The Anti-terrorism Act

IMPACTS AND USAGE

• The ATA has allowed Canada to fulfil its many international obligations to implement counter-terrorism measures and to demonstrate leadership with respect to UN requirements.

• The ATA enabled Canada to ratify and implement the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (1999) in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), and commitments by leaders of the G8, APEC, the OSCE and the OAS. The ATA also enabled Canada to ratify and implement the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel (1994).

• Law enforcement agencies are constantly guided by the ATA when investigating terrorism offences. These investigations are often complex and take several years of work before criminal charges can be laid.

• 41 entities have been listed under section 83.05(1) of the Criminal Code.

• As required by subsections 83.05(9) and (10) of the Criminal Code, the two-year review of the list was completed on November 9, 2006. All entities listed as of July 23, 2006 remained listed. The terrorist entity, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, has a history of engaging in terrorist activities inside Afghanistan and was listed on October 23, 2006.

• One individual has been charged with participating in the activity of a terrorist group, facilitating a terrorist activity, explosives offences, the commission of offences for a terrorist group, providing property for terrorist purposes and instructing another person to carry out an activity for the benefit of a terrorist group. His trial has been delayed, pending a number of legal challenges.

• In 2006, Canadian police charged several suspects with terrorism related offences in the Toronto area.

• Since the passage of the ATA in 2001, the Attorney General of Canada has published six Annual Reports (2002-2007) concerning the use of investigative hearings and the recognizance with conditions provisions of the ATA. The investigative hearing provision had been used once during the reporting period, but not the recognizance with conditions.

• Section 83.28 (investigative hearing) of the Criminal Code has been engaged once by a Provincial Attorney General. (See Application under section 83.28 of the Criminal Code (Re), [2004] 2 S.C.R. 248 and Vancouver Sun (Re), [2004] 2 S.C.R. 332)

• Since the passage of the ATA in 2001, the Minister of Public Safety has published six Annual Reports (2002-2007) on the use of arrests without warrant pursuant to the ATA.

• The annual reports published by the Minister of Public Safety indicate, in part, that in 2004, two authorizations for electronic surveillance had been obtained with respect to the following offences:

  • Using or possessing property for terrorist purposes (83.04);
  • Participation in the activity of terrorist group (83.18);
  • Facilitating terrorist activities (83.19);
  • Instructing to carry out activity for a terrorist group (83.21);
  • Instructing to carry out terrorist activity (83.22).
• On June 12, 2002, regulations were brought into force to require financial institutions and other financial intermediaries to report suspicions of terrorist financing and terrorist property.
• From 2001 to 2006, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) made 139 disclosures of information to law enforcement and intelligence agencies related to suspected terrorist activity financing and/or threats to national security pursuant to sections 55 and 55.1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act. In 2005-2006 alone, FINTRAC disclosed to law enforcement and national security agencies 34 cases of suspected terrorist financing and/or threats to the security of Canada, the total value of which amounted to approximately $256 million.
• FINTRAC's case disclosures identify individuals or entities and their transactions. In addition, if police or CSIS wish to obtain the full case analysis, they may seek a production order from a court. As of March 31, 2006, FINTRAC had received nine production orders issued under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.
• Under the Government Security Policy issued by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, an operational standard has been created for the "Permanently Bound to Secrecy" provisions of the Security of Information Act, which outlines the administrative procedures for Scheduled Departments and the method for Designation by Notice for Selected Persons. These procedures are now in place and being implemented. 

 
Updated to June 30, 2008.