Canada taking review of immigration screening of terror plot suspects ‘extremely seriously,’ PM Trudeau says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is taking an internal review into the immigration and screening of a father and son recently charged in connection to an alleged foiled Toronto terror plot “extremely seriously.”

“This is obviously a very serious situation that the Minister of Public Safety is ensuring there [is] a full follow up and understanding on exactly how this happened. I know investigations are ongoing,” Trudeau told reporters on Monday.

In July, the RCMP arrested Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and Mostafa Eldidi, 26, in Richmond Hill, Ont. The two — whom police initially said they understood both to be Canadian citizens— were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto,” authorities found.

The pair are facing a series of terrorism-related charges, including conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with the Islamic State.

Most of the charges stem from alleged activities undertaken in Canada. But the father was also charged with committing an aggravated assault outside the country in June 2015 for the benefit of the terror group.

Citing unnamed sources, Global News reported last week that the father immigrated to Canada after allegedly being filmed taking part in ISIS violence overseas, and that his son does not hold Canadian citizenship. CTV News has not independently verified this reporting.

When pressed further by reporters on whether the federal government knows more about how the father and son immigrated to Canada, Trudeau would not specify.

“We are proceeding in a proper and thorough investigation on exactly how this happened. We will share with Canadians at the appropriate moment,” Trudeau said.

The House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee will hold a rare summer meeting on Tuesday to discuss a request to call upon the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Immigration to answer questions on the issue.

Last week, the Conservatives called for hearings into how the two men were able to immigrate to Canada. The NDP later supported the call to allow the emergency meeting to move forward.

Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc told reporters last week that he would have more to say “at some future point” and “that work is ongoing” to review the father and son’s immigration and security screening.

“I think what Canadians have a right to know is that the security services are doing important work to protect them… and the fact that these two people are currently in jail facing serious criminal charges, should give Canadians confidence that the RCMP and their partners did good work in this case,” LeBlanc said.

With files from CTV National Correspondent Rachel Aiello and CTV News Toronto’s Jon Woodward