The Government of Canada updates the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities to include the Islamic State
September 24, 2014 Ottawa, Ontario Public Safety Canada
The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, today announced that the Government of Canada has updated the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities to include the Islamic State, which was formerly listed as Al Qaida in Iraq.
The Islamic State is a Sunni jihadist group that seeks to establish a single, transnational Islamic state based on sharia law.
Also commonly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), this organization was already listed as a terrorist entity in Canada in August, 2012, under the name of Al Qaida in Iraq. Its most prominent attacks have been suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, improvised explosive devices, armed attacks, hostage takings and beheadings.
The despicable actions of the Islamic State meet the legal threshold set out in the Criminal Code, which requires the existence of reasonable grounds to believe that an entity has knowingly participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity or is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with such an entity. This change to the Criminal Code demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to ensuring that the list reflects the evolving nature of terrorist entities.
The Criminal Code outlines severe penalties for persons and organizations that deal in the property or finances of a listed entity. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly participate in, or contribute to, any activity of a listed entity for the purpose of enhancing the ability of the entity to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity. This offence and related offences are set out, in full, in the Criminal Code.
Quick Facts
- The listing process requires extensive analysis of intelligence and/or criminal information.
- The Islamic State was originally created in Jordan in the early 1990s under the name Bayat al Imam. The group associated with Al Qaida Core’s senior leadership in 1999 and fought alongside Al Qaida Core and the Taliban during the US strikes in Afghanistan in late 2001.
- The group transferred to Iraq in anticipation of the US led invasion in Afghanistan, and, in October 2004, formally renamed itself “Al Qaida in Iraq” (). In 2013, the group renamed itself the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) and also operated under the name of “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria“ (ISIS). In June 2014, the group renamed itself “Islamic State.”
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- The names of listed entities under the Criminal Code can be found on the Public Safety Canada Web site at www.publicsafety.gc.ca under National Security, Counter-Terrorism.
Contacts
Jason Tamming
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
613-991-2924
Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
613-991-0657
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For more information, please visit the website www.publicsafety.gc.ca.
