MP James Bezan wants Aaron Driver charged for inciting terrorism

A Manitoba MP believes Aaron Driver should be charged for inciting terrorism after comments made to CBC News, but a human rights group says it's not up to politicians to charge someone with a crime.

JamesBezan, ConservativeMP forSelkirk-Interlake, andCanada's parliamentary secretary of defence, saidthe 23-year-old Winnipeg-based ISIS supporter made detestable comments in an interview.

"I believe that he should be charged again forpromotingattacks against Canadian members of the armed forces, as well as against our police officers," Bezan said.

"I think that's despicable. You've got to remember we're in Canada here and I would be shocked to see someone actually promote that type of criminal behaviour. And that's exactly what Aaron Driver is doing."

• Aaron Driver defends ISIS, attack on Parliament, but denies he's a threat
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In the interview,Driver told CBC thatCanada deserved to be targetedby Michael Zehaf-Bibeaufor its role in war in the Middle East.

OnOct.22, Zehaf-BibeaushotdeadCpl.NathanCirillo, who wasstanding guard at the National War Monument in Ottawa, then charged intoParliamentHill inOttawa before he was gunned down.

• 6 things we learned about Michael Zehaf-Bibeau and Parliament Hill shooting

Driver made the remarks after he was arrested, then released on bail, earlier this month. He has not been charged with anything at this time, butRCMPare seeking a peace bond so they can restrict and monitor his activities. Driversaid he will fight the RCMP's application for the peace bond.

Bezanwants police to review Driver's commentsand lay criminal charges against him.

But Corey Shefman, who speaks for the Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties, says police not members of Parliament have the power to have people charged with conspiracy to incite violence, provided they have proper evidence.

"If Mr. Bezan has some information that the police don't have about the activities that Mr. Driver has been undergoing, then he should tell the police and maybe that will lead to a charge. But until that time, Mr. Driver should be treated like every other Canadian," Shefman said.

"In Canada, a Canadian citizen who has not committed a violent act and who hasn't yet been accused or charged with inciting violence needs to have his rights protected just like ours."

Watched by CSIS

Driver caught the attention of CSIS, Canada's spy agency,in October 2014when he was tweeting his support for ISIS under the alias HarunAbdurahman.

That activity landed him on a watch list.

Driverregularly shared his pro-ISIS views on social mediaand was regularly shut down by Twitter for doing so. He was arrested byRCMPonJune 4 and investigators searched his home, removing what appeared to be computer towers.

After eightdays in custody, Driver was released on bail under25 strictconditions, including surrenderinghis passport,obeyinga curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., and being prohibited from using acomputer or smartphoneor logginginto social media accounts, and undergoing "religious counselling."

Threat or no threat?

MubinShaikh,a formercounter terrorism operative forCSIS,saysDriver is someone to be very concerned about.

Driverstateshe is not a threatbut then he talks about why he thinks it's justified to targetnon-Muslimsfor attack. That proves heisstillvery much athreat,Shaikhsaid.

"He is most definitely a threat, what he's suggested actually is a very well-rehearsed recruiting line. This is something that is shared across the board,"Shaikhsaid.

"He isre-enforcingand regurgitating the recruitmentnarrativesthatmake individuals commit these attacks."

Shaikhsaidpolice are justified in monitoring Driver because of that.

However, another expert onterror threatshas had researchersmonitorDriver's online activity anddoesnot see him as an immediate threat.

"Driver explicitly stated that he is not a threat and he does not intend to get involved with any action. On the face of it, that's a credible claim," saidLorneDawson, a professor of at the University of Waterloo and co-director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society.

Research intoradicalizedindividuals showsthey rarely move beyond just talking about it, he said.