gaetan Bourassa told reporters last Friday following a court hearing during which his extradition case was postponed until Dec. 6.
Under extradition rules, the U.S. has 60 days from the arrest to file evidence and Canada has a further 30 days to allow the extradition or refuse it.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Sidhartha Banerjee
Published Sep 18, 2024 • 3 minute read
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man from Ontario wanted in the U.S. for an alleged Islamic State inspired terror plot to kill Jews in New York City reveals the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man from Ontario wanted in the U.S. for an alleged Islamic State inspired terror plot to kill Jews in New York City reveals the RCMP didn't have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
MONTREAL — Court documents filed in the case of a Pakistani man arrested in Quebec for an alleged plot to kill Jews in New York City reveal the RCMP didn’t have enough evidence to hold him in Canada.
The RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan on Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., as he allegedly prepared to cross the nearby border into the United States.
U.S. officials have charged Khan, 20, with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization — Islamic State — and they are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial in the Southern District of New York.
Authorities allege that Khan, a resident of Ontario who also went by Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting in support of Islamic State at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
The RCMP had grounds to arrest Khan based on information provided by the U.S. — but police feared they didn’t have enough evidence to hold him in the country, according to an affidavit filed with Ontario Superior Court on Sept. 4. The affidavit was part of an application for a provisional arrest warrant to keep Khan detained on the U.S. extradition request.
Khan was living in Mississauga, according to court documents, and federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller has said the accused arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa granted in May of that year.
RCMP in Quebec arrested Khan on Sept. 4 after their Ontario counterparts notified U.S. officials that he was planning to cross the border with the help of a human smuggler.
According to the affidavit, Khan was arrested on three terror-related charges: Attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terror group; participating in the activities of a terror group; and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating U.S. immigration law. However, the police didn’t have enough evidence to keep him detained.
“The RCMP had grounds to arrested Khan on the information provided by the U.S. but they do not have enough evidence to keep Khan in custody,” Det.-Const. Charlene Smith of Toronto Police said in the affidavit seeking the arrest warrant under the Extradition Act.
“If Khan is released, the RCMP do not know if he will continue on to the U.S. to commit the offences set out in this request.”
Authorities feared that Khan was a flight risk with no ties to Canada and that if he fled to Pakistan, it would limit the United States’ ability to extradite him.
“There are no charges pending against Khan in Canada and although we understand Canadian law enforcement is attempting to gather more evidence related to their arrest, Khan will be released shortly if those efforts are not fruitful,” according to a Justice Department affidavit authorizing the request for an extradition-linked arrest warrant.
“If Khan were to flee to Pakistan, the United States would have limited ability to arrest and extradite him.”
While the U.S has an extradition treaty with Pakistan, that country is not a “co-operative partner in extradition,” according to the documents filed in the case.
U.S. officials said Khan allegedly began planning his attack in November 2023, the same time he allegedly started posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging app about his support for ISIS; he also allegedly distributed propaganda and literature about the terror group.
Khan then began communicating with two undercover officers who posed as people willing to help him carry out his alleged attack. The accused allegedly implored the two officers to buy weapons for the plot.
During one communication, Khan noted, “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
He is not charged with any crimes in Canada for the time being, his Montreal attorney Gaetan Bourassa told reporters last Friday following a court hearing during which his extradition case was postponed until Dec. 6.
Under extradition rules, the U.S. has 60 days from the arrest to file evidence and Canada has a further 30 days to allow the extradition or refuse it.
RCMP feared they didn’t have enough evidence to hold terror suspect
The RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan on Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., as he allegedly prepared to cross the nearby border into the U.S.
Illegal migrant charged in Rochester quadruple murder, that killed two kids
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Sep 18, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Illegal immigrant Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano is also wanted for a murder in the Dominican Republic.
Illegal immigrant Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano is also wanted for a murder in the Dominican Republic.
Homicide detectives have arrested an illegal immigrant for the sickening murders of a couple and their two young children in a Rochester suburb.
