Two men facing terrorism charges for allegedly plotting an attack in Toronto have been in Canada for years, with one securing citizenship just a few months before his arrest, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc revealed Wednesday.
On July 28, the RCMP arrested Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son, Mostafa Eldidi, 26, in Richmond Hill, Ont. – foiling allegedly "advanced" plans to enact a "serious, violent attack" in this country's most populous city.
The case prompted serious questions about the circumstances of how the suspects came to Canada. In the first special hearings into the matter, LeBlanc shared a chronology of the two men's interactions with border and immigration officials that shed key light on those details.
The father first arrived in Canada via Pearson Airport in February 2018, after being granted a temporary resident visa, according to documents tabled with a committee probing the suspects' screening.
The elder Eldidi then made an asylum claim, and was deemed eligible in July 2018. Within months, he was granted a work permit and a year after entering the country, was granted refugee status. He became a permanent resident in September 2021, applied for citizenship two years later, and became a Canadian citizen in May 2024.
The son, after being denied a study permit in 2019, entered Canada in 2020 at the Fort Erie U.S. land border. He also made an asylum claim, and was granted refugee status in July 2022. The documents indicate both men were born in Egypt.
At various stages through the father and son's interactions with federal citizenship officials, biometrics were collected but did not match any existing criminal records, and while at times additional security assessments were conducted and undisclosed "risk indicators" flagged in the father's case, no serious concerns arose, until June.
That's when the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) became aware of the potential threat allegedly posed by these individuals, LeBlanc testified.
"Security screening is the first, but not the only, line of defence," LeBlanc said, noting federal agencies engage a variety of methods, including relying on international partners.
The minister said he was informed of the national intelligence forces' close surveillance of the two men "based on recent intelligence," in a briefing with top RCMP officials four days before charges were laid.
The RCMP previously said its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) became aware of the alleged threat in early July, and arrested the men the night after they allegedly acquired an axe and a machete. A raid of the men's Scarborough, Ont., home occurred the same evening they were taken into custody.
Police have laid a total of nine charges in the case, including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group.
'Obviously a colossal failure': Conservatives say
"This is the way that the investigative and national security system should work," LeBlanc testified, commending the work of federal intelligence, counterterrorism and law enforcement partners in thwarting the alleged attack.
The minister's position was swiftly challenged by opposition MPs who led the charge for hearings to press top federal officials about what they knew, when they knew it, and what they were doing to plug potential gaps in screening processes.
"What we have here minister is obviously a colossal failure. I'll be direct. How did somebody slide under the radar for so long?" Conservative MP Frank Caputo asked.
"This person was brought into Canada six years before a terrorist plot was foiled, just days before they would have killed people in Toronto. And you're telling Canadians that you're satisfied with the screening processes in place?" Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman asked.
LeBlanc said while he is confident all relevant agencies completed all the normal checks and that no information came to light to trigger an investigation until this spring, a broader internal public safety and immigration review is ongoing.
That review is aimed at understanding what information was available at the time officials made decisions about the Eldidis' status in Canada.
"Once we obtain this understanding, we will move rapidly to make the necessary changes to our systems so as to strengthen them," LeBlanc said.
Expressing concern over the alleged plot being in the advanced stages before it was thwarted, NDP MP Alistair MacGregor called for the federal government's internal investigation to be conducted "with haste and with thoroughness."
"Because we absolutely do want to make sure that a situation like this never occurs again."
Questions over alleged predating ISIS ties
Wednesday's hours-long hearings also featured testimony from a series of senior federal officials, including interim CSIS Director Vanessa Lloyd, executive vice-president of the Canada Border Services Agency Ted Gallivan, deputy RCMP Commissioner Bryan Larkin, and deputy minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Harpreet S. Kochhar.
Among the central questions these officials faced, was how the elder Eldidi secured citizenship given his alleged predating ISIS ties.
In addition to the charges stemming from alleged activities undertaken in Canada, the father was also charged with committing an aggravated assault outside the country in June 2015 for the benefit of the Islamic State. It has been reported that this charge stems from a propaganda video depicting him allegedly taking part in ISIS violence overseas.
MPs were told Wednesday that as far as federal officials are aware, the video in question was not available to the federal employees who screened the father, and that the CBSA only obtained an independent copy of it from the dark web "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. And we're also asking ourselves the question around the feasibility of finding a video like that, if you don't know about it," Gallivan said.
"What type of message does that send to Canadians … a video that was widely distributed some eight years previous was not flagged against any advanced biometrics?" Conservative MP Larry Brock asked. "Is CSIS not tracking these videos? What other terrorists are walking the streets here in Canada right now, waiting to commit terrorist acts?"
Responding to this, LeBlanc said as a former Crown attorney Brock should be cautious commenting about the alleged "dramatic" video that "may form part of the evidence in an upcoming trial."
"I'm not sure you would on the steps of a courthouse in the middle of an ongoing trial have been as dramatic as you were for your social media clip now," LeBlanc said.
The minister later told reporters that he had "never been on the dark web," and it's not like the videos on it "come with credits at the end and contact information for people in the videos."
"The minute CSIS was informed about the existence of this alleged video I saw up close, and in a very reassuring way, how rigorous was their investigation, how they had these suspects under the appropriate surveillance to mitigate any risk," LeBlanc said.
CSIS was also repeatedly asked how it took until June for the men to hit the agency's radar, something its interim director wouldn't comment on. Nor would the agency confirm reporting that it was France that tipped off Canadian authorities.
"I will not comment on specifics of this case in order to protect the integrity of our operations," Lloyd said.
"What I can tell the committee is that there is an increasingly complex and intensifying global threat environment, and this does include instances where individuals are mobilizing to violent extremist activities."
The men remain in custody, and the charges against them have not been proven in court.
Kicking off the meeting, Liberal MP and committee chair Ron McKinnon made a point of noting there is a publication ban on the case and as a result, information surrounding the bail conditions, and related evidence or materials that may be relied on in those proceedings, could not be disclosed.
MPs on the committee unanimously agreed earlier this month to strike the special study into the case, and have further hearings planned in which former public safety minister and current U.K. High Commissioner Ralph Goodale, as well as Immigration Minister Marc Miller, are expected to appear.
After MPs struck the study, Miller told reporters he was looking into revoking the elder Eldidi's citizenship.
The federal government has the power to revoke citizenship if a person is found to have misrepresented themselves in the process of obtaining it.
In the documents presented Wednesday, the federal immigration department indicated it is monitoring the progress of the criminal investigation and court proceedings, and would take "appropriate corresponding action," under the Citizenship Act, as necessary.
