Participation in Activity of a Terrorist Group

Canada amended the Criminal Code, the Official Secrets Act, the Canada Evidence Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act and a number of other acts, passing the Anti-terrorismAn offence aimed at intimidating the public Act (ATA) following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. The Code defines terrorism as an effort committed "in whole or in part for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause" with the intention of intimidating the public. According to the Code, terrorism includes an act that: causes death or serious bodily harm to a person by the use of violence; endangers a person's life; causes a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or any segment of the public; causes substantial property damage, whether to public or private property; or causes serious interference with or serious disruption of an essential service, facility or system, whether public or private. The Government of Canada states that acts of terrorism threaten Canada's political institutions along with the stability of the economy and the welfare of the nation. Enacted in December 2001, the ATA has four objectives: to prevent terrorists from getting into Canada and protect Canadians from terrorist acts; to activate tools to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists; to keep the Canada-U.S. border secure and a contributor to economic security; and to work with the international community to bring terrorists to justice and address the root causes of violence. Terrorism offences are covered in PART II.1 of Offences Against Public Order and include a number of crimes such as participation in the activity of terrorist group, dealt with by s.83.18(1). If you knowingly participate in or contribute to any activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of that group to facilitate or carry out an act of terrorism, you can face charges. Your activity can be direct or indirect and it does not matter if the terrorist activity is carried out. You also do not have to know the specific nature of the terrorist activity. Participating in the activities of a terrorist group includes: providing, receiving or recruiting a person to receive training; providing or offering to provide a skill or an expertise for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group; recruiting a person in order to facilitate or commit a terrorism offence, or an act or omission outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be a terrorism offence; entering or remaining in any country for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group; or making yourself available, in response to instructions from any of the persons who constitute a terrorist group, to facilitate or commit a terrorism offence, or an act or omission outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be a terrorism offence.

To win a conviction, the Crown must prove two things: that you knowingly participated in or contributed to the activity of a terrorist group, and that you did so for the purpose of enhancing that group's ability to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity.

The Crown does not need to prove that you personally held a political, religious or ideological belief or motive. The political, religious or ideological purpose element is part of the legal definition of 'terrorist activity' itself; it helps determine whether the group qualifies as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. It is not a separate requirement that you personally share that purpose.

The Criminal Code also makes clear that you can be convicted even if the terrorist group never actually carried out any activity, even if your participation did not in fact increase the group's capabilities, and even if you did not know the specific nature of any terrorist activity the group was planning.

In determining whether you participated in the activity of a terrorist group, the court may consider a number of factors, including whether you:

• used a name, word, symbol or other representation that identifies, or is associated with, the terrorist group
• frequently associated with any of the persons who constitute the terrorist group
• received any benefit from the terrorist group; or
• repeatedly engaged in activities at the instruction of any of the persons who constitute the terrorist group.

These are contextual factors the court may weigh; they are not elements the Crown must independently prove, and no single factor is determinative.

If you have been charged with participation in the activity of a terrorist group the prosecutor will proceed as an indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence.. Indictable offences are reserved for serious crimes, such as murder, and include severe prison sentences upon conviction.

If you are convicted of participation in the activity of a terrorist group, you could be sent to prison for up to 10 years. That is not the only penalty. According to the Department of Justice, once an entity, including an individual, is listed and considered to be a "terrorist group" that property may be the subject of seizure, restraint or forfeiture. A listed entity cannot be removed from the list until the Minister of Public Safety decides there are reasonable grounds to recommend removal or until a judge finds that the listing is no longer reasonable. Under s.83.26 of the Criminal Code, a sentence for this offence is normally served consecutively to other sentences, unless a life sentence is involved.