Cops say emergency personnel arrived at an out-of-control blaze in Irondequoit around 5:23 a.m. on Aug. 31. In the basement of the home firefighters discovered four bodies.
Officers identified the victims as a couple and their toddlers: Marangely Moreno-Santiago, 32; Fraime Ubaldo, 30; Evangeline Ubaldo-Moreno, 4, and Sebastian Ubaldo-Moreno, 2.
Cops say the sinister murder of the family of four was targeted.
Cops say the sinister murder of the family of four was targeted.
Three of the family’s dogs were also killed in the blaze.
“Due to the nature of the scene, our processing took almost 2 full days,” officers wrote on Facebook. “Limited information was initially given out due to the need to inform family members that had to be located in other states.”
Charged with murder in what cops are calling “targeted” killings is Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano, 34. Originally from the Dominican Republic, he is wanted on the island for a 2019 murder.
After his arrest, investigators revealed that he allegedly used a sharp object to stab the victims to death with blows to the neck and chest, WHAM reports. The home was then set on fire to cover up the crime, police said.
So far, police have not revealed a motive but have indicated they are hunting more suspects.
It’s believed that Pimentel-Soriano slipped into the U.S. via Puerto Rico, where he obtained fraudulent identification for New York state, then travelled to the mainland. He has ties to the Rochester area.
“It’s two little children. They don’t know nothing. All they know what to do is play,” neighbour Samuel Rivera told WHEC. “To me, they look like a good family. They come out to the porch and do their little get together. They talk to me all the time. One day they invited my granddaughter for a birthday party.”
Ubaldo’s pal Tim Luckey added: [I’m] just having a hard time believing that this great kid that I knew and loved — for that matter, him and his family — being killed this way, was just unacceptable.”
Salvadorian national Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, has been charged over the “detestable and disturbing rape” of a 12-year-old child.
Salvadorian national Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, has been charged over the “detestable and disturbing rape” of a 12-year-old child.
Meanwhile, the worrying trend of migrant crime in the U.S. has now hit the billionaire’s playground of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts.
Cops say Salvadorian national Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, has been charged over the “detestable and disturbing rape” of a 12-year-old child. He was arrested Sept. 10 for the alleged July 11 incident.
Aldana-Arevalo now faces one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office said.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail on July 29.
Jocelyn Nungaray went to a Houston convenience store and never made it home.
Jocelyn Nungaray went to a Houston convenience store and never made it home.
“Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo stands accused of some detestable and disturbing crimes against a Nantucket child,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said.
According to the feds, it wasn’t clear where and when the illegal migrant entered the U.S.
His arrest comes in the wake of the sickening murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston. Two Venezuelan migrants, Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, were released into the U.S. despite being intercepted by border agents.
After it was revealed that the little girl was also raped, the pair were charged with capital murder. If convicted they face a possible death sentence.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterYOSun
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Sep 18, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Illegal immigrant Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano is also wanted for a murder in the Dominican Republic.
Illegal immigrant Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano is also wanted for a murder in the Dominican Republic.
Homicide detectives have arrested an illegal immigrant for the sickening murders of a couple and their two young children in a Rochester suburb.
Cops say emergency personnel arrived at an out-of-control blaze in Irondequoit around 5:23 a.m. on Aug. 31. In the basement of the home firefighters discovered four bodies.
Officers identified the victims as a couple and their toddlers: Marangely Moreno-Santiago, 32; Fraime Ubaldo, 30; Evangeline Ubaldo-Moreno, 4, and Sebastian Ubaldo-Moreno, 2.
Cops say the sinister murder of the family of four was targeted.
Cops say the sinister murder of the family of four was targeted.
Three of the family’s dogs were also killed in the blaze.
“Due to the nature of the scene, our processing took almost 2 full days,” officers wrote on Facebook. “Limited information was initially given out due to the need to inform family members that had to be located in other states.”
Charged with murder in what cops are calling “targeted” killings is Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano, 34. Originally from the Dominican Republic, he is wanted on the island for a 2019 murder.
After his arrest, investigators revealed that he allegedly used a sharp object to stab the victims to death with blows to the neck and chest, WHAM reports. The home was then set on fire to cover up the crime, police said.
