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An American expert on radicalization warns that looming Canadian anti-terror legislation has the potential to imprison people who don’t pose a threat to society, while existing laws may conflate radicalized thoughts with terrorist actions.

The federal government will soon table a bill to allow for certain kinds of preventative arrests to thwart potential terror acts.

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“I think that’s a very, very slippery slope, to be honest,” said John Horgan, director of the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Horgan has authored more than 70 publications on terrorism and political violence, including for the British government and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“I think there is a real risk that we are confusing radicalization with terrorism. There are far more people that are radicalized than those who would ever become involved in terrorism,” said Horgan. “There is profound risk in losing perspective.”