FEDERAL Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc on Monday announced that the Government of Canada has listed Ansarallah, commonly referred to as the Houthis, as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.
Ansarallah is a militant group that has waged an insurgency in Yemen since the early 2000s seeking to unseat the internationally recognized government of Yemen. The group now controls vast swathes of North-Western Yemen, including the capital Sana’a.
The government said that since November 2023, Ansarallah has contributed to unrest in the Middle East through numerous attacks targeting civilian and naval vessels on the Red Sea and other waterways, as well as those against Israel. Ansarallah is also closely linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Hezbollah, two listed terrorist entities in Canada.
In January 2024, the U.S. Department of State announced the designation of Ansarallah as a specially designated global terrorist through its Executive Order 13224. It is important to note that there is a differentiation between the armed political movement which is often referred to as “the Houthis” (but is officially called Ansarallah), and the ethnic group in Yemen by the same name, which is not the target of this listing, the government pointed out.
As a now-listed entity, Ansarallah has met the definition of a “terrorist group” under Canada’s Criminal Code. The Criminal Code prohibits certain actions in relation to terrorist groups, including those related to terrorist financing, travel and recruitment. For example, it is a criminal offence for anyone in Canada and Canadians abroad to knowingly deal with property owned or controlled by a terrorist group. It is also an offence to directly or indirectly provide property knowing that it will be used by or benefit a terrorist group. Furthermore, persons seeking entry into Canada are inadmissible if they are found to be members of organizations engaged in terrorism, the government said.
Listings can also assist Canadian security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism. The terrorist listings mechanism plays a key role in countering terrorist financing.
LeBlanc said: ““Today’s addition of Ansarallah as a listed terrorist entity contributes to our efforts in fighting terrorism globally and aligning Canada with our allies. Acts of violent extremism and terrorism have no place in the world and we will continue to take action to curtail the spread of these activities internationally and to counter threats to Canada, its citizens and its interests around the world.”
With the addition of Ansarallah, there are now 79 terrorist entities listed under the Criminal Code.
As Canada’s national police service, the RCMP is responsible for preventing, detecting and investigating terrorism-related criminal activities in Canada while respecting personal rights and freedoms. The RCMP investigates criminal activities by those who threaten the safety and security of Canadians. Listing is an important tool that supports criminal investigations and strengthens the RCMP’s ability to prevent and disrupt terrorist activity.
