What About Canadian Gun Collectors – Aren’t They Just As Dangerous?
Muhammad Aqeeq Ansari, a Karachi-born software designer who has lived in Ontario for several years, was arrested on Oct. 27. “This is the easiest way of squeezing somebody,” said Anser Farooq, a Mississauga-based lawyer for Ansari who has defended clients accused of terrorism offences. While the government is keen to crack down on suspected immigrant extremists, both the government and the police agencies have not said anything about Canadian gun collectors and other criminals like the two white Canadian-born extremists who killed two Canadian soldiers last week, including the attack on Parliament.
TORONTO – A 30-year-old assault-rifle collector from Pakistan has been arrested on allegations that he is a terrorist threat to Canada. The Ontario resident is in jail, charged under immigration laws that would allow him to be deported, just one year after he avoided prison on different charges, reported Globe and Mail newspaper.
Muhammad Aqeeq Ansari, a Karachi-born software designer who has lived in Ontario for several years, was arrested on Oct. 27. His lawyer said on Wednesday in an interview he is charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with being a danger to the security of Canada.
He said federal officials allege Ansari has ties to terrorists in Pakistan, that he had amassed “a small arsenal” of guns; and that he has expressed extreme opinions on Twitter.
Under Canadian law, less evidence is required to deport someone than to send them to prison.
“This is the easiest way of squeezing somebody,” said Anser Farooq, a Mississauga-based lawyer who has defended clients accused of terrorism offences.
The new case shows how the Canadian government’s approach to suspected extremists may be evolving – rapidly – since two soldiers were killed last week in attacks the government has called terrorism.
“We have to have a strategy to intervene [and] … prevent as well as detect and prosecute. That’s, in a nut shell, our strategy,” RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said on Monday, urging Parliament to make it easier for police to get search warrants and to seek restrictions on the movements of suspects in terrorism investigations.
While the government is keen to crack down on suspected immigrant extremists, both the government and the police agencies have not said anything about Canadian gun collectors and other criminals like the two white Canadian-born extremists who killed two Canadian soldiers last week, including the attack on Parliament.
Paulson also said federal agents are reopening old cases and sharing information among agencies in hopes of stopping potential threats.
But Ansari’s lawyer said this is a wrong approach to potential crimes what should be prosecuted under Canadian laws.
“It is in the interest of society that allegations such as Mr. Ansari’s are addressed in a court of law with a Superior Court Judge,” Farooq said.
Court records obtained by The Globe show Ansari last year surrendered 12 guns to authorities – including rifles such as a Bushmaster BACR, and several handguns.
This was part of a plea bargain to get a conditional discharge on Criminal Code charges of illegally storing lawfully acquired firearms. Those proceedings did not include allegations of terrorism.
