Despite a series of terrorist attacks since 2013, Canadian politicians are still trying to claim no systemic terrorism problem exists. Politicians and Canada’ state broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), have been trying to spin a narrative about the mental heath care system and gun control.

The most recent terrorist attack in Toronto again demonstrates this. Using tactical stances and reloading his 40 calibre Smith and Wesson handgun on the move, a Toronto terrorist killed two persons and wounded thirteen. The attacker’s measured actions suggest an individual who is comfortable handling firearms. This 22 July 2018 attack shocked Canadians with its seemingly mechanical brutality. The two slain were eight-year-old Reese Fallon and ten-year-old Julianna Kozis. Those injured ranged in age from 17 to 59.

It had been a Sunday evening on Toronto’s well-known street area known as “The Danforth.” This Greektown area has evolved to where it is now a popular hangout for families and partiers with souvlaki, sushi and Thai restaurants located next to each other. The 10 PM shooting broke the atmosphere of citizens enjoying Canada’s all too short summer season.

The attack also has a small personal connection. I was to have met my podcast producer on Monday morning on the Danforth at the Second Cup coffee shop, our usual hangout while in that area. The shop, and all the others in a multi-block area, were closed due to the police investigation. Yellow police tape seemed to cover everything when we approached the area on Monday.

Also on Monday, a series of bizarre media related events occurred. Earlier in the morning, the police had made a statement about the “29 year old shooter” indicating his identity was known. Yet his name was not released. It was only in the afternoon when the Ontario Special Investigations Unit revealed his identity as Faisal Hussain. At approximately the same time, a news release was sent out to selected media outlets which were attributed to the “Hussain Family”. This news release was a professional sounding statement which suggested that Faisal “had severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life.”

Much of the media, led by the CBC, began a relentless series of stories claiming this was not a terrorist attack, but rather a breakdown in the mental health care system and a call out for more gun control. This extended right up to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale who stated that “There is no connection between that individual and national security.”

The so-called “family statement” was in fact written by Mohammed Hashim, a full-time organizer and social activist who has also worked for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). He is identified by the NCCM as being their “Stronger Together” program chairman. The NCCM was formerly known as the Council of American Islamic Relations Canada or CAIR CAN. Its parent organization, as stated in its own documents, is CAIR USA. The American parent has been identified as a terrorist entity by United Arab Emirates. CAIR USA was also identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in an American terrorism funding trial. A judge’s decision in the case identifies CAIR USA as being one of a series of organizations involved in funding Hamas.

Mr. Hashim appears to have given the statement to the CBC’s Shanifa Nasser, who then began to publish the mental health stories.

In contradiction to this, ISIS has now claimed the attack through their propaganda agency AMAQ. Toronto police insist there us no such connection, despite a series of reports from police sources saying he was “known to police” and had discussed such matters with friends.

Rukmini Callimachi of the New York Times may be the leading journalist in the English language world for reporting on ISIS attacks and recruiting. As she states: “The shooter’s family has come out and said that he was mentally ill. Unfortunately we know that ISIS pushes its propaganda to people who are mentally vulnerable and mental illness is not a barrier to being indoctrinated by them.”

Since 2013, Canada has had a series of low level terrorist attacks which have an Islamist connection. Among these have been the attempted 2013 bombing plot on a Via Rail train, the 2014 vehicle attack which killed a Canadian soldier, the 2014 gun attack on the National War Memorial and the Parliament, a 2016 attempted suicide bombing attack which was thwarted at the last minute with only the bomber dying, a 2016 knife attack on a Canadian Forces recruiting centre, a 2016 knife attack in a Canadian Tire hardware store by a woman claiming to work for ISIS, and a 2017 vehicle and knife stabbing attack.

Canadians are increasingly wondering about their own Prime Minister. Prime Minister Trudeau stated openly that ISIS fighters returning to Canada would be an asset as they are a “powerful voice for deradicalization.” The Canadian government has no deradicalizaiton program. Prime Minister Trudeau also spoke in Parliament and stated that anyone who opposed the return of ISIS fighters to Canada was “Islamophobic.”

The statement that Canadians were “Islamophobic” if they opposed the return of ISIS fighters was disturbing in view of the Canadian Parliament’s M-103 anti-Islamophobia motion. This motion has produced official hearings and funding programs. The anti-Islamophobia motion is seen by many Canadians as being an attempt by the government to silence criticism of extremist Islam in Canada. The motion was officially entered into Parliament by Pakistani born Liberal Member of Parliament, Iqra Khalid, daughter of the well-known Dr. Hafiz Khalid.

In December of 2015, newly elected Prime Minister Trudeau sent a video message to the Toronto based “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference. Observers of this conference know that the conference has morphed into a “who is who” in the world of Islamists in Canada and the USA. The list of speakers has included Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood founder and Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a US unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The conference was also sponsored by IRFAN Canada – until that charity lost is charitable status for funding terrorism and was later declared to be a terrorist entity in Canada.

Prime Minister Trudeau could have sent a message of integration. Instead, he chose to signal how he shared the views of the conference attendees. Specially, he referenced his “shared beliefs, his shared set of values and his shared vision” with the attendees of the conference.

Where does this leave us? We know that Faisal Hussain was the shooter on the Danforth. While his friends say they did not know of any mental issues, Faisal Hussein was capable of planning and efficiently executing a murderous attack.

Faisal Hussain had a brother named Fahad. His brother Fahad was charged with drug dealing. Fahad was released on bail and told to live with his surety, who turns out to be Maisum Ansari. Mr. Ansari was later arrested and charged with the possession of 33 guns, overcapacity gun magazines, and 42 KGS kilograms of a substance identified as carfentanil. With an alleged value of CDN $13 million, this was the largest drug bust in Canada. The haul represented about 420,000 doses.

This raises serious questions about the intersection of crime and terrorism and it leans towards supporting those who believe that the drug trade does intersect with funding for terrorism.

Canada’s state funded broadcaster CBC and Prime Minister Trudeau both appear to have a pro-Islamist position and have worked to promote their cause or hide information on them. Now, after a major shooting, the politicians in Canada seem desperate to distract the attention of Canadian and the world away from the terrorist aspect of the killings and towards the false belief that “mental health issues” absolves you of guilt in crimes. Faisal Hussain was clearly “known to police” ahead of the event. What is being hidden from the population?

Thomas Quiggin a court qualified expert on jihadists terrorism in both criminal and federal courts. He is a former intelligence officer in the military, an intelligence contractor for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and worked in an intelligence capacity for the Privy Council Office. He is currently the primary contributor to the Quiggin Report (@QuigginReport). He was the co-author of “SUBMISSION: The Danger of Political Islam to Canada – With a Warning to America”,

Photo Credit: YADER GUZMAN/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

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