The Muslim leader of an al Qaeda-inspired plot to explode truck bombs in downtown Toronto during the morning rush hour will have his Canadian citizenship reinstated under legislation introduced by the Liberals.
Toronto Sun (h/t Sue K) Zakaria Amara, born in Jordan and raised in Saudi Arabia before coming to Canada in 1997, is a convicted terrorist, serving a life sentence for his role in a plot to murder scores of Canadians. And now, thanks to a new liberal government bill passed through the Senate this week, Amara will soon be given the privilege of keeping his acquired Canadian citizenship.
Under the Stephen Harper government, Amara had his Canadian citizenship revoked and was set to be deported the moment he was released from prison. But things have changed under Justin Trudeau.
National Post The proposed law tabled in the House of Commons, Bill C-6, contains a provision that would restore the citizenship of any convicted terrorists who lost it as a result of changes brought in by the previous Conservative government. Effectively, the bill means the Liberals will be returning citizenship to Zakaria Amara, ringleader of the Toronto 18 terror group, which planned al-Qaeda-style violence in southern Ontario to push Canada to abandon Afghanistan
His recruits trained on a property north of Toronto for attacks they thought would terrorize Canadians into leaving Afghanistan. “His need to attempt terrorist acts may have included his determined need to follow through on commitments of Muslim loyalty,” the judge wrote in his sentencing decision. Amara was imprisoned for life but is eligible for parole this year.
The faction led by Amara built detonators and acquired explosive materials for large truck bombs that were to be detonated in 2006 near the Toronto Stock Exchange and CN Tower. An Ontario military base was also to be attacked.
After hearing the case, Justice Bruce Durno called the scheme “spine chilling” and said “the potential for loss of life existed on a scale never before seen in Canada. … Had the plan been implemented it would have changed the lives of many, if not all Canadians forever.”
Trudeau said during the 2015 election campaign that he believes “terrorists should get to keep their Canadian citizenship.” And now he’s keeping good on that pledge.
Trudeau’s Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the Senate that the Liberal government had already initiated the process to restore citizenship to the convicted terrorist.
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