OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – With the shadow of the Mike Duffy trial looming larger than ever, Stephen Harper is kicking off Week 2 of the federal election campaign with a headline-grabbing effort to crack down on homegrown terror threats.
Harper, keen to show off his bona fides as the experienced incumbent, promised to make it a crime for Canadians to travel to specific countries or regions where they could fight alongside groups officially identified by the federal government as terrorist organizations.
He says a re-elected Conservative government would establish “declared areas” — regions of the world where terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant hold control and use their base to recruit and train followers.
Foregoing casual campaign garb for the more prime ministerial suit and tie, Harper made his announcement at a news conference in Ottawa, flanked by Canadian flags.
He says national security agencies would track Canadians who travel to those areas; those who return would be required to prove they were in the region for humanitarian reasons, or as a journalist covering the conflict. Similar laws exist in Australia, which has designated parts of Iraq and Syria as no-travel zones.
On Wednesday, Duffy is scheduled to be back in court as the trial’s star witness takes the stand: Nigel Wright, Harper’s former chief of staff and the man who gave the disgraced former Conservative senator $90,000 to repay his disallowed housing and travel expenses.