Canadians who travel abroad to fight ISIL get little scrutiny upon return, suggesting Canada isn’t keen on stopping them

[Valin]

National Post:

Stewart Bell

May 31, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon Glossop, Canadian military veteran who just greturned from three months of fighting with

the Kurds in Syria where he claimed an ISIS flag.

 

SIDNEY, B.C. • Brandon Glossop wasn’t sure what to expect when he landed at Vancouver International Airport two weeks ago. The former oil sands worker had just spent three months in northern Syria, where he had fought with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

 

But when he got to Canada Customs and explained what he’d been up to, the officer simply shook his hand, he said in an exclusive interview. Border officials searched his luggage but quickly sent him on his way. They never found the ISIL flag he had hidden in his sleeping bag.

 

The flag is a black pendant with white Arabic lettering and frilly trim. A Kurdish fighter captured it in a Syrian village. Glossop wanted it so badly he traded a pair of combat pants and sunglasses for it. Since returning home to Vancouver Island, he’s been posing for pictures with it.

 

“It’s a big hit,” he said.

 

(snip)