In the wake of Global News reporting on Canadian extremist fighters, an opposition motion tabled in the House of Commons that called on the federal government to bring legal recourse to these individuals was approved by MPs in a vote of 280 to one on Tuesday night.

The motion asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government to put forth a plan to impose legal consequences on returning extremist fighters.

WATCH: Captured Canadian ISIS fighter says ‘executioner’ in infamous ISIS video is Canadian

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel introduced the motion and the Liberals supported it reluctantly, despite disagreeing with some of its content.

“To date this government under Justin Trudeau has failed to take action, and Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives are calling on the prime minister to immediately table a plan to serve justice to anyone who left our country to fight with this terrorist organization,” Rempel told reporters in Ottawa ahead of the vote.

READ MORE: Tories table motion calling for government strategy on returning ISIS members

The motion also asks the government to support other initiatives, including a bill that will be tabled by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party that seeks to strip returning extremist fighters of a wide range of benefits, services and other privileges in the province.

Global News previously reported that the Canadian Consulate has been in touch with several citizens who’ve been detained by Kurdish forces in Syria over allegations of terrorist activity.

WATCH: What should Ottawa do with captured Canadian ISIS fighters?

U.S.-backed Kurdish forces are holding at least three Canadians accused of being ISIS fighters, three Canadian wives of ISIS foreign fighters and seven children. Based on Global’s reporting, Kurdish forces want Ottawa to take back at least a dozen Canadian ISIS fighters, along with the women and children they’re holding.

During Question Period last week, Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer pressed Trudeau on his justification for “proactively reaching out” to British national Jack Letts – who is a Canadian citizen through his father and suspected of terrorist activities – and “inviting” him to come to Canada.

WATCH: Andrew Scheer on Canada’s returning ISIS fighters

As per the motion, the federal government has 45 days to put forth an plan to impose legal consequences on anyone who travelled abroad to engage in terrorist activities or genocide

More to come. </s> The political debate over what to do with Canadians who were part of the so-called Islamic State returned to Parliament on Monday, with the Conservatives demanding a federal strategy on the matter.

An opposition motion to be tabled in the afternoon called on the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to put forward a plan within 45 days for bringing to justice those who fought with ISIS.

MP Michelle Rempel was to introduce the motion, which urges the government to acknowledge that anyone who travelled abroad to take part in terrorism or genocide should face legal consequences.

WATCH: Canadian ISIS fighter captured in northern Syria says he wants to return to Canada

The government should examine legal reforms that ensure the courts have access to evidence against terror suspects, while also providing adequate resources to security agencies to monitor them, it said.

In particular, the government should encourage greater use of peace bonds that place conditions on terror suspects through electronic monitoring and restrictions on their social media use, according to the motion.

It also asked the government to support initiatives such as the one proposed over the weekend by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to cut off returning terrorist group members from provincial social programs.

READ MORE: Ontario PCs will table bill to strip returning extremist fighters of license, benefits

The federal government has come under pressure over its handling of terrorist fighters in the wake of a series of Global News reports about Canadians captured in Syria over allegations they had been involved in ISIS.

One of them, Muhammad Ali, said in an interview he had served in an ISIS sniper unit. On social media, the Mississauga resident had also encouraged others to join ISIS or attack Canada.

Global News has confirmed that U.S.-backed Kurdish forces are holding at least three Canadians accused of being ISIS fighters, three Canadian wives of ISIS foreign fighters and seven children.

All want to return to Canada and the Syrian Democratic Forces, who are holding them, want to hand them over to the Canadian government. But none have yet been charged, raising questions about what will happen upon their return.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has said anyone involved in terrorism would be investigated. “We will collect evidence and where that evidence is appropriate, we will lay charges to the full extent of the law.”

READ MORE: Goodale says Canadian ISIS fighters will face consequences, officials won’t be put in danger to help

But the opposition motion, brought forward jointly by Rempel, the immigration critic, and public safety critic Pierre Paul-Hus, said the current procedure for bringing perpetrators of atrocities to justice was slow and failed victims.

WATCH: Mike Armstrong looks at why Kurdish officials are worried about foreign fighters and what Canada is prepared to do about it

It quoted Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi kidnapped by ISIS, who has written about her wish to see all ISIS members put on trial like Nazis following the Second World War.

Rather than trying to reintegrate returning terrorists back into Canadian society, the government should prosecute those who fought with ISIS or participated in any terror activities, the motion said.

