Enderby demands safety reforms in wake of release of alleged ISIS supporter

Municipal leaders say residents in Enderby are “shocked and frustrated” about the decision by federal immigration and legal officials to release an alleged supporter of the terror group ISIS in the rural area.

In a news release, Mayor Greg McCune said the city is calling on Ottawa to implement public safety reforms.

“We must do better,” McCune said. “I am calling upon the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship to implement reforms that will restore confidence in our system.”

Thirty-eight-year-old Othman Hamdan is expected to live in Enderby for up to a year while he awaits possible deportation back to his home country of Jordan. A federal court judge ruled he would not pose a danger to the public given the 25 conditions he’ll have to adhere to.

Click here to read the federal court decision.

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McCune calls the conditions “weak,” and wonders why public safety is not more of a priority.

“I respect due process, but when a person who is being detained for safety reasons until they are deported is released on weak conditions and inadequate notification, our priorities need to be evaluated. Our first priority should be public safety,” McCune said. “If the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship is opposing this person’s release, and the Canadian Border Security Agency is opposing this person’s release, I think that this needs to be given more weight than what actually happened.”

McCune said Ottawa has to create stronger legislation and guidelines to reverse bad precedents and place public safety at the forefront.

“We cannot treat this as one-off bad decision by a single person. When you read the board members’ decision, it was based on legislation, precedent, and guidelines. When you read the federal court’s decision, it was upheld because the court will defer to the board member unless the decision is unreasonable. This is a systemic failure. We need to change it at that level.”

The mayor said they will continue to work with their Member of Parliament Mel Arnold, to oppose the decision, and we will also be working with MLA Greg Kyllo to ensure the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety is addressing the concerns.

Conservative MP Mel Arnold has also expressed concerns about the release, saying he doesn’t feel the conditions are adequate or that Hamdan will abide by them, and agreeing with other officials who believe Hamdan is a security risk to Canada.