ISIS Video Didn’t Come Up During Security Screening of Toronto Terror Suspect

Officials from the Canada Border Services Agency were not aware that a man who is now facing terror charges was allegedly featured in an ISIS video when his immigration application was approved.

That’s according to testimony heard at a House of Commons committee meeting on Wednesday.

Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., and face nine terrorism charges including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The RCMP announced the charges on July 31 and said the two men were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.”

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc provided the public safety and national security committee with a detailed timeline of the pair’s immigration file during his testimony, after calls from opposition MPs for more information on the men.

The elder Eldidi has been the subject of particular scrutiny after Global News reported that he allegedly appeared in an ISIS video in 2015, and still went on to obtain Canadian citizenship.

{snip}

According to the government’s timeline, the elder Eldidi arrived in Canada in February 2018 and made a refugee claim in June of that year.

He became a citizen in May 2024, and was arrested at the end of July.

{snip}

The timeline provided by the federal government suggests there were risk indicators flagged on the father’s immigration file, though no details about the nature of those risks have been disclosed.

CBSA and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service conducted two comprehensive security screenings on the father and returned favourable recommendations both times.

The son was screened once and was also given a favourable recommendation.

Both men were born in Egypt.

The son, who is not a Canadian citizen, was first rejected for a study permit in July 2019.

He then entered Canada in February 2020 on a U.S. student visa and applied for asylum. He obtained refugee status in July 2022.

{snip}