A youth who cannot be identified goes over notes at the start of his trial on terror charges in Brampton court yesterday. As follows media attorney Paul Schabas, Justice John Sproat and Crown attorney Marco Mendicino. (Pam Davies Illustration)

BRAMPTON -- Details from a chilling homegrown terrorist training camp videotape shows one man urging followers to embrace their "life's mission" and strike -- even if it means torture or death.

The evidence of terrorist indoctrination and a deadly plot to take innocent lives and attack Canadian targets emerged publicly yesterday as the first of 15 suspects went on trial.

The Crown outlined the "shocking and sensational" details in court where a young offender faces a charge of participating in a terrorist activity. The arrest was the result of an anti-terrorist sweep across the GTA in 2006.

Some of the shocking details are covered by an interim publication ban placed by Superior Court Justice John Sproat and none have been proven in court.

The Crown wants the ban to include the names of 14 adults charged in the massive anti-terror sweep to ensure their right to a fair trial while the only youth left charged goes on trial.

Among the evidence, a transcript of a training camp video recovered from the deleted files section of a computer hard drive that the Crown calls the centrepiece of its case and in which one suspect outlined the purpose for attending the camps.

"It's about the fact that this has to get done. Rome has to be defeated. And we have to be the ones that do it, no holding back, whether it's one man that survives, you have to do it," the suspect states, according to the Crown's factum.

"Our mission's greater, whether we get arrested, whether we get killed, we get tortured, our mission's greater than just individuals.

"But you know what this empire has never been defeated. It's like a friggin' monster, man. You cut off one hand, another one grows here, cut that off, another one grows here, cut that off, another one, another one, another one."

In another conversation, presented in the Crown's factum, three people discuss going to Parliament and killing everybody.

"What happens? What happens at the Parliament?" one person is heard asking.

"We go and kill everybody," another responds.

"And then what?"

"And then read about it ... we get victory."

'CHILLING INDIFFERENCE'

Crown attorney Marco Mendicino called some of the evidence "reprehensible" to the average Canadian, particularly "the chilling indifference" that some of the suspects displayed when they discussed the potential loss of lives. Because of that, Mendicino argued a ban on the names of the adult accused was necessary to protect their right to a fair trial.

The Crown said his case would show the youth attended a 12-day training camp with other members of the group, engaged in firearms and obstacle course training, and engaged in several assignments for a group member including stealing property for the purpose of a second training camp.

While several defence lawyers for the adults accused attended and agreed with the Crown's position, lawyer Paul Schabas, representing several media outlets, argued the trial was in a public courtroom and had to be public, saying the accused are entitled to an impartial jury -- not an ignorant one.

"The public's entitled to know about it," Schabas said, adding the trial date for the other accused had not even been set.

The trial began with the arraignment of the accused youth, who was charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Standing in a dark fleece jacket, a blue plaid shirt and dark pants, he plead not guilty to one count of participating and contributing to the activity of a terrorist group.

During most of the day-long proceedings he sat leaned back in his chair looking straight ahead at the front of the courtroom.

Preliminary motions are expected to continue this week, with the trial set to start May 27.