OTTAWA — Canada is deepening its security ties with Qatar after Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree signed a new agreement Thursday to strengthen cooperation between the two countries on policing and transnational crime.“Strong international partnerships are essential to keeping Canadians safe,” Anandasangaree said after signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Qatar’s Ministry of Interior.“This Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Qatar will strengthen cooperation to address transnational crime and evolving security threats, while supporting collaboration between our law enforcement and public safety agencies.”The five-year agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between Public Safety Canada and Qatar’s Ministry of Interior, including closer collaboration between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Qatar National Police.Under the agreement, Canada and Qatar will work together to combat human trafficking, financial crime, money laundering, cybercrime, terrorism and terrorist financing, as well as the illicit trafficking of firearms and drugs..Officials said the two countries also intend to increase cooperation through regular meetings, exchanges between security personnel, and collaboration on shared public safety priorities.The MOU took effect immediately upon being signed and may be renewed by mutual consent after five years.Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Doha in January, where the two countries agreed to pursue closer cooperation in several areas, including public safety. Joe Adam George, a researcher on Islamist threats at the Middle East Forum, questioned the decision to deepen security cooperation with Qatar, arguing the Gulf state has long faced allegations of supporting Islamist groups.“Qatar is one of the world’s leading state sponsors of the Muslim Brotherhood and a major patron of Hamas,” George said. “Alongside Turkey, Doha has historically provided refuge, financial backing, and a media platform to their leaders and Islamist ideology.”George noted that then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton described Qatar’s counterterrorism cooperation with the United States in 2009 as among the weakest in the region. He also pointed to US lawsuits alleging major Qatari financial institutions laundered money for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both listed as terrorist entities in Canada, and said Qatar rejected demands from several Arab states in 2017 to sever ties with Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.“So how, exactly, does Canada plan to cooperate with a proven supporter of terrorism to combat the very threats it finances and enables?” George said. “Minister Anandasangaree owes Canadians an explanation of what due diligence, if any, was done before signing the MOU.”