So far, police have not revealed a motive but have indicated they are hunting more suspects.
It’s believed that Pimentel-Soriano slipped into the U.S. via Puerto Rico, where he obtained fraudulent identification for New York state, then travelled to the mainland. He has ties to the Rochester area.
“It’s two little children. They don’t know nothing. All they know what to do is play,” neighbour Samuel Rivera told WHEC. “To me, they look like a good family. They come out to the porch and do their little get together. They talk to me all the time. One day they invited my granddaughter for a birthday party.”
Ubaldo’s pal Tim Luckey added: [I’m] just having a hard time believing that this great kid that I knew and loved — for that matter, him and his family — being killed this way, was just unacceptable.”
Salvadorian national Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, has been charged over the “detestable and disturbing rape” of a 12-year-old child.
Salvadorian national Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, has been charged over the “detestable and disturbing rape” of a 12-year-old child.
Meanwhile, the worrying trend of migrant crime in the U.S. has now hit the billionaire’s playground of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts.
Cops say Salvadorian national Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, has been charged over the “detestable and disturbing rape” of a 12-year-old child. He was arrested Sept. 10 for the alleged July 11 incident.
Aldana-Arevalo now faces one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office said.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail on July 29.
Jocelyn Nungaray went to a Houston convenience store and never made it home.
Jocelyn Nungaray went to a Houston convenience store and never made it home.
“Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo stands accused of some detestable and disturbing crimes against a Nantucket child,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said.
According to the feds, it wasn’t clear where and when the illegal migrant entered the U.S.
His arrest comes in the wake of the sickening murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston. Two Venezuelan migrants, Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, were released into the U.S. despite being intercepted by border agents.
After it was revealed that the little girl was also raped, the pair were charged with capital murder. If convicted they face a possible death sentence.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterYOSun
Illegal migrant charged in Rochester quadruple murder, that killed two kids
Homicide detectives have arrested an illegal immigrant for incinerating a couple and their two young children in a Rochester suburb.
More than 2 decades later, federal government still working to deport Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat
Harkat was arrested on Dec. 10, 2002, in the heated aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Author of the article:Andrew Duffy
Published Sep 21, 2024 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 5 minute read
Twenty-two years after the federal government first launched its bid to deport Ottawa’s Mohamed Harkat to his native Algeria as a terrorist, a court will once again convene to consider the case.
A Federal Court hearing in December will review the “minister’s opinion,” written by an unnamed senior official at Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, that concluded Harkat posed a serious threat to Canada as a member of the al-Qaida network and should be deported despite holding refugee status in this country.
The judicial review will decide if that opinion, issued in October 2018, was legally fair and reasonable.
Harkat, now 56, arrived in Canada in October 1995 and has been living in Ottawa, or jail, ever since.
He says he will be tortured or killed if returned to Algeria, a country he fled in 1990 as a university student opposed to its then military-backed government. After leaving Algeria, he spent five years in Pakistan.
The minister’s opinion said that although Harkat did not commit terrorist acts directly, he was “complicit” in the crimes of those he assisted.
The opinion also concluded it was unlikely Harkat would be mistreated in Algeria given how much time has passed since he left the country.
“After fully considering all facets of this case, including the humanitarian aspects, and an assessment of the possible risks that Mr. Harkat might face if returned to Algeria, and the need to protect Canadian society, I find that the latter outweighs the former,” the official said. “I am of the opinion that the nature and severity of acts weighs in favour of Mr. Harkat’s removal from Canada.”
Harkat has asked Federal Court Justice John Norris to quash the minister’s opinion and let him stay in Canada permanently.
In court documents filed as part of the hearing, defence lawyer Barbara Jackman said the idea that Harkat committed acts so grave that he should be deported to a country where he could be tortured is “irresponsible and perverse” and “makes a mockery of the process.”
Section 115 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says Convention refugees cannot be deported to a country where they’re at risk of persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment, unless they pose a danger to the security of Canada.
