Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell is blaming former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government for allowing a father and son with connections to ISIS into Canada despite the Liberals holding power since 2015.
The allegation comes after the RCMP arrested 62-year-old Ahmed Eldidi and his 26-year-old son Mostafa Eldidi in Richmond Hill for conspiring to commit a terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State.
RCMP have confirmed that the eldest Ahmed Eldidi obtained Canadian citizenship despite allegedly appearing in a 2015 ISIS video in which he was captured dismembering a prisoner with a sword.
In an emergency meeting of the parliamentary committee on public safety and national security, O’Connell implied that budget cuts the Harper government made to the Canada Border Service Agency weakened the border service and allowed the two ISIS associates to enter the country.
“I’m very pleased to see the Conservatives finally realize that their cuts have consequences,” said O’Connell.
“We look forward to having these meetings so that Conservatives can truly appreciate that their cuts have consequences to our national security and the safety of our communities.”
Upon assuming government in 2006, the Harper government considerably increased CBSA’s budget from $1.28 billion in fiscal year 2006-07 to $1.77 billion in 2009-10. The Harper government further increased spending for CBSA to just over $2 billion in 2013-14.
The Harper government did slash CBSA’s budget down to $1.74 billion in 2014-15, a move that was panned by the Customs and Immigration Union president Jean-Pierre Fortin, arguing that the cut would result in the loss of over 1,000 jobs.
However, at the time, CBSA claimed that the cuts would have “little to no impact” on its front-line operations and said that safety would not be compromised by the budget reduction.
While the total number of CBSA employees has seen negligible fluctuations throughout Harper’s tenure, Canada reached a 15-year low of CBSA workers in 2017 under the Liberal government.
Upon assuming office in 2015. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued the Harper government’s policy of reducing CBSA’s expenditures, giving CBSA $1.69 billion in 2016-17.
From 2017-18 to 2020-21, the Trudeau government maintained funding for CBSA at around $2.1 billion, before increasing the border service’s budget to $2.48 billion in 2021-22.
Jennifer O’Connell is no stranger to stirring up controversy in committee meetings.
During a committee meeting studying foreign interference in Canadian elections, O’Connell heckled Conservative MPs demanding the government release the name of elected officials suspected of engaging in foreign interference, saying “boo hoo, get over it.”
The public safety committee unanimously voted to investigate how the Eldidis were allowed into Canada despite claims that Ahmed dismembered a man for ISIS on film.