QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Parole Board of Canada
October 20, 2026
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader. Senator Moreau, Zakaria Amara, the ringleader behind the Toronto 18 terror plot, was planning to storm Parliament Hill and set off a series of truck bombs around Toronto. He has just been granted full parole. You’ll probably tell me that the Parole Board of Canada is independent, but Senator Moreau, your government appoints its members and has the power to change the rules.
We’re talking about a violent extremist who plotted attacks on Canadians but was granted full parole. Do you consider that acceptable, Senator Moreau?
With regard to parole, Senator Housakos — and you know this, because when the Conservative Party was in power, the exact same rules applied — decisions around the rules and criteria for release are made under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and enforced by the relevant agency, Correctional Service Canada. A fundamental principle exists in Canada when it comes to criminal justice. First, individuals must serve the sentences handed down by the courts. Second, the system focuses on rehabilitating people and reintegrating them into society.
These rules have always existed in Canada. The integrity and independence of the parole process must be completely free from any political interference. That’s what the government is doing.
Government leader, Mr. Amara is a radicalized terrorist. He was planning to blow up things in our largest city in Canada and to do harm to institutions here on Parliament Hill.
He was the ringleader of the Toronto 18. Let’s be clear. I said it in French, and I will repeat in English: The justification that the government uses, saying, “We’re at arm’s-length,” when the rules are made by the government and the appointments to the Parole Board are made by the government, just doesn’t fly.
Do you think Canadians believe that it is justifiable to say that this individual — an extremist — is suddenly cured overnight and should be free?
I will repeat in English what I said in French: In government after government — even the Conservative government — the rules and criteria for conditional release decisions fall under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and are administered by Correctional Service Canada, who are experts, by the way, and, when applicable, are reviewed by the Parole Board of Canada, both of which operate independently from political officials. I don’t suppose, Senator Housakos, that you are suggesting that this should change.