Jackman contends Harkat is an ordinary refugee who has lived peacefully in Canada for decades and has never taken part in an act of violence or been directly connected to one.
He has built a family, home and community in Ottawa, she said, despite being mistreated by overzealous security officials.
Jackman alleged the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) are trying to “salvage their own reputations” given that three of the five people detained under the security certificate regime have won their court cases.
“Mr. Harkat’s refoulement to Algeria would be the final chapter in the hyped narrative maintained by the CBSA and CSIS over the years,” she wrote.
Harkat was arrested on Dec. 10, 2002, in the heated aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when North American security agencies were under intense pressure to identify and neutralize al-Qaida “sleeper cells.”
He was taken into custody on the strength of a security certificate, a powerful and rarely used instrument of Canada’s immigration law. It allows the government to detain foreign-born terror suspects indefinitely and to present evidence in secret against them.
Harkat spent more than three years in jail, including a year in solitary confinement, and was under strict house arrest years after that.
Before his arrest, he worked as a pizza delivery man and gas station attendant while also developing an expensive casino gambling habit. He married Sophie Lamarche, whom he met at the gas station, in January 2001.
Harkat has always maintained he had nothing to do with al-Qaida, and was never involved in terrorism.
In December 2010, Federal Court Judge Simon Noël deemed Harkat a member of the terrorist network and linked him to several Islamic extremists, including Canadian Ahmed Said Khadr, Saudi-born Ibn Khattab and Abu Zubaydah. He said Harkat operated a guest house for Khattab in Peshawar, Pakistan for at least 15 months.
Noël also found that Harkat offered assistance to two Islamic extremists who travelled to Canada.
The government’s case against Harkat was based on written summaries of 13 wiretapped phone conversations – the original tapes were destroyed – and at least two unnamed informants, one of whom failed a lie-detector test. Some parts of the government’s case remain secret to this day.
An appeal court later overturned Noël’s ruling due to what it regarded as procedural unfairness.
In May 2014, however, the Supreme Court upheld the government’s security certificate regime and reinstated Noël’s decision that found Harkat to be an active member of the al-Qaida network.
In the decade since then, Harkat has been living and working in Ottawa – he’s now a church janitor – while fighting his extradition in court.
In an affidavit filed in Federal Court, Harkat said he would be imperilled in Algeria by virtue of the media attention that has accompanied his case and by the terrorist label attached to him.
“I am not a terrorist, but the profile given me is that of a terrorist,” he wrote. “I cannot escape this profile, and it puts me very much in danger in Algeria.”
Harkat conceded that the Supreme Court has found him to be a member of a terrorist network, but insisted that he “cannot admit involvement in terrorist acts that I never committed.”
“I am not a threat to the security of any country, including Canada,” he insisted, “and I have not engaged in any acts of violence, much less a serious one, which would justify my return to Algeria.”
The Harkat case is one of Canada’s longest-running judicial matters.
torontosun.com
Harkat was arrested on Dec. 10, 2002, in the heated aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Author of the article:Andrew Duffy
Published Sep 21, 2024 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 5 minute read
Twenty-two years after the federal government first launched its bid to deport Ottawa’s Mohamed Harkat to his native Algeria as a terrorist, a court will once again convene to consider the case.
A Federal Court hearing in December will review the “minister’s opinion,” written by an unnamed senior official at Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, that concluded Harkat posed a serious threat to Canada as a member of the al-Qaida network and should be deported despite holding refugee status in this country.
The judicial review will decide if that opinion, issued in October 2018, was legally fair and reasonable.
Harkat, now 56, arrived in Canada in October 1995 and has been living in Ottawa, or jail, ever since.
He says he will be tortured or killed if returned to Algeria, a country he fled in 1990 as a university student opposed to its then military-backed government. After leaving Algeria, he spent five years in Pakistan.
The minister’s opinion said that although Harkat did not commit terrorist acts directly, he was “complicit” in the crimes of those he assisted.
The opinion also concluded it was unlikely Harkat would be mistreated in Algeria given how much time has passed since he left the country.
