In November of last year The Toronto Star ran a story that indicated ISIS was calling out to their mujahedeen to bring the fight to Canada. They go on to say “Kill a kafir American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian.”.

It is estimated that 169 Canadians have gone abroad to fight with terrorist organizations, and the RCMP has identified another 93 Canadians that seek to join terrorist organizations abroad. At this point it is known that 80 of those that left have returned home to Canada.

In June of this year the CBC obtained what is referred to as the “ISIS Kill List”. It is a list of some 8,300 people that are marked for death by the ISIS organization and about 151 are Canadians.

This year it has been reported that 10 Canadians have been killed in terrorist attacks abroad making it the worst year since the Sep 11, 2001 attack on the twin towers in New York City.

This must be stopped. They return for either of two reasons…

• It gets to hot for them to handle so they return home.
• They are coming back to bring the fight home.

Of the 17,891 Deaths from Terrorism in 2015, how many were directly at the hands of these Canadians? This is not something the media seems to know. Does CSIS know?

We have a responsibility to our foreign allies and we must support their anti-terrorist efforts. Having said this we need to recognize that a very important step to stopping the terrorist threat at home has to originate at home.

Common sense would seem to suggest that we need to take 2 steps to accomplish this task.

• We must prevent our younger generation from being radicalized and lured away.
• We must take very serious action against those that do turn against the country. Especially those attempting to bring the fight home.

Do you really want these people to come home?  Do you want them socializing with your friends and family? Do you want them as neighbors?

Current research suggests there are seven (7) reasons that our youth are being radicalized and they are as follows:

1. Political Grievances - The are against a certain political order and may cause individuals to join or create terrorist groups.
2. Religion - Though not the main cause for terrorism, religion plays a significant role in driving some forms of it. 
3. Alienation /Discrimination - There are occasions when specific groups of people face discrimination in the countries they reside, leading to further feelings of isolation. 
4. Ethno-nationalism - The desire of a population to break away from a government or ruling power and create a state of their own can cause the formation of terrorist groups. 
5. Socio-Economic Status - Terrorists may also be driven by a sense of relative depravation and lack of upward mobility within society. 
6. An Attraction to Evil - There are a very few terrorists that do not fight for a specific cause. They are psychopath’s. 
7. Poverty - Financial hardship appears to be a breeding ground for extremist behavior that promotes terrorism. The American Economic Review conducted a study that found poverty is a very strong influence on domestic terrorism and has a significant, effect on transnational terrorism.

A SOLUTION?

It must be understood that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Many universities and organizations are currently conducting research into this matter.

The issue of poverty is getting some attention. There are unique initiatives being launched that will help to reduce poverty. One such program may be found at: http://34.gs/l6m7.

All terrorists, by definition, are radicals. Yet all radicals do not end up as terrorists. Only a few radicals venture into terrorism. Since radicalism is often a precursor to terrorism, focusing on radicalism amounts to preventing terrorism at an earlier stage.

You can not declare war on a religion. You can officially declare war against recognized terrorist organizations. Such a declaration does not necessarily require the deployment of troops to the region.

More important is that the act of going to fight with a recognized enemy of the state becomes an act of treason and may be prosecuted as such. The maximum penalty for treason in Canada is imprisonment for life, as compared to a max of 15 years for other terror related offenses.

This would possibly act as a deterrent to make people think twice before they leave to join with a terrorist organization and before they return home.

The declaration of war with these terrorist organizations is an essential first step in taking a stand against terrorism. It will allow us to rebuild our faith in the system, and let us feel safe once again.

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada, Members of Parliament, Please take this important first step in defeating terror and declare war against ISIS and HAMAS.