Ottawa Warns Canadians Joining ISIL: Passports Will Be Revoked

Local Editor

Canada has announced it will not have second thoughts revoking passports of citizens travelling overseas to join the ISIL or any other global terror group.

Chris Alexander, Citizenship and Immigration Minister, told the National Post "multiple cases" have actually been revoked by the Canadian government recently.

Just earlier this month, a report by CNN Investigations, citing data from a government report issued in August, said at least 130 Canadian citizens went overseas to join terrorist groups. From this figure, 30 are believed to have joined the ISIL in Syria.

Revoking, suspending or invalidating the passports of those Canadian citizens are permitted under Canada's Passport Order, Alexander said, for as long as the government has exercised its investigative work.

"If we have evidence - and I mean substantive, incontrovertible evidence - that someone has left Canada with the intention of committing what would be an indictable offense here, including terrorism, then we can revoke, suspend or invalidate their passport," Alexander told CTV News.
Canada is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. The other members include the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Five Eyes bestows the framework for these five countries to share intelligence gathered by their respective agencies, a report by RIA Novosti said.

The revocation would effectively mean that Canadians who left to join fighters in Syria and Iraq would be stranded there. Not only can they no longer be able to come home, they also cannot use their passports to travel elsewhere around the globe.
The minister said the measure intends to stop the young people "from going down this misguided path," while at the same time ensuring "that the good name of Canada...is not associated with the menace of terrorism."

Alexander likewise stressed the measure is badly needing to be implemented "given the barbaric nature of the groups operating now in Syria and Iraq, and their unscrupulous tactics."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team