It also asked the government to recognize that ISIS committed atrocities against ethnic and religious minorities, notably Yazidis, Iraqi Christians, Coptic Christians and Shias. </s> OTTAWA — Conservative MPs say the government should be going after a Canadian who told a New York Times podcast that he shot people in the head as an executioner for Islamic State militants in Syria.

The man, who used the name Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi, is now reported to be living in Toronto.

In question period on Friday, Conservatives demanded government action, but Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was cautious, saying he couldn’t comment because of security concerns.

“This individual is speaking freely to the media,” said Conservative House leader Candice Bergen. “The government has got to know where he is.”

Bergen said he told the podcast he won’t be held responsible for his killings.

“The media are reporting this individual is in Toronto, right now, as we speak. Can the government confirm it? Why isn’t this government doing something?”

Goodale said police and security agencies are doing their jobs properly.

“I am charged with the responsibility of keeping Canadians safe,” he said. “Discussing operational matters on the floor of the House of Commons is exactly the opposite of keeping Canadians safe.”

Bergen, however, was not backing down.

“This guy is apparently in Toronto,” she said. “Canadians deserve more answers from this government. Why aren’t they doing something about this despicable animal?”

CBC News reported in 2017 that Abu Huzaifa had been questioned extensively by RCMP and CSIS, but had not been charged.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has estimated that about 60 Canadians have returned home after fighting with foreign terror groups.

The federal government has established a centre to fund research and programs to stop radicalization and help people leave extremist groups, although the Conservatives have scorned its efforts as little more than poetry lessons for terrorists.

The government says it has a host of other counter-terrorism tools for returnees, including surveillance, criminal investigations, peace bonds, and the revoking of passports.

Such measures are effective, Goodale told the Commons.

“The security and police agencies of this country do an extraordinary job in identifying individuals that pose a risk to the public and taking the appropriate action to make sure that Canadians are safe.” </s> OTTAWA – Conservative MPs say the government should be going after a Canadian who told a New York Times podcast that he shot people in the head as an executioner for Islamic State militants in Syria.

The man, who used the name Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi, is now reported to be living in Toronto.

In question period on Friday, Conservatives demanded government action, but Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was cautious, saying he couldn’t comment because of security concerns.

“This individual is speaking freely to the media,” said Conservative House leader Candice Bergen. “The government has got to know where he is.”

Global News reported in 2017 that a Pakistani-Canadian man who served in the Islamic State’s so-called morality police returned to Toronto and was questioned extensively by RCMP, but not been charged.

The man told Global News at the time that he had witnessed killings, but had never killed anyone himself.

READ MORE: What happens when an ISIS member returns to Canada? The story of one Toronto-area man

Bergen said he told the podcast he won’t be held responsible for his killings.

“The media are reporting this individual is in Toronto, right now, as we speak. Can the government confirm it? Why isn’t this government doing something?”

Goodale said police and security agencies are doing their jobs properly.

“I am charged with the responsibility of keeping Canadians safe,” he said. “Discussing operational matters on the floor of the House of Commons is exactly the opposite of keeping Canadians safe.”

Bergen, however, was not backing down.

READ MORE: What does it take to lay terrorism charges? An internal government document explains the RCMP view

“This guy is apparently in Toronto,” she said. “Canadians deserve more answers from this government. Why aren’t they doing something about this despicable animal?”

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has estimated that about 60 Canadians have returned home after fighting with foreign terror groups.

The federal government has established a centre to fund research and programs to stop radicalization and help people leave extremist groups, although the Conservatives have scorned its efforts as little more than poetry lessons for terrorists.

READ MORE: ISIS servers seized in Canada as countries launch coordinated takedown of propaganda network

The government says it has a host of other counter-terrorism tools for returnees, including surveillance, criminal investigations, peace bonds, and the revoking of passports.

Such measures are effective, Goodale told the Commons.

“The security and police agencies of this country do an extraordinary job in identifying individuals that pose a risk to the public and taking the appropriate action to make sure that Canadians are safe.” </s> OTTAWA—Conservative MPs say the government should be going after a Canadian who told a New York Times podcast that he shot people in the head as an executioner for Daesh militants in Syria.

The man, who used the name Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi, is now reported to be living in Toronto.

In question period on Friday, Conservatives demanded government action, but Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was cautious, saying he couldn’t comment because of security concerns.

