A newly released Canadian Security Intelligence Service memo from 1992 warned that Islamic extremists could exploit Canada's refugee system to enter the country while avoiding the security screening routinely applied to other foreign nationals.Blacklock's Reporter says the declassified document, obtained through Access to Information laws, argued that refugee claimants were particularly difficult for authorities to screen and monitor because many arrived using improper documentation and with little verifiable background information."It is by definition extremely difficult to control the entry to Canada of refugee claimants using improper documents," the CSIS memo stated. "Many individuals whose background is unknown arrive in Canada from the Middle East and some of these are certainly Islamic fundamentalists."The document, titled Working Group On Islamic Fundamentalism, cautioned that Canada could inadvertently become home to a network of extremists."The possibility exists of creating a nucleus of Islamic fundamentalists in Canada, some of whom may espouse anti-democratic or violent causes," the memo said.At the time, CSIS noted that security screening was mandatory for foreigners applying abroad for many visitor and student visas, including applicants described as Islamic clerics and fundamentalists from countries such as Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Algeria and Tunisia.The agency said similar reviews were commonly conducted on applicants from Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.However, refugee claimants arriving in Canada could bypass much of that process.The memo warned that Islamic fundamentalist movements were expanding across parts of the Middle East and Africa, including in countries where visitor visas could be issued without lengthy waiting periods..CSIS questioned whether Canada should place greater emphasis on identifying Islamic extremism when processing immigration and visitor applications."Although Islamic fundamentalism is not generally seen as intrinsically hostile and in fact often contains elements of social and economic reform, a combination of repression, social and economic divisions and anti-Western sentiment has led to cases of extremism," the memo stated.The release of the document comes as several high-profile terrorism-related prosecutions are before Canadian courts.Among them is the case of , a Pakistani foreign student living in Montreal who pleaded guilty to plotting "antisemitic" killings in Brooklyn.Also before the courts are Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi, an Egyptian father and son from Scarborough, Ont., who were arrested in 2024 and accused of planning what investigators described as a serious and violent attack at an undisclosed Toronto-area location.The 1992 memo follows the earlier declassification of a 1988 CSIS assessment released on Jan. 26. That report warned that immigration could become a significant source of national security threats.In the document, titled National Security Concerns Related To Immigration, CSIS concluded that concerns about the immigration stream posing risks to Canada's security should be answered "in the affirmative."
