US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA2468

S E C R E T OTTAWA 002468 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/PII, AND DS/ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2013 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, CA, Terrorism 
SUBJECT: CANADIAN PRESS REPORTS OF TERROR PROBE HIGHLY 
SPECULATIVE 
 
 
Classified By: BRIAN FLORA, MINISTER-COUNSELOR FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS FO 
R REASONS 1.5(B) AND (D). 
 
1. (S)  Persistent Canadian press reports which surfaced over 
the weekend and have since been picked up in the U.S. allege 
that at least some of the 19 foreign "students" arrested 
recently in Canada (18 Pakistanis and one Indian) have links 
to al Qaeda and may have been plotting terrorist operations 
in Canada and the U.S.  Contacts of Embassy law enforcement 
offices have been told that the reports are sensationalist 
and appear to have little basis in fact.  The nineteen 
detainees, one of whom has since been released, are being 
held on suspicion of immigration violations.  No evidence of 
terrorist intentions or threats to national security have yet 
surfaced, though the investigation into their activities is 
ongoing.  Our contacts have assured us that they will share 
any significant findings with us. 
 
2. (S)  Last February, several in the group came to the 
attention of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) fraud 
investigators, who then initiated an investigation.  Most had 
bogus documents and many claimed to be attending a defunct 
business school in Toronto.  The press alleged that they 
engaged in a pattern of suspicious behavior (some were seen 
at a lake near an Ontario nuclear power plant at 4:00 am, 
another took an extended flying course, few had a visible 
means of support, several had apparently traveled to the 
U.S., etc.), but Embassy sources in both the Royal Canadian 
Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security and 
Intelligence Service (CSIS) have questioned the accuracy and 
significance of the press reports, describing them as highly 
speculative and thus far unproven.  Something more serious 
could turn up for one or more of the detainees as CSIS and 
the RCMP sift through the evidence, but the most likely 
explanation for the roundup is immigration fraud. 
 
3. (S)  Our CSIS and RCMP contacts claim that they were not 
informed regarding the specifics of the CIC immigration fraud 
investigation.  Once the story broke, they were belatedly 
given the names and personal data of the nineteen detainees, 
which they have since shared with us.  Until proven 
otherwise, they see the nineteen as economic migrants who, 
typically, used fraudulent methods to gain access to Canada. 
Both organizations have promised to keep us informed as the 
investigation continues.  The RCMP also claims to have 
drafted a press report to downplay the terrorism angle and 
reassure the public, but the papers have declined to use the 
release, preferring instead to continue to speculate on the 
group's possible terrorist link. 
 
4. (S)  Comment:  It's a slow news period and the Canadian 
press has decided to take a sexy story and run with it.  We 
assume the press blowup came as the result of a leak from one 
or more of the CIC investigators, who may have been trying to 
promote their own reputations.  Responsible journalism it is 
not, but it attracts attention and seems to sell newspapers. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
KELLY