Vol. 77/No. 18      May 13, 2013

On April 24 the Combating Terrorism Act was given a third reading by the House of Commons, which means it will become law. Two days earlier, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced they had arrested two men — Chiheb Esseghaier of Montreal and Raed Jaser of Toronto — for allegedly plotting to derail a Via passenger train in the Toronto area.

Without presenting any evidence, RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia declared the suspects were receiving “guidance and direction” from “al-Qaeda elements located in Iran.” Citing two U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal said Canadian authorities accelerated the arrests in light of the Boston bombing despite requests from Washington to wait for further investigation.

The Combating Terrorism Act will give police the power to detain Canadians for up to three days without charges. The person can then be put under certain probationary conditions for up to a year and imprisoned for up to 12 months without charges if they refuse to answer questions from an investigative hearing judge. Some of the provisions were voted into law after Sept. 11, 2001, but expired after five years.

The New Democratic Party, the official opposition, is opposing the law. The Liberal Party, which introduced the measures, voted for the bill.
 
 
Related article:
Rulers use jihadist terror in Boston to expand cop spying
 
 
 
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