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Meanwhile, in Edmonton, a 17-year-old who allegedly tried to leave Canada in March to join the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant was ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment. He cannot be identified by name because he is a minor.

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Two Montreal students arrested last week were also in court to be charged with several terrorism-related offences, including possession of an explosive substance and attempting to leave Canada to engage in terrorist activity.

El Mahdi Jamali and Sabrine Djermane, both 18, were studying at Collège de Maisonneuve. Five other students from the same institution — two of them couples — have reportedly already left for Syria to join ISIL.

Also on Monday, a lawyer representing Amir Raisolsadat, a 20-year-old arrested in Prince Edward Island last month on a terrorism-related peace bond, said the case was a “tragic misunderstanding.” The matter was to return to court May 22.

South of the border, the FBI announced that six Minnesota men ranging in age between 19 and 21 had been arrested in Minneapolis and San Diego after they were allegedly caught trying to travel to Syria to join ISIL.

The number of “terrorist travellers” leaving Canada has been increasing steadily, Mr. Coulombe testified. “In fact, in the last three, four months, we probably saw an increase of 50 per cent in the number of people who have left for Iraq and Syria.”

The Senate committee heard from several key witnesses Monday about the government’s proposed anti-terrorism legislation, Bill C-51, which drew demonstrations in several cities over the weekend featuring protest signs such as “Terrorism is already illegal” and “Stop Islamophobia.”