Canada Parliament Shooting: Top Security Officials To Face Parliamentary Questioning Monday

A Canadian government committee will question top security officials Monday about potential terrorist threats faced by the nation, which was rocked by two deadly incidents last week.

The head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, and a senior official at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are expected to face tough questions about how two separate attacks, which killed two Canadian soldiers, happened in close succession on Canadian soil. The officials are due to testify before the committee in the same building of the Canadian parliament, where a man, believed to be a homegrown militant, opened fire, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, Canadian police said that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who killed 24-year-old Canadian Army Cpl. Nathan Cirillo outside Ottawa's war memorial last Wednesday, made a video of himself before the attack, indicating that he was driven by “ideological and political motives.” Zehaf-Bibeau was ultimately shot dead by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.

According to Reuters, the parliamentary committee could seek more details about Zehaf-Bibeau from RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, who previously told reporters that the Quebec-born man had come to Ottawa for a passport as he intended to travel to Syria. However, Zehaf-Bibeau's mother -- who is reportedly a top bureaucrat and deals with immigration issues, and was cited as the source of the information -- denied Paulson’s claim, saying that her son wanted to go to Saudi Arabia to study Islam.

The questions are also expected to seek details about information Canada shared about Zehaf-Bibeau and Martin Rouleau -- who ran over two Canadian soldiers, killing one, last Monday -- with the United States, which is expected to enforce tighter travel measures on its border with Canada.

On Saturday, authorities reopened Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, which was closed after the two separate attacks. The attackers were later described as Canadian nationals who had recently converted to Islam and were attempting to travel to Syria and join jihadist groups.