“After fully considering all facets of this case, including the humanitarian aspects, and an assessment of the possible risks that Mr. Harkat might face if returned to Algeria, and the need to protect Canadian society, I find that the latter outweighs the former,” the official said. “I am of the opinion that the nature and severity of acts weighs in favour of Mr. Harkat’s removal from Canada.”
Harkat has asked Federal Court Justice John Norris to quash the minister’s opinion and let him stay in Canada permanently.
In court documents filed as part of the hearing, defence lawyer Barbara Jackman said the idea that Harkat committed acts so grave that he should be deported to a country where he could be tortured is “irresponsible and perverse” and “makes a mockery of the process.”
Section 115 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says Convention refugees cannot be deported to a country where they’re at risk of persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment, unless they pose a danger to the security of Canada.
Jackman contends Harkat is an ordinary refugee who has lived peacefully in Canada for decades and has never taken part in an act of violence or been directly connected to one.
He has built a family, home and community in Ottawa, she said, despite being mistreated by overzealous security officials.
Jackman alleged the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) are trying to “salvage their own reputations” given that three of the five people detained under the security certificate regime have won their court cases.
“Mr. Harkat’s refoulement to Algeria would be the final chapter in the hyped narrative maintained by the CBSA and CSIS over the years,” she wrote.
Harkat was arrested on Dec. 10, 2002, in the heated aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when North American security agencies were under intense pressure to identify and neutralize al-Qaida “sleeper cells.”
He was taken into custody on the strength of a security certificate, a powerful and rarely used instrument of Canada’s immigration law. It allows the government to detain foreign-born terror suspects indefinitely and to present evidence in secret against them.
Harkat spent more than three years in jail, including a year in solitary confinement, and was under strict house arrest years after that.
Before his arrest, he worked as a pizza delivery man and gas station attendant while also developing an expensive casino gambling habit. He married Sophie Lamarche, whom he met at the gas station, in January 2001.
Harkat has always maintained he had nothing to do with al-Qaida, and was never involved in terrorism.
In December 2010, Federal Court Judge Simon Noël deemed Harkat a member of the terrorist network and linked him to several Islamic extremists, including Canadian Ahmed Said Khadr, Saudi-born Ibn Khattab and Abu Zubaydah. He said Harkat operated a guest house for Khattab in Peshawar, Pakistan for at least 15 months.
Noël also found that Harkat offered assistance to two Islamic extremists who travelled to Canada.
The government’s case against Harkat was based on written summaries of 13 wiretapped phone conversations – the original tapes were destroyed – and at least two unnamed informants, one of whom failed a lie-detector test. Some parts of the government’s case remain secret to this day.
An appeal court later overturned Noël’s ruling due to what it regarded as procedural unfairness.
In May 2014, however, the Supreme Court upheld the government’s security certificate regime and reinstated Noël’s decision that found Harkat to be an active member of the al-Qaida network.
In the decade since then, Harkat has been living and working in Ottawa – he’s now a church janitor – while fighting his extradition in court.
In an affidavit filed in Federal Court, Harkat said he would be imperilled in Algeria by virtue of the media attention that has accompanied his case and by the terrorist label attached to him.
“I am not a terrorist, but the profile given me is that of a terrorist,” he wrote. “I cannot escape this profile, and it puts me very much in danger in Algeria.”
Harkat conceded that the Supreme Court has found him to be a member of a terrorist network, but insisted that he “cannot admit involvement in terrorist acts that I never committed.”
“I am not a threat to the security of any country, including Canada,” he insisted, “and I have not engaged in any acts of violence, much less a serious one, which would justify my return to Algeria.”
The Harkat case is one of Canada’s longest-running judicial matters.
More than 2 decades later, federal government still working to deport Ottawa's Mohamed Harkat
Twenty-two years after the government launched its bid to deport Ottawa’s Mohamed Harkat as a terrorist, the case is back in court.
There is definitely something wrong with our legal system when a terrorist can stay in the country this long, gaming the legal system. Who is paying his legal bills?
