A Toronto terror suspect at the centre of a controversy over Canada’s security screening system arrived in the country three years after he allegedly appeared in a 2015 ISIS video, according to details released on Wednesday.
A chronology tabled at the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security shows Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Feb. 5, 2018 and made a refugee claim that was accepted in February 2019.
He became a Canadian citizen in May 2024, after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service screened him and “returned a favorable recommendation,” according to the timeline tabled by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
CSIS learned in June that Eldidi could pose a security threat and launched an investigation. The RCMP also began an investigation and arrested Eldidi and his son Mostafa on July 28 for allegedly plotting an ISIS attack in Toronto.
The committee voted to probe Eldidi’s path to citizenship after Global News reported he had come to Canada after allegedly appearing in an ISIS video in which he was shown dismembering a prisoner.
His son is an Egyptian citizen who applied for a study permit in 2019 and was refused. He then made a refugee claim at the Fort Erie, Ont., land border in 2020, and was accepted in 2022, after security screening turned up no concerns, the chronology shows.
At Wednesday’s hearing, LeBlanc said an internal review was examining what information was available when, and promised to “move rapidly” to make any needed changes to the security screening system.
The minister also said that as soon as Canada’s security agencies learned of the potential threat, they worked swiftly to secure the arrests of the suspects, who are now in custody and face a total of nine charges.
“The moment the government of Canada became aware of concerning information regarding this individual, all of the appropriate steps were put in place by CSIS and the RCMP, which culminated in the arrest on the 28th of July,” LeBlanc said.
But one of the charges against the father is an aggravated assault the RCMP said was committed overseas in 2015. Sources have told Global News the charge refers to a video released by the ISIS branch in Iraq in 2015 that shows a man wearing an ISIS uniform dismembering a prisoner with a sword.
“Do you really think that the system is working if somebody like this who’s an alleged ISIS terrorist who, if he was even a little bit more productive, would have resulted in mass casualties in Toronto?” countered Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman.
“Do you really think that that’s how the system should work? Do you really think that this is not a colossal failure of your government?”
The government’s chronology indicates the elder Eldidi first applied for a visitor visa in December 2017 and was refused. But he re-applied and, after submitting additional paperwork, was approved.
Initial security screening by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada “did not identify any security risks,” and the application was not referred to CSIS or the Canada Border Services Agency, the document shows.
Four months after he arrived in Canada, Eldidi made a refugee claim. Although an unspecified “risk-indicator” was identified, it was addressed during an interview and he was given a work permit in September 2018.
His refugee claim was approved the following February. Again, “risk-indicators” were raised but he became a permanent resident in September 2021, the chronology shows.
Global News has confirmed he worked as an Amazon driver for four months in 2021. In 2023, he applied for citizenship and was approved.
Venessa Lloyd, the CSIS interim director, said officials made the best decisions they were able to based on the information available at the time.
A CBSA representative told committee members his department had now obtained a copy of the ISIS video in question, but that it was not available when Eldidi was undergoing security screening.
“Independent of the criminal investigation, the CBSA, subsequent to media reporting, went and obtained an instance of this video from the dark web,” said Ted Gallivan, the agency’s executive vice-president.
“That video wasn’t available to the CBSA and officials who were screening the individual,” he said. “And that’s the purpose of the review is to get to the bottom of those questions.”
Eldidi, 62, was arrested at a hotel north of Toronto as he and his son, 26, were allegedly planning an attack in the city. The RCMP said they were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.”
An axe and machete were allegedly seized at the scene.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller has said his department would consider revoking the father’s citizenship. Since the son is not a Canadian, he could be deported. According to the chronology, the CBSA has opened an investigation into the son.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca