The federal government is declining to explain how a Toronto man was able to immigrate to Canada despite allegedly having taken part in ISIS violence overseas.Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, has been charged with committing an aggravated assault for the so-called Islamic State. The alleged incident took place outside Canada in 2015.
Sources have told Media the charge stems from a video released by ISIS that year that shows a man dismembering a prisoner with a sword.
The RCMP arrested Eldidi and his son Mostafa, 26, at a hotel north of Toronto as they were allegedly about to commit a terrorist attack for ISIS. Police seized a machete and axe at the scene.
While police told reporters both suspects are Canadians, Media has learned the son does not hold citizenship in this country, and the father immigrated after the ISIS execution video was released.
The Canada Border Services Agency did not respond to questions about why the father’s alleged past with ISIS was not detected during security screening before his immigration was approved.“The CBSA is unable to provide information regarding the screening of a specific case,” a spokesperson for the agency said, adding screening decisions are “based on the information available at a moment in time.”Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada also did not answer questions, nor did the office of Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, which referred the matter to the RCMP.