The #1 suggestion every time we report on any American aiding Muslim terrorists is to strip the American citizenship of that person. I can’t think of a more appropriate reason to take away citizenship. The Canadians beat us to it with their Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act which allows for citizenship to be taken away from anyone who is involved in terrorist activity. Something for our do nothing Congress to work on. 

On May 29, 2015, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act came into force. This legislation allows for citizenship to be stripped from Canadians for, among other things, terrorist activity.

On Friday, the federal government announced a letter was sent to Zakaria Amara advising him his Canadian citizenship has been revoked. Amara, who is serving a life sentence but will be eligible for parole next year, is the first person to have his citizenship taken away for terrorist activity.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney described the move as “a fitting first example” of the law.

Under the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has the power to revoke the Canadian citizenship of a person who is convicted of terrorism offences, high treason, treason or other espionage offences. In addition, the Federal Court of Canada has the jurisdiction to revoke the citizenship of a person who is a member of the armed forces of a country or an organized terrorist group that is engaged in an armed conflict against Canada or Canada’s military.

Although persons born in Canada can lose their citizenship, these procedures are limited to persons holding dual citizenship. It is against international law to revoke the citizenship of a person if by so doing it will leave that person stateless. From a practical point of view it would be pointless to revoke the citizenship a person who is only a citizen of Canada because there is no other country they can be removed to. Amara is also a citizen of Jordan.

Amara was a ringleader in the “Toronto 18” terror plot that was broken up in June 2006. In October 2009, he pleaded guilty to two terrorism related charges. The following year he was sentenced to the maximum of life imprisonment.

Amara, who was 20 years old at the time these offences were committed had planned to rent trucks, fill them with explosives and set these explosives off by remote control. Among the targets to be chosen were the Toronto headquarters of Canada’s intelligence agency and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Other targets discussed during the plot included a Canadian military base, the Parliament buildings and the Sears Tower in Chicago.

 

Read more: CFP

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