A father accused of plotting an attack in Toronto underwent multiple national security screenings before he was granted Canadian citizenship earlier this year. However, a 2015 video allegedly showing him participating in a violent terrorist assault overseas was not available to screening officials at the time, says a senior official.
Ted Gallivan, executive vice-president of the Canada Border Services Agency, told the House of Commons public safety committee that 62-year-old Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi was screened in 2018, when he arrived in Canada and made an asylum claim, and again in 2021.
According to a chronology of the events provided to the committee, security screening partners “returned a favourable recommendation.”
According to the document, Canadian Security Intelligence Service did another security check in 2023 and once again “returned a favourable recommendation.”
His son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, also accused in the foiled plot, was screened once, Gallivan said Wednesday.
Last month, police charged the pair with a total of nine charges including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit or at the direction of a terrorist group — namely ISIS, a Sunni Muslim militant organization.
When police announced the arrests late last month they said the two men were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.”
The father, who was granted Canadian citizenship this May, is also accused of committing aggravated assault in 2015 for the benefit of the Islamic State somewhere outside Canada. The son does not have citizenship, said police.
The case has raised concerns about Canada’s immigration and screening processes, and questions about why the alleged 2015 assault was not picked up by Canadian authorities.
Gallivan said the video, which police have been hesitant to comment on as part of their ongoing investigation, was only made available more recently.
“We are trying to see if there are other instances of that video or if it could have been obtained in other ways. We’re also asking ourselves about the feasibility of finding a video if you don’t know about it,” he said.
“We do have checks and balances that work thousands of times a year but we are asking ourselves the same tough questions about were the procedures followed and if they weren’t and didn’t catch this individual, could different procedures catch them in the future.”
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman asks Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc how a man facing terror-related charges in Toronto was admitted to Canada and obtained citizenship. Members of Parliament on the public safety and national security committee are probing the case of a father and son arrested last month on those charges.
According to the chronology, when the father met with immigration officials in 2018 “a risk indicator presented on this file that was addressed during the interview.” The document said risk indicators cannot be disclosed “in order to protect the integrity of the immigration screening program.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters Wednesday that mysterious indicator is part of the ongoing court case and wouldn’t comment further.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who’s expected to testify before the committee at a later date, has said he’s looking into whether the Eldidi’s citizenship should be revoked,
The minister said he’s also ordered his deputy minister to review the timeline of events including what was known and when.
“I’m as disgusted as any Canadian,” Miller said earlier this month. “Canadians deserve answers.”