Canada's Resolve

"One [financing of terrorists] is financing for individuals within Canada, for example, who want to travel to engage in jihad. Those are relatively small sums, but very operationally important."
"[The second approach] is financing that flows from Canada to terrorist organizations. That kind of financing is very dependent on the kind of terrorist organization."
"[Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence was informed that organizations and individuals in Canada attempt to] operate under cover of different purposes, ostensibly raising money for humanitarian purposes in Syria and Iraq, and they may well be actually funnelling that money to a terrorist organization."
"[Terrorist financing from individuals ranges from] moderate [sums of up to $10,000 and] when you're talking organizations, you are talking six-figure sums."
Daniel Lang, Senator for Yukon, chairman, Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence

"Abu Dujana" Dier Ezzzor, Syria, (Abu Turaab, Twitter)

Mohammed Ali posted this photo of “Abu Dujana.” It was taken in Dier Ezzor, Syria’s sixth largest city. (Abu Turaab / Twitter)

- See more at: http://news.nationalpost.com/canadian-isis-fighter-abu-turaab-identified-as-mohammed-ali/#sthash.3YACbSUH.dpuf

The Senate committee has taken the glaring issue upon itself to examine security threats against Canada through cyber-espionage, critical-infrastructure threats, terrorist recruitment, financing and operations. The methods of prosecution also is geared to come under their scrutiny. Threats from jihadists that target and use Canada as a haven for their activities, recruitment and fund-raising are all being examined by the Senate committee. Which plans to reveal its findings to the general public to keep them informed.

Recently RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and CSIS Assistant Director of Intelligence Michael Peirce appeared before the committee. They took their turn explaining to those sitting on the committee, in the wake of the attacks resulting in the murders of two Canadian servicemen, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Quebec, and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National Cenotaph in Ottawa, what could be safely revealed without imperilling security.

It has long been semi-public knowledge that under the guise of humanitarian work abroad, some Canadians of Muslim heritage who have immigrated from south-east Asia and the Middle East have raised substantial sums to benefit groups held by Canadian law to be terrorists, like Hamas, Hezbollah and others now fighting in Syria as Sunni Islamist jihadis such as Islamic State. The divided loyalties of some Muslim Canadians leading them to gravitate abroad for jihad has led to enhanced intelligence-gathering and tightened scrutiny.

There have been ample incidents of Islamic schools established within Canada teaching impressionable young children viral and canted messages of jihad, glorifying violence and denigrating religions other than Islam, using school curricula provided from financing agencies such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Khadr, father of Omar Khadr, Canada's celebrated 'child soldier', was one such funder of al-Qaeda through the guise of humanitarian work.

Back in 2010, CSIS was busy tracking several hundred individuals whom it was believed were involved in terrorist-related actions. At the present time, according to Commissioner Paulson, "we can talk about thousands of police occurrences where people will have identified individuals who require a response." Those thousands are over and above the oft-stated figure of 80 identified as radical jihadis who have returned to Canada from fighting abroad

And then again, above and beyond them are some 140 additional identified Muslim Canadians who are at the present time abroad and presumed to be taking part in foreign conflicts, in Syria and Iraq, attracted as moths to the flames of irresistible Islamist sectarian bloodbaths to become a part of the modern history of violent political Islamism.

With this background there is the reality of Canada having seen 17 terrorist convictions since 2001 under the Anti-terrorism Act. The urgency, more compelling now than ever, given the events of last week, to aggressively confront the imminence of danger to Canada and Canadians without undermining core values in the doing of which civil libertarians will rise up in umbrage at the loss of vital freedoms must be addressed.

Those who are seen on the evidence gained to pose a threat through spreading hatred and inciting to violence, let alone financing terrorism must be stopped. "Acts preparatory" to offences against the values of any decent society such as Canada's liberal democracy and its embrace of pluralism and equality, threatened by the approach of murderous designs to wreak vengeance on a society that rejects the message of Islamofascism must be recognized as the threats they represent.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham march in Raqqa, Syria (The Associated Press/Militant Website)