Department won’t provide election security after sheriff’s posts about Harris yard signs
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Sep 22, 2024 • 2 minute read
RAVENNA, Ohio — A local Ohio elections board says the county sheriff’s department will not be used for election security following a social media post by the sheriff saying people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses recorded so that immigrants can be sent to live with them if the Democratic vice president wins the November election.
In a statement on the Portage County Democrats’ Facebook page, county board of elections chair Randi Clites said members voted 3-1 Friday to remove the sheriff’s department from providing security during in-person absentee voting.
Clites cited public comments indicating “perceived intimidation by our sheriff against certain voters” and the need to “make sure every voter in Portage County feels safe casting their ballot for any candidate they choose.”
A Ravenna Record-Courier story on the Akron Beacon Journal site reported that a day earlier, about 150 people crowded into a room at the Kent United Church of Christ for a meeting sponsored by the NAACP of Portage County, many expressing fear about the Sept. 13 comments.
“I believe walking into a voting location where a sheriff deputy can be seen may discourage voters from entering,” Clites said. The board is looking at using private security already in place at the administration building or having Ravenna police provide security, Clites said.
Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski posted a screenshot of a Fox News segment criticizing President Joe Biden and Harris over immigration. Likening people in the U.S. illegally to “human locusts,” he suggested recording addresses of people with Harris yard signs so when migrants need places to live “we’ll already have the addresses of their New families … who supported their arrival!”
Local Democrats filed complaints with the Ohio secretary of state and other agencies, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio accused Zuchowski of an unconstitutional “impermissible threat” against residents who want to display political yard signs. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine called the comments “unfortunate” and “not helpful.” The secretary of state’s office said the comments didn’t violate election laws and it didn’t plan any action.
Zuchowski, a Republican supporter of former President Donald Trump, said in a follow-up post last week that his comments “may have been a little misinterpreted??” He said, however, that while voters can choose whomever they want for president, they “have to accept responsibility for their actions.”
A message seeking comment was sent Sunday to Zuchowski, who spent 26 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and was a part-time deputy sheriff before winning the top job in 2020. He is running for reelection as the chief law enforcement officer of the northeast Ohio county about an hour outside of Cleveland.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Sep 22, 2024 • 2 minute read
RAVENNA, Ohio — A local Ohio elections board says the county sheriff’s department will not be used for election security following a social media post by the sheriff saying people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses recorded so that immigrants can be sent to live with them if the Democratic vice president wins the November election.
In a statement on the Portage County Democrats’ Facebook page, county board of elections chair Randi Clites said members voted 3-1 Friday to remove the sheriff’s department from providing security during in-person absentee voting.
Clites cited public comments indicating “perceived intimidation by our sheriff against certain voters” and the need to “make sure every voter in Portage County feels safe casting their ballot for any candidate they choose.”
A Ravenna Record-Courier story on the Akron Beacon Journal site reported that a day earlier, about 150 people crowded into a room at the Kent United Church of Christ for a meeting sponsored by the NAACP of Portage County, many expressing fear about the Sept. 13 comments.
“I believe walking into a voting location where a sheriff deputy can be seen may discourage voters from entering,” Clites said. The board is looking at using private security already in place at the administration building or having Ravenna police provide security, Clites said.
Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski posted a screenshot of a Fox News segment criticizing President Joe Biden and Harris over immigration. Likening people in the U.S. illegally to “human locusts,” he suggested recording addresses of people with Harris yard signs so when migrants need places to live “we’ll already have the addresses of their New families … who supported their arrival!”
Local Democrats filed complaints with the Ohio secretary of state and other agencies, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio accused Zuchowski of an unconstitutional “impermissible threat” against residents who want to display political yard signs. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine called the comments “unfortunate” and “not helpful.” The secretary of state’s office said the comments didn’t violate election laws and it didn’t plan any action.
Zuchowski, a Republican supporter of former President Donald Trump, said in a follow-up post last week that his comments “may have been a little misinterpreted??” He said, however, that while voters can choose whomever they want for president, they “have to accept responsibility for their actions.”
