Terrorism

According to the Department of Justice (DoJ) "acts of terrorism threaten Canada's political institutions, the stability of the economy and the general welfare of the nation."

The Anti-terrorism Act was enacted in December 2001 with 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.

Prior to the introduction of the ATA, Canada did not have a law that specifically dealt with terrorism.

Terrorist activity is seen as being among the most serious crimes in Canadian law and 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; and
• causes serious interference with or serious disruption of an essential service, facility or system, whether public or private.

The ATA reflects a commitment to the safety of all Canadians, states the DoJ, and strengthens "Canada's ability to meet its international obligations, while respecting Canadian values and the rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Terrorism offences are covered under PART II.1 of Offences Against Public Order and include a number of different crimes.

Financing of Terrorism

Financing terrorism will have you guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years if you, directly or indirectly, wilfully and without lawful justification or excuse, provide or collect property intending to be used or knowing that it will be used to carry out an act of terrorism under s.83.02. You also face the same prison sentence if you directly or indirectly, collect property, provide or invite person to provide, or make available property or financial or other related services that will be used in a terrorist activity under s.83.03. If you use property for the purpose of facilitating or carrying out a terrorist activity, or possesses property intending that it be used for terrorist activity you face up to 10 years in prison under s.83.04.

Participation in the Activity of a Terrorist Group

Under s.83.18(1), if you knowingly participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, any activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of any terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity, you are guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years. This charge can be laid even if no terrorist activity takes place, even if your participation did not actually enhance the group's ability to do so, and even if you did not know the specific nature of any terrorist activity the group might carry out. You do not have to have planned or intended the terrorist act itself.

Facilitation of Terrorist Activity

You can face up to 14 years in jail if you knowingly facilitate a terrorist activity under s.83.19(1). You do not have to have knowledge of the specific activity and it does not matter if the terrorist act was carried out.

Leaving Canada to Facilitate Terrorist Activity

Section 83.191 states that if you leave or attempt to leave Canada for the purpose of committing an act or omission outside Canada that would be an offence under subsection 83.19(1) you can be jailed for up to 14 years.

Commission of an Offence for a Terrorist Group

You can be jailed for life if you commit an indictable offence for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group under s.83.2 of the Code.

Leaving Canada to Commit an Offence for a Terrorist Group

According to s.83.201, leaving or attempting to leave Canada for the purpose of committing an act or omission outside Canada that would be an indictable offence for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years.

Instructing to Carry out an Activity for a Terrorist Group

If you knowingly instruct, directly or indirectly, any person to carry out any activity for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity, you could be prosecuted and will face a lifetime prison sentence under s.83.21(1). The act of terrorism does not have to be carried out for you to be charged. 

Instructing to Carry out a Terrorist Activity

Section 83.22(1) states that if knowingly instruct, directly or indirectly, any person to carry out a terrorist activity you are guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life. Again, the terrorist act does not have to be carried out.

Counselling the Commission of a Terrorism Offence

If you counsel another person to commit a terrorism offence without identifying a specific terrorism offence you can be found guilty of an indictable offence and you are liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years under s.83.221(1) of the Criminal Code.

Concealing Person who Carried out Terrorist Activity

If you knowingly harbour or conceal someone who has carried out a terrorist activity or for the purpose of enabling that person to facilitate or carry out any terrorist activity, you can be found guilty of an indictable offence and jailed for up to 14 years under s.83.23(1).

Concealing Person Who is Likely to Carry Out Terrorist Activity

Under s.83.23(2) you face up to 10 years in jail if you knowingly harbour or conceal another person you know to be a person who is likely to carry out a terrorist activity.

Hoax - Terrorist Activity

Under s.83.231(1) you face five years in prison if you commit an act that is likely to cause a reasonable apprehension that terrorist activity is occurring or will occur, without believing that it will happen.

It is important to note that any prison sentence for terrorism will be served consecutively to any other time in custody you receive for any "offence arising out of the same event or series of events." The exception would be if you commit a crime that results in a lifetime prison term.

A conviction will also result in collection of your DNA, which will be held in the DNA Data Bank.

To win a conviction for an act of terrorism, the Crown prosecutorA lawyer who conducts a criminal prosecution on behalf of the public. must establish the crime constitutes terrorist activity and you knowingly participated. Along with proving your guilt beyond a reasonable doubtThe standard that must be exceeded to find someone guilty, the court must be satisfied that the act itself falls within the legal definition of "terrorist activity" under s.83.01 of the Criminal Code. That definition requires, among other things, that the act was committed in whole or in part for a political, religious or ideological purpose, objective or cause. This is built into what makes an act "terrorist activity" in law, rather than being a separate question about your personal beliefs or motivation. In practice, depending on the specific offence charged, the Crown may also need to prove you acted with a particular purpose, such as enhancing the ability of a terrorist group to carry out a terrorist activity.

Most terrorism offences under Part II.1 of the Criminal Code are indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence.s. Indictable offences are reserved for serious crimes and carry the most significant prison sentences upon conviction. One exception on this page is the terrorism hoax offence under s.83.231: for the basic hoax offence and for a hoax that causes bodily harm, the Crown may choose to proceed either by indictment or by summary convictionUsed for lesser offences. A hoax that causes death is indictable only.

Terrorism is a category of offences in Part II.1 of the Criminal Code, built on the definitions of “terrorist activity” and “terrorist group” in s. 83.01. Part II.1 contains multiple distinct offences — participating, facilitating, financing, instructing, counselling, and harbouring — and each has its own penalty. Terrorism offences can carry serious penalties, from fixed maximum terms to life imprisonment depending on the section.

Each terrorism offence has its own page with its penalty details: Participation in Activity of a Terrorist Group, Facilitating Terrorist Activity, and Financing of Terrorism.

Some terrorism offences also have special sentencing rules.