Zakaria Amara, who is serving a life sentence in a Quebec penitentiary, received a letter from the government on Friday, notifying him that he was no longer a Canadian, The Canadian Press reports. The Jordanian national had dual citizenship, so he could be deported to the Middle Eastern country if he is released early, but he still has 60 days to appeal.
This is the first time the government has used its new power to denationalize convicted terrorists or spies if they are also citizens of another country. The legislation, which was proposed by the Conservatives, came into force in May, and several Canadians have already been notified that their citizenship is being reconsidered.
Comment: Amara was sentenced to life in prison in 2010 with no chance of parole until 2016 for his role in plotting a series of terrorist attacks with the Toronto 18. The group supposedly wanted to draw Canadian troops out of Afghanistan. According to court records, the group's plan was to detonate bombs in U-Haul rental trucks in downtown Toronto and to attack nuclear power plants, RCMP headquarters and eventually target the Sears Tower in Chicago or the UN headquarters in New York City. Police thwarted the plot -- dubbed the "Battle of Toronto" -- in a sweeping series of arrests in 2006.
Comment: As Canada's choice (Bill C-24), by default Amara is now exclusively a Jordanian citizen Question: Are there any ramifications for the Canadian gov in imprisoning, for life, a (now) foreign national?
Gov answer: Now that Amara's Canadian citizenship has been revoked, a plan has been set in motion to deport him to Jordan (Bill C-43, Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act). However, it has been confirmed he will not be deported until his time has been served. Currently behind bars in a Quebec prison, he is eligible for parole in 2016.
Canadians feel that streamlining the deportation of convicted criminals from Canada will make their country safer. Besides Amara, there are apparently three other convicted terrorists for which stripping citizenship has begun. Bill C-24 is a new piece of untested, unpredictable legislation, perhaps a slippery slope.