Trudeau decries use of terrorist propaganda for 'political advantages'

A Syrian Kurdish sniper looks at the rubble in the Syrian city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani, Jan. 30, 2015. (AP Photo)

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau weighed in Monday on a Conservative attack ad that makes use of Islamic State propaganda.

Trudeau said he will let Canadians decide “if they want a government that uses terrorism as a way to find political advantages.”

The Conservatives released an online ad last week that juxtaposed Trudeau’s comment that he would to end the CF-18 bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq with gruesome images of the terrorist group drowning and beheading prisoners.

Opposition MPs have questioned whether the images contravene the Conservative’s recently passed Anti-terrorism Act, formerly C-51, which gives a judge “the power to order the seizure of terrorist propaganda or, if the propaganda is in electronic form, to order the deletion of the propaganda from a computer system.”

NDP MP Paul Dewar told CTV News last week that the use of music and images from a terrorist organization, “not only undermine(s) decency, but undermines the credibility of the Conservatives on their own bill.”

After the ad was released, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that committing to pulling troops out of Iraq amounts to “irresponsible electoral politics,” by both the Liberals, and NDP, which has long opposed the mission.

The Conservative attack ad features Islamic State imagery and re-edited CBC News footage of Trudeau.