International headlines have once again put terrorism in the spotlight and this time, a one-time Port Coquitlam resident is involved.
This week, we learned that Canadian Robert Hall was not among the 10 hostages who were released on Sunday by the Abu Sayyaf terror group and thus we don't know what his future will be.
The Canadian government is adamant that it will not pay ransom for the release of hostages and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated this hardline stance last week after the beheading of another Canadian, John Ridsdel, by the same group.
Obviously, this policy is in place to protect Canadians elsewhere because without it, everyone one with a Canadian flag on their backpack would be at risk.
Still, it's a hard reality to face and a threat that is becoming more common as disaffected groups use terror aided and abetted by social media to achieve their radical objectives.
