6.56°C Vancouver 6.56°C Vancouver
Jun 25, 2021 3:36 PM -
The Trudeau government is adding two more extreme right-wing groups and an American neo-Nazi to its list of terrorist entities as it tries to counter the rise white nationalist violence.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced today that the Three Percenters and Aryan Strikeforce will join the list alongside the Proud Boys, who were added in February after the storming of Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 6.
Members of the Three Percenters have been linked to a plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan, and senior intelligence officials say Canadian chapters have carried out training activities in Alberta and British Columbia.
A 69-year-old white supremacist named James Mason, who officials describe as a lifelong neo-Nazi who has provided "ideological and tactical instruction" on terrorist group operations in the United States, has also been placed on the list of 77 entities.
Groups on Canada's roster of terrorist entities, created after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, may have their assets seized, and there are serious criminal penalties for helping listed organizations carry out extremist activities.
Blair says the threat of white nationalist violence is a growing concern that has exploded into public view recently with events such as the deadly attack against a Muslim family in London, Ont., earlier this month as well as a spike in antisemitic, anti-Asian anti-Black incidents.
