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A Canadian parent whose son was recruited by ISIS says making it illegal for Canadians to travel to regions controlled by terror groups is the wrong way to go.
Chris Boudreau’s 22-year-old son Damian Clairmont was killed while fighting with Islamic extremists in Syria.
She believes Harper’s promise he made over the weekend is trying to capitalize on public fear about terrorism
Boudreau, who lives in Calgary, would instead like the government to deal with the root cause of radicalized youth. She called Harper’s statement a superficial quick-fix.
“The root of the problem is we need a lot more resources in the communities for families to reach out and get the help that they need,” she said on Gormley, adding that more money needs to go towards interventions, prevention programs and education in school to deal with the issue at the grassroots level.
Harper made the eyebrow-raising promise on Sunday, saying travel is “not a human right.”
Boudreau said Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair seem to be afraid to take a stance on radicalized youth.
“I’m watching families struggle and we try to get the counseling in, get the support in and they are on waitlists for one to two years,” Boudreau explained.
Boudreau believes the present law is enough and extra measures don’t need to be taken.
“I’ve seen it in effect in a couple of instances already so why go on about this other law and add it on top so it just adds another layer of bureaucracy?,” she questioned.
“You can throw someone in prison, yes, for protection services or whatever but once they get there, what are we doing then?”
Harper also said on Monday that the Liberals and NDP would fight insurgents overseas by doing little more than “dropping aid on dead people.”
“If your policy is humanitarian assistance without military support, all you’re doing is dropping aid on dead people,” he said during a campaign stop in Markham, Ont., describing the position of “diaspora groups” in Canada.
“That’s not acceptable. We’re a country that can contribute militarily and in a humanitarian sense, and we are doing both.”
Harper brushed off the criticisms of NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who have rejected military action and called for Canada to stick to providing humanitarian aid.
-with files from The Canadian Press
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