Julian is the guy with the Che t-shirt of course…
On Tuesday night, a crowd of about 100 people gathered in the Waterloo-Centre riding for an all-candidates debate on refugees and immigration. The three main candidates – Liberal Raj Saini, NDP’s Susan Cadell, and Conservative incumbent Stephen Woodworth – probably didn’t know it, but they were joined on stage by a man recently declared a terrorist risk by the US Department of Homeland Security.
Julian Ichim is a devoted Maoist with a long history running for (and losing) and working with the Marxist-Leninist party. Ichim is a bit of an Otto West like character, clownish but dangerously stupid. Ichim first came to public attention after throwing chocolate milk on Stockwell Day and has since continued his pattern of silly disruptions to this day- his most recent attack was on Venezuelan dissident National Assembly member Maria Corina Machado
In October 2013, when Ichim was expected in court to face the consequences of one of his exploits, the US Consulate issued a security warning about the possibility of violence. Having previously been assaulted by Ichim I understood the potential for violence, but the warning seemed a bit silly at the time. But information released last year gives us more insight- Ichim works closely with an Irish organization listed on the Department of Homeland Security’s terrorism watch list.
Ichim is a fan-boy of the 32 Counties Sovereignty Movement, an Irish republican organization DHS alleges works closely with the Real IRA (a nasty group known to blow things up). Ichim has traveled to meet them in Ireland a few times, always taking the opportunity to visit their “political prisoners” locked-up in jail.
Julian’s most recent trip to Ireland was in November 2014 when he claims to have been invited as an “international guest” invited to attend one of their events. He reported that everything went smoothly until he went to the airport to make his way home. His ticket was routed through the US so he had to pass through Homeland Security before he could get on the plane.
Having obtained information that Ichim was cavorting with an organization on their watch list, DHS rejected Ichim passage through the US based on the fact he might be a terrorist risk. While most people might not want to publicize such a fact, Ichim is a complete attention whore and couldn’t resist bragging to the world that he’s “important” enough to be a person of interest!
When the discussion shifted to Bill C-51 Susan Cadell, sharing the stage with a man on the DHS’s terrorist risk list, bragged that her’s was the only party to vote against the security bill. Liberal Raj Saini was reported regurgitating his party’s “we’ll change the bill” mantra. Ichim, a textbook example of why many Canadians believe we need Bill C-51, called the legislation “draconian”.
Conservative Stephen Woodworth responded to the bill’s critics labeling their views as “fear-mongering and alarming rhetoric.” It’s a shame he didn’t know (or chose not to act on) the fact he was sharing the stage with the poster boy for Bill C-51, he missed a powerful moment to drive home the argument. That said, personally, I’m still neither sold nor unsold on Bill C-51. The idea of expanding government powers always scares me, but so does Julian Ichim.
I’ll leave you with a video I filmed in 2012 with Ichim leading a group of UofT students with “f##k the pigs”, chants as he sings Maoist quotes including “time to pick up a gun”. Good times. For more information on Ichim’s network, check out my interactive relationship chart mapping out his connections to the G20, terrorist groups, the Maoists at the UofT, and a whole lot of craziness.
