Order Accepting the Recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness that Each Listed Entity Remain a Listed Entity: SI/2021-5

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Extra Number 2

Registration

SI/2021-5 February 3, 2021

CRIMINAL CODE

Order Accepting the Recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness that Each Listed Entity Remain a Listed Entity

P.C. 2021-30 February 2, 2021

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 83.05(8.1) footnote a of the Criminal Code footnote b, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has completed a review of each entity set out in the annexed schedule and listed in the Regulations Establishing a List of Entities footnote c, made pursuant to subsection 83.05(1) footnote d of that Act, and has determined that there are still reasonable grounds, as set out in subsection 83.05(1)footnote d, for each entity to remain a listed entity;

And whereas, pursuant to subsection 83.05(1)footnote d of that Act, the Administrator in Council is satisfied, on the recommendation of that Minister, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each listed entity set out in the annexed schedule is an entity that has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity or that has knowingly acted on behalf of, at the direction of or in association with such an entity;

Therefore, His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness made pursuant to subsection 83.05(8.1)footnote a of the Criminal Code footnote b, accepts the recommendation that each listed entity set out in the annexed schedule remain a listed entity.

SCHEDULE

Listed Entities Reviewed by the Minister

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (also known among other names as Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, Fath al-Sham Front, al-Jabha, Fath al-Sham, Tanzim al-Qaeda fi Bilad al-Sham, Al-Qaeda in the Levant, Conquest for al-Sham Front, Conquest of the Levant Front, Fatah al-Sham Front, Fateh al-Sham Front, Front for the Conquest of Syria, Front for the Conquest of Syria/The Levant, Jabhat Fath al-Sham, Jabhat Fath al Sham, Jabhat Fathah al-Sham, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Tahrir al-Sham Assembly, Liberation of Syria Assembly, Liberation of the Levant Organisation, Liberation of the Levant Committee, Liberation of al-Sham Commission, Assembly for the Liberation of the Levant, Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, Tahrir al-Sham, Liwa al-Haqq, the Al-Haqq Brigade, Liwa al-Haq, the Brigade of the Right, the Truth Brigade, Lewa’ al-Haq, the al-Haq Battalion, Jabhat Ansar al-Din, Ansar al-Din Front, Supporters/Partisans of the Religion Front, Jaish al-Sunnah, Jaysh al-Sunnah, Jaish al-Sunna, Jaysh al-Sunna, Jabhet al-Nusra, The Victory Front, Al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, Jabhat Al-Nusra li-Ahl min Mujahedi al-Sham fi Sahat al-Jihad (The Support Front for the People of the Levant by the Levantine Mujahedin on the Battlefields of Jihad), the Front for the Defense of the Syrian People and the Front for the Support of the Syrian People)

Al-Ashtar Brigades (AAB) (also known among other names as Saraya al-Ashtar, Al Ashtar Brigades, The Ashtar Brigades, Saraya Waad Allah, Wa’ad Allah Brigades, Islamic Allah Brigades, Imam al-Mahdi Brigades and al-Haydariyah Brigades)

Fatemiyoun Division (FD) (also known among other names as Fatemioun Brigade, Fatemioun Military Division, Fatemiyoun, Fatemiyoun Battalion, Fatemiyoun Force, Fatemiyyun, Liwa Fatemiyoun, Liwa al-Fatemiyon, Fatemiyon Brigade, Fatemiyon Division and Fatemiyoun Brigade)

Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) (also known among other names as Islamic State in the Khorasan Province, Islamic State Khorasan, Islamic State – Khorasan, IS Khorasan, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan (ISIL-K), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – Khorasan (ISIS-K), Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham – Khorasan (ISIS-K), Wilayat Khorasan, Daesh Khorasan, ISIL’s South Asia Branch, ISIS Wilayat Khorasan, Islamic State’s Khorasan Province, South Asian chapter of ISIL, ISIL Khorasan (ISIL-K), Khorasan Chapter of the Islamic State, Islamic State Wilayat Khorasan (ISWK) and Khorasan branch of ISIS)

Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) (also known among other names as Ansar al-Shari’a (AAS), Al-Qaida of Jihad Organization in the Arabian Peninsula, Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Jazirat al-Arab, Al-Quaida Organization in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Quaida in the South Arabian Peninsula and Al-Qaida in Yemen (AQY))

Al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) (also known among other names as Qaedat al-Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent, and Jamaat Qaidat al Jihad fi Shibh al Qarrah al Hindiyah (Organisation of the Base of Jihad in the Indian Subcontinent))

Al Shabaab (also known as Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, al-Shabab, Shabaab, the Youth, Mujahidin al Shabaab Movement, Mujahideen Youth Movement, MYM, Mujahidin Youth, Hizbul Shabaab, Hisb’ul Shabaab, al-Shabaab al-Islamiya, Youth Wing, al Shabaab al-Islam, al-Shabaab al-Jihad, the Unity of Islamic Youth and the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

In order to fulfill their statutory duties under the Criminal Code, periodically, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (the Minister) must review, pursuant to the Criminal Code, the entities listed in the Regulations Establishing a list of Entities and make a recommendation to the Governor in Council as to whether there are still reasonable grounds for an entity to be a listed entity.

This Order accepting the Minister’s recommendation pursuant to section 83.05(8.1) of the Criminal Code is required for the Governor in Council to accept the Minister’s recommendation that the reviewed entities should remain listed.

Objective

The National Security Act, 2017 amended the Criminal Code terrorist listings provisions to oblige the Minister to review whether there are still reasonable grounds, as set out in subsection 83.05(1) of the Criminal Code, for an entity to be a listed entity and make a recommendation to the Governor in Council as to whether the entity should remain a listed entity:

The Minister has reviewed seven entities and determined that there are still reasonable grounds for each to remain listed.

Following the Minister’s statutory review on whether there are still reasonable grounds for an entity to be listed, the Governor in Council must decide whether to accept the Minister’s recommendation as to whether the entity should remain on the list.

Background

On December 18, 2001, the Anti-terrorism Act received royal assent, amending the Criminal Code to allow the Government of Canada to create a list of terrorist entities. Under the Criminal Code, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, establish a list of entities if the Governor in Council is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the entity has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity; or has knowingly acted on behalf of, at the direction of or in association with an entity that has knowingly carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity.

An entity is defined in the Criminal Code as a person, group, trust, partnership or fund or an unincorporated association or organization. A listed entity is included in the definition of terrorist group in the Criminal Code so offences applicable to terrorist groups apply to these entities. However, unlike terrorist groups that are not listed, a prosecution related to a listed entity does not require the Crown to demonstrate that the entity meets the definition of terrorist group as set out in paragraph (a) of the definition of terrorist group, namely that the entity has as one of its purposes or activities facilitating or carrying out any terrorist activity.

The Criminal Code provides for a thorough and fair mechanism for reviewing the listing of an entity. A listed entity may apply to the Minister requesting that it no longer be a listed entity. In such cases, the Minister would determine whether there are reasonable grounds to recommend to the Governor in Council that the applicant no longer be a listed entity. The entity may have the decision reviewed by the Federal Court.

Implications

Listing a terrorist entity sets in motion requirements for reporting suspicious terrorist financing transactions and requires anyone to disclose to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service the existence of any property in his or her possession or control that he or she knows is owned or controlled by or on behalf of a terrorist group.

In addition, bodies that are subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act must also report the information to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. The costs to banks, financial institutions, and individuals in meeting these requirements are not significant due in large part to the existence of electronic banking systems; however, there are significant benefits for the security of Canada and Canadians.

Consultation

No public consultation was undertaken.

Contact

Public Safety Canada
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0P8
Telephone: 613‑944‑4875 or 1‑800‑830‑3118