“This individual is speaking freely to the media,” said Conservative House leader Candice Bergen. “The government has got to know where he is.”

Abu Huzaifa says, in “Caliphate,” the New York Times podcast, that he took part in a communal execution of Sunni Muslim men. He said the men, who were blindfolded and had their arms tied, were killed because they had offered resistance to Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

“At first you have to bring yourself to do it. You say, ‘OK I’m finally killing someone now.’ This is maybe the next step to being a front-line fighter, and I already had some goals of being a front-line fighter.”

In the end, “you kind of have to close your eyes and do it. You just shoot.”

Abu Huzaifa says in the podcast that he delivered the fatal shot to the back of the man’s head and felt justified in doing so. He also says he would not be held responsible for his killings. “You can do it and you won’t be held accountable.”

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“The media are reporting this individual is in Toronto, right now, as we speak. Can the government confirm it? Why isn’t this government doing something?” Bergen asked.

Read more:

Conservative MP Candice Bergen is calling for more action from the government against a self-described terror recruit reportedly living in Toronto. The Canadian appeared on a recent New York Times podcast speaking about his actions as a Daesh (also known as the Islamic State or ISIS) militant. (The Canadian Press)

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Goodale said police and security agencies are doing their jobs properly.

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“I am charged with the responsibility of keeping Canadians safe,” he said. “Discussing operational matters on the floor of the House of Commons is exactly the opposite of keeping Canadians safe.”

Bergen, however, was not backing down.

“This guy is apparently in Toronto,” she said. “Canadians deserve more answers from this government. Why aren’t they doing something about this despicable animal?”

CBC News reported in 2017 that Abu Huzaifa had been questioned extensively by RCMP and CSIS, but had not been charged.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has estimated that about 60 Canadians have returned home after fighting with foreign terrorist groups.

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The federal government has established a centre to fund research and programs to stop radicalization and help people leave extremist groups, although the Conservatives have scorned its efforts as little more than poetry lessons for terrorists.

The government says it has a host of other counter-terrorism tools for returnees, including surveillance, criminal investigations, peace bonds and the revocation of passports.

Such measures are effective, Goodale told the Commons.

“The security and police agencies of this country do an extraordinary job in identifying individuals that pose a risk to the public and taking the appropriate action to make sure that Canadians are safe.”

Read more about: </s> OTTAWA — Conservative MPs say the government should be going after a Canadian who told a New York Times podcast that he shot people in the head as an executioner for Islamic State militants in Syria.

The man, who used the name Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi, is now reported to be living in Toronto.

In question period on Friday, Conservatives demanded government action, but Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was cautious, saying he couldn't comment because of security concerns.

"This individual is speaking freely to the media," said Conservative House leader Candice Bergen. "The government has got to know where he is." </s> OTTAWA—Conservative MPs are calling for action against a Canadian-born, self-described terror recruit reportedly living in Toronto, but Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says he can’t comment on the case for security reasons.

A Canadian who calls himself Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi appeared on a recent New York Times podcast, describing how he executed people while working with Daesh (also known as Islamic State or ISIS) militants in Syria.

The matter arose in question period in the Commons, with Conservative MP Candice Bergen citing media reports that say the man is in Toronto.

Daesh servers seized in Canada in multi-country takedown of propaganda network </s> OTTAWA — Canadian infants and children being held in Syria deserve the federal government’s help to get them out before winter comes, says a group representing them here.

The Canadians detained by Kurdish authorities in Syrian territory include nine families and more than 10 children, including some who were taken to Syria at young ages and others who were born there, said Alexandra Bain, the director of Families Against Violent Extremism.

Bain said the children are facing the outbreak of disease and a harsh winter and the Canadian government has a duty to protect its citizens. She said they live on a diet of rice and pasta and there are no diapers or milk for the infants.

Bain said her group and another volunteer organization want to foot the cost of getting these Canadians out of a war zone and are willing to do the necessary work on the ground, but that the government has to help them.

All those imprisoned in Syria should be vetted by Canadian authorities and it is possible some should face charges for their activities abroad, she added.

“They were all captured and detained in a war zone, and they must be thoroughly investigated by Canada’s security services and some will undoubtedly face justice,” said Bain.

Global News has reported that at least 13 Canadians — three alleged terrorists, their wives and children — are currently being detained in Syria.

