Question Period Note: Repatriation of Canadian Extremist Travellers

Repatriation of Canadian Extremist Travellers detained in North-eastern Syria.

• The Government of Canada takes the threat posed by Canadian extremist travelers and returnees seriously and has a robust approach in place to address the issue.

• The safety and security of Canadians always remains the utmost priority for the government of Canada.

• Due to the complex nature of the cases of Canadians detained in North-eastern Syria, the Government of Canada adopted a Policy Framework on the provision of extraordinary assistance, including repatriation, to Canadian citizens, or presumed Canadians.

• Following a thorough assessment, the Government of Canada provided extraordinary assistance to a number of Canadian citizens detained in North-eastern Syria to help them return to Canada.

• Due to privacy considerations, the Government of Canada cannot comment on specific cases.

• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) approach to any given case is driven by the assessed level of threat and the available evidence. Working closely with the Public Prosecution Service Canada (PPSC), the RCMP will carefully consider which charges are in the public interest to pursue in order to most effectively mitigate the threat an individual may pose to Canada and to Canadians.

• Canada also relies on a number of other tools, including: surveillance and monitoring; terrorism peace bonds; no-fly listings; refusals, cancellations or revocation of passports; and, other threat reduction measures.

Pursuant to the Policy Framework to Evaluate the Provision of Extraordinary Assistance – Consular Cases in North-eastern Syria (the Framework), Canada repatriated 8 women and 15 children since 2022.

Additionally, there are 4 foreign national mothers of 10 Canadian children (or presumed Canadians) and up to 13 Canadian men who remain in North-eastern Syria.

The Framework sets out a principles-based approach to guide the Government of Canada’s decision-making regarding the potential extension of extraordinary assistance, on a case-by-case basis, to Canadian citizens and those who may have a claim to Canadian citizenship who are currently in detention in North-eastern Syria. As per the Framework, the Government will consider providing extraordinary assistance only where the circumstances of the individual meet one or more the following threshold criteria:

1) The individual is a child who is unaccompanied;
2) Extraordinary circumstances make it necessary for a child who is accompanied to be separated from their parent(s) leaving the child in a de facto unaccompanied state; and/or
3) The Government of Canada has received credible information indicating that the individual’s situation has changed significantly since the adoption of this Policy Framework.

Legal Aspect

It is a Criminal Code offence for any Canadian citizens or permanent residents to travel abroad to support or engage in a terrorist activity. Whenever possible, law enforcement conducts criminal investigations to support criminal charges and prosecutions of Canadian extremist travellers and returnees. However, it is very challenging to collect evidence of criminal activity in foreign conflict zones that can be admissible in Canadian courts, and terrorism charges require evidence of underlying motive and intent elements which further complicates potential legal action . Further, terrorism trials are very complex and often involve issues with the movement of intelligence procured by intelligence services to police (Intelligence to Evidence) to support law enforcement investigations which can prolong and even jeopardize otherwise viable prosecutions. Where law enforcement has insufficient evidence to lay criminal charges, other preventive tools are considered to mitigate the threat. In these cases, security intelligence and law enforcement agencies will need to prioritize and adapt to address the threat.

In instances where charges cannot be laid, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and its law enforcement, security and intelligence partners will continue their investigation, while other tools are available and can be used depending on specific circumstances to manage and mitigate any threat to public safety. These tools include:

• investigation, surveillance and monitoring;
• lawful intelligence gathering and information sharing;
• terrorism peace bonds;
• legally authorized threat reduction measures;
• cancelling, revoking and refusing Canadian passports on national security grounds; and,
• denying boarding for air travel and other mitigation measures, under the Passenger Protect

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