The chief of Canada's national police force told a parliamentary committee Monday that Canada was facing a major terrorist threat. He also urged the government to augment its efforts to stop homegrown radicalized Canadians from going abroad to indulge in terrorist activities.
"While we are facing this threat at home, we must focus our efforts on preventing individuals traveling abroad to commit acts of terrorism," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Bob Paulson told the Senate committee. "Preventing the individuals from traveling is critical. If these individuals return with training and/or battle experience, they pose an even greater threat to Canada and our allies," he said, according to Reuters.
Paulson's statement comes in the wake of a gunman fatally shooting a Canadian solider standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa last week.
Michael Zehaf Bibeau, the gunman who shot and killed the Canadian soldier, had also recorded a video of himself espousing his ideological and political motives.
Paulson said that in the video, Bibeau expressed logical arguments in defense of his action.
Some of the aspects the gunman mentioned were related to Canada's foreign policy and his religious beliefs, Paulson said.
Turning to the issue of preventing terror attacks, Paulson said that lawmakers can aid security officials track suspected militants by enabling courts to easily limit the suspects' travel rights. Another area where legislators could help was to make it easier for security officials to obtain the terror suspect's phone and Internet records, he said.
The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ottawa on Tuesday to offer his condolences and to assure U.S. support to Canada in its fight against terrorism.
In meetings with senior Canadian officials, Kerry would reaffirm the close ties between the two countries, the State Department said, reports the Associated Press.
