Parliamentary Committee Notes: Opening Remarks
Speaking Notes for The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security - Eldidi Case
Good morning.
Thank you for the invitation to be here today and I look forward to working with you on this important issue.
As members are aware, the arrest of the two individuals in question, is the result of nimble and well-coordinated collective efforts of Canada’s national security, intelligence and law enforcement partners.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Regional Police Service, the York Regional Police Service, the Peel Regional Police Service, and the Durham Regional Police Service for their exceptional work.
Let me be clear: As soon as the threat was discovered, swift action was taken by our law enforcement partners to keep Canadians safe and to mitigate a possible terrorist threat.
But I appreciate this case has given rise to questions as to how these individuals arrived in Canada.
It’s important to note in all such cases, decisions are made based on the best information available at any given point in time. As new information became available, our national security partners were able to act quickly to assess, mitigate and address the threat.
As we examine the circumstances leading to these arrests, we must keep in mind two key things; we cannot jeopardize a successful prosecution, and we need to protect our national security.
However, what Canadians need to know is that our security services operate continuously, seeking out threats within Canada, and threats that come from abroad, and then acting rapidly to address them.
The fact that these two individuals are in jail and face serious criminal charges reflects the good work of the RCMP and their partners.
We have a robust and dynamic security screening system that is constantly adapting to today’s complex threat environment. The system has to address both the wide range of threats that exist now, and those that will emerge in the future.
And that is the way the system is supposed to work.
To give you a better sense of the great work that we do to maintain the integrity of the immigration process and minimize irregular arrivals, in the first six months of 2024, the CBSA has almost 5000 investigations underway where serious inadmissibility is suspected to have occurred.
Also, since January 2024, the CBSA issued over 5,000 no-board recommendations to airlines in relation to fraud and inadmissibility concerns.
These individuals initially entered Canada based on the information presented at that time.
IRCC, CBSA, and CSIS are currently reviewing the circumstances that led to these individuals being admitted to Canada.
I have a high degree of confidence in our system and we have disclosed all the information we can in the documents tabled with this committee.
I do want to acknowledge, however, that we have identified information which may have been relevant to the screening determination.
For example, now that it has access to the video, the CBSA is documenting what was known, when it was available and its utility in their decision making.
You have my assurance that this will form part of the in-depth review that is being done by my agencies.
We are looking closely at the process followed and we are engaging in a thorough assessment to see what else we might learn. This understanding of the facts is the first step that will allow us to make any changes needed to strengthen the system.
The Government’s first and foremost priority will always be the safety and security of Canadians.
While I will provide this Committee with as much information as possible and respond as transparently as possible, we must have these discussions in a manner that does not prejudice the Crown’s ability to prosecute the accused or compromise our ability to identify and investigate threats to Canada.
This is why we have provided to the Committee – in advance – documents to support your work, including a chronology of events.
Mr. Chair, in addition, the Government’s broader counter-terrorism efforts are designed to detect and prevent terrorism at the earliest opportunity.
In this case, by working together, our domestic security and law enforcement agencies were able to use the available information to disrupt a potential terrorist attack and quickly apprehend the suspects.
The government of Canada will continue to support the work of our security and law enforcement partners to continue their work to prevent, detect, disrupt and respond to any suspected terrorist threats and activities.
Canadians can be confident that Canada’s law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies will always take the necessary actions to keep everyone in our country safe.
Thank you.
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