A first: Two right-wing extremist groups added to Canada’s national list of terrorist organizations
Posted June 26, 2019 9:42 am.
Last Updated June 26, 2019 4:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Two right-wing extremist groups have been added to Canada’s national terror list.
This is the first time the country has named right-wing extremist groups as terrorist groups.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale made the announcement in Regina, where a total of five groups were added to the national terror list.
“Three terrorist groups aligned with the regime in Iran, and two right-wing extremist groups with a presence in Canada — namely Blood & Honour, and Combat 18,” he said.
Blood & Honour is described as an international neo-Nazi network, and Combat 18 is its armed branch. They began in the U.K. in the late 1980’s and have been responsible for violent attacks throughout Europe and North America.
In its listing notice, Public Safety Canada says members of Blood & Honour and Combat 18 firebombed a building occupied mostly by Romani families, including children, in the Czech Republic in 2012.
In addition, four members of the group were convicted in 2012 of the 1998 murder of two homeless men who were killed because the group considered them “inferior,” the department says.
They join more than 50 other organizations on the list including al-Qaida, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Boko Haram and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Goodale said the designation opens the door to strict sanctions.
“It will help to facilitate the laying in terrorism charges against perpetrators and supporters of terrorism. It will also help block the flow of financial resources.”
Any group on the terror list could have their assets seized, and anyone helping it in its activities could face criminal penalties.
Right-wing extremism has been flagged by security officials as a growing concern in Canada.
Goodale also announced a youth summit to counter violent online activity, as well as new cash to help scrub the internet of extremist content.
“This event will bring young people together to learn about violent extremism and terrorism online, and develop effective tools to push back against this content and discourage its sharing,” Public Safety Canada said Wednesday.
