Canada adds neo-Nazi groups to terror list for the first time

Blood and Honour was founded in the UK in 1987 by Ian Stuart Donaldson and Nicky Crane, and has several divisions in different countries, which carried out murders and bombings throughout the years.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A member of a Neo-Nazi group attends the "Day of Honour" in Budapest, Hungary, February 10, 2018, as he commemorates the breakout attempt by Schutzstaffel (SS) troops from Soviet-surrounded Budapest during World War Two. (photo credit: BERNADETT SZABO / REUTERS)
A member of a Neo-Nazi group attends the "Day of Honour" in Budapest, Hungary, February 10, 2018, as he commemorates the breakout attempt by Schutzstaffel (SS) troops from Soviet-surrounded Budapest during World War Two.
(photo credit: BERNADETT SZABO / REUTERS)
The Canadian government has for the first time added two neo-Nazi groups to its list of banned terrorist organizations on Thursday.
The far-right organization Blood and Honour and  what the government labeled its armed wing Combat 18 now appear on the list, alongside groups like Islamic State, Al Qaida, Boko Haram and the Taliban.
Also on the list is Hezbollah.
Blood and Honour was founded in the UK in 1987 by Ian Stuart Donaldson and Nicky Crane, and has several divisions in different countries, which carried out murders and bombings throughout the years.
The Canadian government described Blood and Honour as an organization “whose ideology is derived from the National Socialist doctrine of Nazi Germany.”
The group derived its name from a Hitler Youth slogan, Blut und Ehre.
“We have increasing concern about ultra-right-wing extremism leading to violence,” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was quoted by The Canadian Jewish News as saying in a press conference. The move “is a clear signal that we are very alert to this type of extremist violence, as we try to be alert to every type of extremist violence, and are prepared to take the appropriate steps to keep Canadians safe.”
Adding Blood and Honor and Combat 18 to the terror list will “help to facilitate the laying of terrorism charges against perpetrators and supporters of terrorism,” Goodale claimed, adding that “it will also help block the financial resources to terrorist groups when such groups use Canada’s financial system.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada, welcomed the governments initiative, according to CJN.
Shimon Koffler Fogel told the outlet that “We cannot be complacent about the presence in Canada of neo-Nazi groups like Blood & Honour and its armed branch, Combat 18,” and that their presence on the list “will ensure fewer resources go to their nefarious activities."