Toronto, WEDNESDAY 26 July 2005 - While British, American, Indian, Israeli, Spanish, Italian and other leaders around the world confront the murderous ideology of Islamic terrorists, the government of Canada, and Prime Minister Paul Martin in particular, have been largely silent.

 

"While Canada has not yet been attacked by Islamic terrorists, we are the last target on Osama Bin Laden's list. We know from CSIS that over 50 terrorist groups are operating in Canada," said Rochelle Wilner, Senior Vice President, Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD). "Prime Minister Martin must immediately confront the terrorists and their genocidal ideology before Canada is attacked."

 

"It we are going to succeed against their threat of terror, no justification must be accepted for their actions -- none whatsoever, period," added Wilner. "When Canadians are burying their love ones following a terrorist attack, we can predict today with near certainty that the killers will not be Christian, Jewish, Hindu or Rastafarian. They will be Muslim and they will have been radicalized in a mosque or Islamic community centre. That is where investigative and security resources must be focused."

 

The CCD urges the government to take immediate steps to secure our borders while sending a message that Canada will not become a breeding ground for murderous Islamists. Specifically:

 

*  Canada must take all steps necessary to shut down the 50 identified terrorist organizations operating in Canada;

 

*  Canadians must be informed as to who these groups are and harsh penalties enforced against who support such groups or encourage terrorism;

 

*  The government must immediately deport any non-citizen promoting or supporting terrorism;

 

*  The government must enforce our existing anti-hate laws against those who incite genocide against identifiable groups, whether those target groups be Israeli, American, Jewish, or any other common targets;

 

*  Muslim religious leaders must inform would-be terrorists that no heavenly rewards await those who slaughter unarmed civilians, and to do so without the usual equivocation and exceptions;

 

*  Muslim religious leaders and citizens must provide information to CSIS and the RCMP to identify those among them who are promoting a violent agenda;

 

*  The Prime Minister must review our immigration system to ensure that Canada does not become a safe haven for would-be terrorists;

 

*  Legislation should be implemented to allow the victims of terror to sue governments and organizations who support them;

 

*  The government must take steps to ensure that our border is secure and 'undesirables' have no way of getting in either as foreign students, refugee applicants or visitors;

 

*  Canada must take steps to strengthen our military capacity to fight the global war on terror. A weak military cannot protect Canadians or play any useful role in global security;

 

*  Canada must pass legislation similar to our Western allies to make this country hostile to promoters of Islamic terror, especially with the new anti-terror measures implemented by other countries that have left Canada the destination of choice for Islamic terrorists.

 

"Prime Minister Paul Martin has an obligation to confront radical Islamists operating in this country," added Wilner. "He must not allow political correctness or the appeasement of domestic voting blocs to take precedence over the lives of Canadians."

 

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For more information, contact:

 

Naresh Raghubeer
Executive Director
Canadian Coalition for Democracies
PO Box 72602 - 345 Bloor St. East
Toronto, ON M4W 3J0 Canada
416-963-8998 Tel
416-452-6957 Cell
425-944-3546 Fax
naresh@CanadianCoalition.com
http://www.CanadianCoalition.com