The group includes Jack Letts, the British-raised son of a Canadian father and British mother, who has been dubbed “Jihadi Jack” by the U.K. media. His father, John, joined Bains on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, calling for the release of the Canadians. He branded as “fake news” the reports of his son’s being a terrorist, and laid the blame at the foot of a British journalist, whose use of the moniker stuck.

John Letts told the Hill press conference that he thinks his son is innocent and that he needs treatment for various illnesses contracted while in prison. He says his son was never involved in the violence perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS or Daesh.

“I want everyone here to know what we know: that Jack worked with others in the religious opposition to ISIS in Raqqa (the city the Islamic State claimed as its capital), that he condemned ISIS on social media, and that he wants to spend the rest of his life living peacefully and bearing witness against ISIS,” Letts said.

In a previous letter to Canadian MPs, Letts wrote that his son is a “naive young person who went to Syria hoping to help create a peaceful, utopian Muslim state” and who wound up trapped when Islamic terrorists took control of exit points.

Letts says that by saying that publicly he is violating British court orders that could get him thrown in jail when he returns to the country.

He and his wife, Sally Lane, were charged by British police in 2016 with funding terrorism after they tried to send their son money. In his letter, Letts wrote that the money was to pay “people smugglers,” who they believed had the only way to get their son out of Syria.

Letts said in his letter that his son’s Kurdish jailers have stated publicly that they’re willing to hand his son over to Canadian authorities. He also maintains Global Affairs Canada told the family for months that it was working to get their son released but that the department recently decided it’s too dangerous.

“It obviously has something to do with the upcoming election,” Letts said Tuesday. “We have fairly good evidence of the British having cracked the whip and said you have to toe the line — no one breaks the line of letting people back — and I think Canada is responding to that.”

Earlier this month, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer criticized the Trudeau government over reports that consular officials initiated contact with Letts, whom Scheer described as a “known jihadi fighter.” </s> The father of a British-Canadian dual national held by Kurds in Syria pleaded Tuesday for Ottawa's help to rescue him and at least 18 other Canadians, amid concerns that some of them pose a security risk.

Jack Letts, 23, has been held in Syria for 18 months, his father John told reporters in Ottawa.

"I need your help to save my son's life," said Letts, who appeared at a press conference with Alexandra Bain, director of Families Against Violent Extremism.

They said nine Canadians, including the younger Letts, as well as at least 10 of their children -- some taken to Syria, some born in the war zone -- are currently being held by Kurdish authorities on Syrian soil.

Bain said they face a cold winter ahead, are given little to eat, are not provided an education and tuberculosis has started to spread in the camps.

"These people need to be brought home to Canada and they need to be brought home now," Bain said.

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said it will not risk sending officials to Syria to negotiate for their release, citing security concerns.

Ottawa has also raised concerns about the collection of evidence in conflict zones to prosecute returnees under Canadian terrorism laws.

"We are aware of Canadian citizens being detained in Syria," foreign ministry spokesman Stefano Maron told AFP.

"Given the security situation on the ground, the government of Canada's ability to provide consular assistance in any part of Syria is extremely limited," he said.

"Canada is engaged in these cases and is providing assistance, to the limited extent possible," including verifying their "whereabouts and well-being," Maron added.

The families of detainees and their supporters were to meet later Tuesday with senior Canadian foreign ministry officials to pitch their proposal for a brokered return.

Letts and Bain said the human rights organization Reprieve would travel to camps in northern Syria to help facilitate their return, but only if Canada agrees to supply the returnees with travel documents.

To alleviate public concerns about repatriating Canadians with possible terror links, Bain said returnees would agree to "voluntary security arrangements," without elaborating on the terms.

Reprieve has previously helped repatriate an American from Syria under similar circumstances, Bain noted.

The reason for Letts' presence in Syria is somewhat unclear.

British media have suggested he is fighting for extremist groups, but his father said he was "not a violent jihadist" though he might have been "naive and wrong" to go to Syria.

Canadian officials had been trying to secure Letts' return home but suddenly halted their efforts in May, the father said.

"They just said there's nothing we can do because it's too dangerous," he told reporters, holding back tears.

The father suggested pressure on Canada from Britain, which has refused to take Jack back, or the upcoming Canadian election in 2019 may have factored into the decision.
A motion passed by the Conservative Party calling for a government strategy on returning Canadian Islamic State fighters is approved 280-1 by MPs.