CBSA was unaware of ISIS video allegedly showing father during terrorist attack demonstration: official

A senior intelligence official at Canada's Border Services Agency says he is not convinced the system failed when a man who allegedly took part in a violent attack abroad on behalf of ISIS later emigrated to Canada and eventually obtained Canadian citizenship.

“We made the best decisions we could at that time based on the information available to us,” Aaron McCrorie, vice president of intelligence and law enforcement at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), told MPs on Wednesday.

“I think we have robust systems in place. We wonder if we can do more.”

McCrorie was testifying before the House of Commons Public and National Security Committee, which is investigating the case of 62-year-old Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi and his 26-year-old son, Mostafa Eldidi. The Egyptian-born couple were arrested last month and accused of being in the advanced stages of planning a violent attack in Toronto.

The two are accused of a total of nine charges, including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of or at the behest of a terrorist organization – namely IS, a militant Sunni Muslim organization.

The father is also accused of committing aggravated assault in aid of the Islamic State somewhere outside Canada in 2015.

According to a chronology of events presented to the committee on Wednesday morning, the elder Eldidi came to Canada in 2018 and became a citizen in May, shortly before his arrest in July.

Officials told the committee that Eldidi underwent several national security clearances before obtaining Canadian citizenship earlier this year. The document states that security clearance partners “provided a positive recommendation.”

According to the government's schedule, the son, who has no citizenship, was also examined.

The case has raised concerns about Canada's immigration and screening procedures and raised questions about why the alleged assault in 2015 went unnoticed by Canadian authorities.

Witnesses who appeared before the committee on Wednesday were repeatedly questioned about a propaganda video that allegedly shows the violent attack. Police have been reluctant to comment on the video but confirmed that it is part of their ongoing investigation.

Ted Gallivan, deputy chief executive of the CBSA, told the committee that the agency only recently received the video based on media reports from the dark web.

“We have control mechanisms that work thousands of times every year, but we keep asking ourselves the same difficult questions: were the procedures followed and if not, and if this case was not detected, could it be detected in the future using other procedures,” he said.

“We also wonder how feasible it is to find a video if you don't know about it.”

During a heated question and answer session, Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman pressed the CBSA officer to explain “where the failures” lay in the case.

“I'm not sure if there are any outages,” McCrorie replied

Minister: “No possibility” for authorities to learn about video

According to Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc, there was “no way” for the CBSA and Canadian intelligence to have known about the video in advance.

“These videos on the darknet end with neither credits nor contact details for the people featured in them,” he said.

“The moment CSIS was notified of the existence of this alleged video, I saw up close and in a very reassuring way how thorough their investigation was, how they were appropriately monitoring these suspects to minimize any risk, and then I was informed that arrests were imminent.”

WATCH HERE: Conservative deputy leader questions public safety minister on Toronto terror suspect

Conservative vice-chairman questions public safety minister about Toronto terror suspect

Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman asks Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc how a man facing terrorism charges in Toronto was able to enter Canada and obtain Canadian citizenship. Members of the Public Safety and National Security Committee are investigating the case of a father and son arrested on those charges last month.

The committee heard how CSIS learned of the video in June and alerted police, leading to the men's arrest. Global News reported that it was France that informed the Canadians.

“You have failed in your responsibility,” Conservative MP Larry Brock told committee witnesses on Wednesday, including the interim director of CSIS.

“By the grace of God and thanks to the good French secret service, they are behind bars, where they should be.”

According to the chronology document, when the father met with immigration officials in 2018, “a risk indicator was found in this file and was raised during the interview.” The document states that risk indicators cannot be disclosed “to protect the integrity of the immigration screening program.”

LeBlanc told reporters Wednesday that the mysterious indicator was part of the ongoing legal proceedings and declined to comment further.

According to the government's chronology, the son was first denied a study permit in July 2019. In early 2020, Mostafa Eldidi entered Canada on a U.S. student visa and applied for asylum. He was granted refugee status in July 2022.

Both men appeared briefly in court on Wednesday and are expected to appear in court again next month.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who is due to testify before the committee at a later date, said he was examining whether Eldidi's citizenship should be revoked.

The minister said he had also ordered his deputy to review the timeline of events and state what was known and when.

“I'm as disgusted as any Canadian,” Miller said earlier this month. “Canadians deserve answers.”