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This RCMP handout photo shows an example of military equipment seized from four people, including active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who are facing charges in connection with an alleged terrorist plot.The Canadian Press
Some of the kinds of tactical gear that the RCMP alleges was in the hands of the soldiers arrested in Quebec is highly restricted and is generally inaccessible to individuals, experts say.
On Tuesday, the Mounties arrested and charged four men in connection with an alleged terrorist plot. Two are active non-commissioned army officers, one is a former soldier and the fourth a former cadet instructor.
According to court documents, the charges against one of the suspects, 33-year-old army Corporal Matthew Forbes, include accusations that he procured for others two American-made night-vision devices and a laser aiming pointer.
All three items were manufactured by L3Harris Technologies, a Florida-based defence company. One item was identified in Cpl. Forbes’s charge sheet as a third-generation BNVD-Fused night-vision device.
Third-generation refers to newer, better-performing models, said Ziming Wan, an Ontario retailer of night-vision devices.
“It would be very difficult to obtain a BNVD-Fused legally in Canada, even as a current or former service member. They can only be obtained by Canadian government agencies, not individuals,” said Mr. Wan, owner of Opfor Night Solutions.
Night-vision goggles and laser targeting devices are routinely bought and sold by gun enthusiasts.
However, Mr. Wan said, military-grade gear is tightly controlled. He said that when he sells that type of equipment, the buyer must be a police force or government agency, not individuals, and that it involves special licensing and approvals from American authorities.
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According to corporate records, Cpl. Forbes is the president of Défense Tactique du Nord Inc., a firm registered in 2023 and using the English name Northern Tactical Defense. The company sells night-vision equipment online and ships “across Canada and internationally,” according to its website.
In a statement e-mailed to The Globe and Mail, the company’s vice-president, Julien Thibault, said that it operates in conformity with criminal law, the Defence Production Act and the Controlled Goods Program, which oversees the exportation of strategic and military goods. “At no time did the business facilitate, approve or support activities outside of its legal frame of operations,” the e-mail said.
Mr. Wan said that the allegations against Cpl. Forbes and his co-accused are ”not representative of the night-vision, firearms or tactical training community at all. Night vision itself is not illegal to own.”
Federal laws criminalize the trade of the more sophisticated devices so that civilians won’t gain tactical advantages over police, said an expert in military procurement.
“You want to restrict who has access to things that can cause harm to people because they’ve been specifically designed for military purposes,” said Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
He added that “we have a legal regime that’s been set up to put parameters and safeguards around the handling of technology to ensure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong person’s hands.”
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Mr. Perry pointed out that only the most sophisticated police tactical teams in Canada would have access to military-grade scopes or night-vision goggles. That’s significant, he said, because the RCMP has alleged that three of the accused arrested this week had been engaging in a terrorist facilitation conspiracy involving some discussion of “intending to forcibly take possession of land in the Quebec City area.”
In a nighttime standoff, Mr. Perry said, military-grade equipment could confer an invaluable advantage in a rural area with little lighting.
In 2015, two Quebec City residents, Roch Guimont and his mother, Constance, were convicted of illegally selling military-grade third-generation night-vision goggles on eBay, in violation of Canadian export rules. “The technology for these items is very controlled since they provide a strategic edge for the American army during night operations,” a Quebec Superior Court ruling said.
Jessica Davis, who runs a research and consulting company called Insight Threat Intelligence, said the number of weapons seized points to a longer-term plan.
She said that depending on the origin of these items, the equipment could have been accumulated over the course of weeks, months or years.
According to the charges, the offences took place between June, 2021, and January, 2024, when police seized 83 firearms.
“We know that the activity took place from at least 2021, so I would imagine some of that, that weaponry started to be acquired earlier, but it really is one of the things that’s going to be so interesting to learn as this goes to trial,” Dr. Davis said.
Cpl. Forbes and the three other suspects – Marc-Aurèle Chabot, Raphaël Lagacé and Simon Angers-Audet – remain in custody until their next court date, July 14.
The Canadian Forces have confirmed that Cpl. Forbes is serving at CFB Valcartier, north of Quebec City.
Near the base, the arrests were the talk on Tuesday for army veterans Serge Tremblay and Al Maillette as they had coffee at McDonald’s.
“We are only talking about four [people],” Mr. Tremblay said. “Are there 10, 15, 100? We don’t know. If they wanted to attack something, they can’t do that with four.”
With reports from Claire McFarlane in Toronto
