Banff-Airdrie Conservative Member of Parliament Blake Richards is looking for a plan from the Liberal government to deal with Canadians who have travelled overseas to fight with ISIS and now wish to return to Canada.

Richards says recent media reports about Canadian ISIS fighters who have been captured in Syria and now want to be returned to Canada are troubling to Canadians, yet the Trudeau Liberals have offered no concrete plans to deal with them.

Richards says, "These are people who have gone overseas to fight against our allies and are a part of a terrorist organization.  I don't think it's appropriate to say, 'oh come on back.  We'll get you some art classes and let you have a poetry reading and all the rest.  I don't think that, to me, is the right kind of response.  I mean there has to be some consequences to someone who is going to go overseas and fight with a terrorist organization."

One such fighter has openly stated that he served as a sniper for the terrorist group and used his social media accounts to spread brutal photos of torture and beheadings.  The man left Toronto to join ISIS in 2014.  When asked whether he had killed anyone, his response was “ISIS did not try to confirm whether they had hit their targets”.  Richards believes he thinks that by not confirming the loss of life it makes his actions seem less reprehensible.

Now, he wants to return to Canada.

Recently the Conservative Party put forward a motion in the commons call on the Liberals to prioritize the rights of the victims of ISIS, rather than those who have fought with the organization.

The motion passed overwhelmingly passed, 280 votes to 1.  Only Green Party Leader Elizabeth May voted against it.  However, as Richards points out, the Trudeau government has previously voted in favour of Conservative motions and then failed to take action. He says that can't happen this time around.  

"What would be nice to see would be them held accountable for their actions.  I don't think Canadians want to see someone who is a part of a terrorist organization and be on the streets here in Canada and bringing that mindset here."

Richards says Justin Trudeau needs to immediately table a plan detailing how anyone who acted as an ISIS terrorist will be brought to justice.  

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