Canada becomes 1st country to list extremist network 764 as terrorists
CBC
Canada has become the first country to list the extremist network 764, known for preying on young people online, as a terrorist organization, the federal government announced Wednesday.
Ottawa added four new organizations to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities:
In a statement, the government says 764, Maniac Murder Cult and Terrorgram Collective use social media and online gaming platforms to "recruit and radicalize individuals, spread propaganda and violent extremist narratives and incite violence both online and offline."
The Islamic State-Mozambique (IS-M), a known branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as an armed insurgent group seeking to replace the governing authority with Sharia law-based governance by seizing territory, infiltrating civilian populations and security forces and committing violent acts of terrorism.
Police in Canada have increasingly been warning parents about 764. The government describes their motives as "seeking to destroy civilized society through violence and chaos, not as a step towards a new 'state' but rather as an end itself.
"Members routinely use various social media and gaming platforms, particularly those with young and marginalized user bases, to lure, groom and extort youth to commit violent and sexual acts, including self-harm," it said.
In February 2024, police in Lethbridge, Alta., charged a 14-year-old boy with a series of offences, including making and distributing child pornography. Police allege he was a member of 764.
Listing groups in the Criminal Code gives the federal government the power to freeze or seize property, vehicles and money, along with giving Canadian law enforcement additional tools to prosecute terrorist offences.
In a speech last month, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned about the number of young people becoming radicalized.
"Worryingly, nearly one in 10 terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18," director Dan Rogers said to a crowd of invited guests at the National Arts Centre in downtown Ottawa.
Fortunately, he said, only a small number of youth or adults with extreme views resort to violence.
"But when they do, the consequences are devastating," he said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.
The racial reckoning of the COVID era saw Canada grapple with its checkered past — a process that led to statues of some foundational figures being removed, in some instances by force.
Holiday traditions are front and centre for many people at this time of year. But one Uxbridge family's Christmas tradition goes above and beyond the standard Christmas carols or holiday party.
A pedestrian is dead, and police are investigating following a collision in a north London parking lot on Tuesday afternoon.
Police have lifted a shelter-in-place order for parts of St. John's.
Nova Scotia Power is providing more information about the cyberattack on the utility earlier this year and its response in the months that followed.
A rare old-growth forest in Quebec’s Mauricie region is at the centre of a growing conflict between conservation advocates and the provincial government, after forestry roadwork was authorized in an area currently under review for protected status.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York sought an interview with ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor for connections to Canadian sex offender and fashion mogul Peter Nygard.
A mother is grieving after a carbon monoxide incident killed her 11-year-old son and put her husband in hospital in critical condition.
Just as Alberta begins to dig out from its last winter storm, most of the province is preparing for another blast of snow and brutal cold, just in time for the holidays.