True North

A fugitive and failed refugee with alleged ties to an Algerian terrorist group has been arrested in Montreal for a second time after evading border authorities. 

Mohamed Ratni was first arrested in 2012 and then conditionally released by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) after being detained for 19 months. Shortly after his release Ratni disappeared once again and evaded authorities. 

Prior to his latest arrest, Ratni was on a “Wanted” list on the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) website.

CBSA officials failed to deport Ratni after his first arrest despite the fact that he was deemed a flight risk by the IRB. The CBSA was unable to get travel documents from the Algerian government which were required for his deportation. 

In Ratni’s failed refugee claim he admitted to working with the al-Qaeda affiliated Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in Algeria. 

Despite his failed application, Ratni lived freely in Montreal for five years after the ruling. While in Montreal, Ratni was convicted of several crimes including a charge for fraud under $5,000 prompting the CBSA to begin deportation proceedings.

The IRB determined that he was “devoid of sincerity and honesty” and also “tried to downplay his role” in the terror group. In their ruling the IRB determined that he was complicit in crimes against humanity for his affiliation with the group.

The GIA is listed as a terrorist entity by Public Safety Canada. On the department’s website it states that the group’s “primary objective is to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state.” 

“The claimant has attempted to minimize his role within the Armed Islamic Group in order to protect himself,” wrote the ruling. 

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owns $141 million worth of shares in coal mines and coal power plants in China, according to records found by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Documents show that the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board, an agency of the federal government, owns shares in 21 publicly traded Chinese coal firms. In 2018, the government announced its plans on phasing out coal power in Canada by 2030.

“We need to phase out coal. In fact, the whole world needs to phase out coal because right now we have a challenge that is called climate change, and coal is the most polluting,” former Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said in the House of Commons in 2018.

While shutting down the coal industry, the federal government also placed a carbon tax on ordinary Canadians and electricity produced by coal.

The CPP Investment Board did not provide comment when asked to by Blacklock’s Reporter yesterday.

Canada produced over 62 million tonnes of coal in the past decade, half of which is suitable for electricity generation and the other half for steel production.

Alberta and British Columbia produce 85% of all coal in Canada. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia produce 14% and 1% respectively.

In 2016, the Trudeau government announced plans to phase out coal-powered electricity plants in Canada by 2030. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said her government will be encouraging other countries to phase out coal as well.

“We need the world to get off coal,” she said.

“We are working with countries across the world to show them they can get off coal and support workers and communities.”

China consumes more coal than any other country, followed distantly by the United States and India, meanwhile Canada ranks 21 in global coal consumption.

When asked about coal investments in May by the finance committee, Pension Plan Investment Board CEO Mark Machin said all investments take climate change into account.

The federal government has approved a Chinese state-owned oil company to explore for oil off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Last week, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) received permission to explore for oil in the Flemish Pass Basin, an area of open ocean 400km east of Newfoundland.

“The decision was made following a thorough and science-based environmental assessment process concluding that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects when mitigation measures are taken into account,” the federal government said.

The government gave CNOOC 101 conditions they must follow throughout the project.

CNOOC is China’s largest offshore oil firm. Founded in 1982, the firm has been the subject of multiple controversies.

The firm has been accused of working with criminal groups in countries they operate in, and working with the Chinese Communist government to prosecute members of the religious minority Falun Gong within the company.

Approval for the project comes at a time when Canada and China are involved in a diplomatic dispute.

For over a year, two Canadians have been imprisoned in China, a move largely seen as retaliation for the arrest of Chinese businesswomen Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in late 2018.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been given limited access to the Canadian consulate over the past year, and Kovrig’s glasses were confiscated earlier this year without reason.

Recent studies show that many Canadians do not want closer economic ties with China. Further, Canadians do not want Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to gain access to Canada’s 5G cellular network.

Huawei, which is banned in multiple countries due to alleged ties to the Chinese government, is currently engaged in a “diplomatically forceful” lobbying campaign to convince the Trudeau government to approve them. Six cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne, have been identified as lobby targets for Huawei.

In December, the House of Commons voted to create a committee to study Canada-China relations in-depth despite Liberal opposition.

A federal court has sided with a former CIBC employee after the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) dismissed his complaint that he was discriminated against for being heterosexual.

Aaren Jagadeesh, a former financial services representative with the bank, alleges that his boss told him that there was “no hope” for him unless he was either gay or bisexual.

Originally reported in the National Post in 2015, Jagadeesh said that his manager told him that every manager in the office was either gay or bisexual. Unless he joined their “group,” he would never receive a promotion.

“Be smart and learn,” Jagadeesh’s manager allegedly told him.

Jagadeesh says he was further discriminated by CIBC after he was diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia, saying he was threatened if he took medical breaks. His bonuses and benefits were also cut. 

Jagadeesh filed complaints for sexual orientation and disability discrimination with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. After his complaints were dismissed in November 2018, he appealed the decision.

The CHRC did not interview the manager who allegedly made the remarks to Jagadeesh as he was on an “extended leave of absence.”

A Federal Court judge sided with Jagadeesh, ordering the CHRC to open a new investigation and reassess their first ruling.

The discussion with the manager “was the primary reason for his discrimination and explained why, despite his qualifications, experience, and excellent performance, he was denied workplace accommodations for his disability, and not offered any alternative position,” Justice Janet Fuhrer said in her decision. 

Fuhrer also ordered CIBC to pay Jagadeesh $3,332.30 for costs incurred.

CIBC Public Affairs Consultant Crystal Jongeward told the media, “while we are unable to comment as the matter is still before the commission, no form of harassment or discrimination is acceptable at our bank.”

The terrorist convicted of plotting to bomb Times Square and the New York City subway system is appealing his 40-year sentence in the U.S. 

In 2016, then 17-year-old Abdulrahman El-Bahnasawy was arrested after an investigation involving the FBI and the RCMP found that he had conspired to commit terror attacks in the name of ISIS.

Lawyers are now alleging that El-Bahnasawy’s rights were violated when he was denied a choice to pick his own legal representation and that the sentence was inhumane.

El-Bahnasawy was born in Kuwait and had lived in Canada for some time after he was arrested by U.S. authorities while in New York.

As reported on by True North founder Candice Malcolm in the Toronto Sun, El-Bahnasawy was radicalized into “militant jihad” while at an Islamic school in the Toronto area. 

During his trial, El-Bahnasawy was represented by a legal team linked to the lawyer who helped convicted terrorist Omar Khadr return to Canada. During the trial, defence lawyers claimed that his mental illness and addiction issues had a role in the attack, however, El-Bahnasawy was deemed mentally fit to stand trial. 

According to investigators, El-Bahnasawy had purchased bomb-making materials, mailed it to the area and had decided on locations for the attack. He eventually pleaded guilty to seven charges of terrorism. 

 “[He] plotted with Talha Haroon, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen living in Pakistan and Russell Salic, a 38-year-old Philippines citizen and resident, to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan in 2016, all in the name of ISIS,” said the U.S. Department of Justice. 

“El-Bahnasawy acquired bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of New York City to use for building explosive devices and staging the NYC Attacks.”

Prior to the plot, El-Bhanasawy had an extensive history of drug use and mental-health related issues. 

According to El-Bhanasawy’s mother, the RCMP and U.S. authorities “manipulated” El-Bhanasawy during their investigation into the plot. 

“This document shows the dirty role which the RCMP played to manipulate and drag a mentally ill boy via the internet until he got arrested in the U.S.,” his mother Khadiga Metwally told Candice Malcolm.