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Angered the Canadian military was in Afghanistan, Saad Gaya and Saad Khalid joined a terrorist group that plotted truck bombings in downtown Toronto. Caught in 2006, they are now imprisoned for terrorism.

But not necessarily for much longer.

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Gaya became eligible for unescorted temporary absences in September, while Khalid will be eligible next week, which has some asking questions about what the government has been doing to help convicted extremists like them abandon their violent beliefs.

From the guilty pleas and convictions of the Toronto 18 ringleaders to the return of Omar Khadr from Guantanamo Bay, Canada is experiencing a bulge in the number of prisoners behind bars for terrorism-related offences.

Although they still number only a handful, they are a growing part of the inmate population and their imprisonment has created fundamental challenges for the government — foremost how to rehabilitate them so they don’t continue their terror campaigns once they are released.