The RCMP has charged an Ottawa youth with terrorism for allegedly plotting an attack against the Jewish community, Global News has learned.
The youth, who cannot be named because he is a minor, appeared in an Ottawa courthouse on Saturday morning to face two charges.
He was taken into custody until his next court appearance, scheduled for Monday morning.
The RCMP said he had been charged with facilitation of a terrorist activity “by communicating instructional material related to an explosive substance.”
He was also charged with “instructing, directly or indirectly, a person to carry out a terrorist activity against Jewish persons.”
Police did not identify a specific target of the alleged attack.
Two national security sources said the alleged plot was believed to be religiously motivated against the Jewish community.
Global News has agreed not to identify the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.
A man who identified himself as the youth’s father Saturday said he “did not know what happened.”
The man, whom Global News is not naming so as not to identify the minor, said that the youth’s mother told him he was picked up by the RCMP on suspicion he was planning an attack on Jewish people.
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“Like something he and other people or something, or he (was) cooperating with other people to attack Jewish people or something like that,” the man said.
“But I know because I know if (he) committed any act of terrorism, I don’t think so. I just saw him recently, I know he was fine. He was normal I mean … He’s too young. He doesn’t have any plan of terrorism attacks or something.”
A Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) team was dispatched to the scene of the arrest, a senior national security source said.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called the allegations “a staggering development of what unchecked anti-semitism has become in our country.”
“This does not appear to be dissimilar to what happened in Europe earlier this week, when several individuals were arrested across multiple countries, and charged with plotting attacks against Jewish institutions,” said Gerry Almendrades, CIJA’s National Director of Community Security.
CIJA thanked police for preventing the plot but said since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack “the Jewish community has been raising our extreme concerns about the frightening rise of antisemitic incitement and hatred in Canada.”
Police have spoken to the Ottawa Jewish community about the arrest, a CIJA spokesperson said.
Professor Amarnath Amarasingam, a Queen’s University expert on extremism, said the ripples of the Oct, 7 attack against Israel were being felt by diaspora communities.
“We’ve seen an uptick in attacks and hate speech on all sides, impacting all sides,” he said.
“While we have a more robust prevention system in place in Canada than a few years ago, when there is an uptick in activity due to foreign events, the systems in place have a harder time keeping up, and individuals are bound to fall through the cracks.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement posted on X that the plot “should awaken us to the horrifying rise of anti-semitism since Hamas’ genocidal Oct. 7 attack on Israel.”
“We must redouble our efforts to protect our people and defeat anti-Jewish hatred.”
VANCOUVER – Environment Canada is warning about an intensifying storm that is expected to bring powerful winds to Vancouver Island and the British Columbia coast this week.
Matt MacDonald, the lead forecaster for the BC Wildfire Service, says models predict “explosive cyclogenesis,” which is also known as a bomb cyclone, materializing Tuesday night.
Such storms are caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure at the centre of a storm system that results in heavy rain and high winds.
MacDonald says in a social media post that B.C. coastal inlets could see “hurricane force” winds of more than 118 km/h and create waves up to nine metres off Washington and Oregon.
Environment Canada posted a special weather statement saying the storm will develop off the coast of Vancouver Island on Tuesday, bringing high winds and heavy rain to some areas starting in the afternoon.
It says the weather system may cause downed trees, travel delays and power outages, adding that peak winds are expected for most areas Tuesday night, though the severe weather is likely to continue into Wednesday.
B.C. has been hit by a series of powerful fall storms, including an atmospheric river that caused flash flooding in Metro Vancouver in mid-October.
A lightning storm overnight and early Monday covered parts of Metro Vancouver in hail.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.
This will allow CBP to enhance border security while facilitating legitimate cross-border trade and travel. CBP officers will be deployed to busier ports of entry, enabling the agency to use its resources most effectively for its critical national security and border security missions.
These adjustments formalize current operating hours that have been in effect for more than four years at 13 ports of entry across the northern border, with eight ports of entry expanding hours. A small number of ports will see reduced hours in an effort to continually align resources to operational realities. Travelers who use these affected crossing locations will have other options within a reasonable driving distance.
Importantly, these adjustments have been made in close coordination with CBSA, to ensure aligned operational hours that further enhance the security of both countries.
CBP continually monitors operations, traffic patterns and volume, and analyzes the best use of resources to better serve the traveling public. CBP will remain engaged with local and regional stakeholders, as well as communities to ensure consistent communication and to address concerns.
The vast majority of the 118 northern border ports of entry will continue to operate at existing hours, including many with 24/7 operations. Locate ports of entry and access border wait times here.
The following are the new permanent POE hours of operation for select New York POEs:
Chateauguay, NY new hours of operation – 6 am to 6 pm
Trout River, NY new hours of operation – 6 am to 6 pm
Rouses Point, NY new hours of operation – 8 am to 8 pm
Overton Corners, NY new hours of operation – 6 am to 10 pm
Again, these changes will go into effect beginning at midnight, January 6, 2025.
Below is a listing of each location with the closest border crossing that will remain open 24/7 for appropriate commercial and passenger traffic:
Chateauguay, NY – closest 24/7 port: Fort Covington – 27 miles
Trout River, NY – closest 24/7 port: Fort Covington – 11 miles
Rouses Point, NY – closest 24/7 port: Champlain – 8 miles
Overton Corners, NY – closest 24/7 port: Champlain – 5 miles
For additional information or to contact a port of entry, please visit CBP.gov.
Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @CBPBuffalo and @DFOBuffalo
For more on Customs and Border Protection’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.
Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @CBPBuffalo @DFOBuffalo and @USBPChiefBUN
OTTAWA – An Ottawa man is pleading not guilty to charges of terrorism and hate-speech related to the promotion of a far-right group.
RCMP charged Patrick Gordon Macdonald in July 2023, alleging he took part in activities of a listed terrorist organization.
It’s the first case in Canada where the government laid charges for both terrorism and hate propaganda against someone for promoting a violent, far-right ideology.
As the trial opened Monday in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, Crown prosecutors alleged Macdonald helped produce propaganda for the Atomwaffen Division, an international neo-Nazi organization Canada listed as a terror group in 2021.
Prosecutors alleged he aided in the production of three propaganda videos designed to recruit new members and incite hatred against Jews.
The allegations have not yet been proven in court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.
