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Top Canada officials to face Parliament questioning after attacks

Top Canadian security officials are due to testify on Monday before a parliamentary committee about threats facing the nation in the same building where a man described as an homegrown militant opened fire last week as Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with lawmakers, Reuters reports.

On Sunday police said Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who killed a Canadian soldier and attacked the Parliament building made a video of himself just before the attack, evidence that he was driven by ideological and political motives.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they were analyzing the video and could not release it at this time.

The head of the RCMP and a senior official at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service will likely face tough questions from a Senate committee about how Zehaf-Bibeau and another man, Martin Rouleau, 25, both described by police as homegrown radicals were able to kill two soldiers on Canadian soil last week in separate attacks.

The incidents have prompted Harper and his Conservative colleagues to scramble to strengthen anti-terrorism legislation and sparked questions about Canada’s culture of openness that allowed anyone to walk freely into the Ottawa parliament building.

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson also could face questions about Zehaf-Bibeau. Paulson told reporters last week that he had come to Ottawa seeking a passport and intended to travel to Syria, a hotbed of Islamic militant activity.

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