A message seeking comment was sent Sunday to Zuchowski, who spent 26 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and was a part-time deputy sheriff before winning the top job in 2020. He is running for reelection as the chief law enforcement officer of the northeast Ohio county about an hour outside of Cleveland.
Department won’t provide election security after sheriff’s posts about Harris yard signs
A local Ohio elections board says the county sheriff's department will not be used for election security
Harris chants 'down with deportation' in resurfaced 2018 protest video
Democratic presidential nominee, then a California senator, joined by actor Jussie Smollett at event
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Sep 24, 2024 • 1 minute read
A video has resurfaced showing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris protesting against deporting migrants in 2018.
The video, obtained exclusively by the U.K. Daily Mail, shows the vice-president during her time as a California senator joining a group of protesters during a parade in Los Angeles, chanting, “Down, down with deportation.”
Harris, who is now promising to secure the border, was named the grand marshal of the 33rd annual parade, typically reserved to celebrate the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Left-wing political activists instead used the parade to celebrate their own political cause, including the “Time’s Up” movement, featuring women who protested sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Immigration enforcement was brought up during the event, prompting Harris to join chants celebrating illegal immigration without consequences.
“Up, up with education, down, down with deportation!” she chanted enthusiastically with the group of activists at her side as she clapped her hands.
Harris was joined by members of her family, including her husband Doug Emhoff and his daughter Ella Emhoff, who filmed the event on her iPhone.
Other prominent figures who joined her in the parade included one-time rising television star Jussie Smollett, who was featured in the show Empire, a fictional story about the struggle for control of a hip-hop production company.
Smollett held a young girl and joined Harris in the throng of protesters.
In January 2019, Smollett was found guilty of conducting a hoax hate crime after he falsely claimed he was jumped by two men wearing MAGA hats who poured bleach on him and wrapped a noose around his neck.
An appeal is currently before the Illinois Supreme Court.
dailymail.co.uk
torontosun.com
Democratic presidential nominee, then a California senator, joined by actor Jussie Smollett at event
Author of the article
ostmedia NewsPublished Sep 24, 2024 • 1 minute read
A video has resurfaced showing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris protesting against deporting migrants in 2018.
The video, obtained exclusively by the U.K. Daily Mail, shows the vice-president during her time as a California senator joining a group of protesters during a parade in Los Angeles, chanting, “Down, down with deportation.”
Harris, who is now promising to secure the border, was named the grand marshal of the 33rd annual parade, typically reserved to celebrate the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Left-wing political activists instead used the parade to celebrate their own political cause, including the “Time’s Up” movement, featuring women who protested sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Immigration enforcement was brought up during the event, prompting Harris to join chants celebrating illegal immigration without consequences.
“Up, up with education, down, down with deportation!” she chanted enthusiastically with the group of activists at her side as she clapped her hands.
Harris was joined by members of her family, including her husband Doug Emhoff and his daughter Ella Emhoff, who filmed the event on her iPhone.
Other prominent figures who joined her in the parade included one-time rising television star Jussie Smollett, who was featured in the show Empire, a fictional story about the struggle for control of a hip-hop production company.
Smollett held a young girl and joined Harris in the throng of protesters.
In January 2019, Smollett was found guilty of conducting a hoax hate crime after he falsely claimed he was jumped by two men wearing MAGA hats who poured bleach on him and wrapped a noose around his neck.
An appeal is currently before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Kamala Harris protested deportation with disgraced celebrity
Vice President Kamala Harris in now promising to secure the border, but when she was a senator of California, she was a staunch opponent of deporting illegal immigrants.
Harris chants 'down with deportation' in resurfaced 2018 protest video
A video has resurfaced, showing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris protesting against deporting migrants in 2018.
hasn’t she been securing the border for years? Through the whole Biden administration? Border Czar or whatever?
Huh…how ‘bout that? Kamala Harris was never the “border czar.” Says that right below.
…or maybe she was?
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thehill.com
…or maybe she wasn’t:
I think I am bumping into Trudeau’esque info blocking as I look for this answer, and I’m just not interested enough to try and work around it at this point. Oh well.