Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan is warning Canadians not to get complacent about the possibility of terror attacks on their own soil.

While the Canadian military has been kept out of the war in Iraq, McLellan warns that doesn't mean Canada is immune.

The attacks in London more than a week ago are believed to be the work of terrorists who are angry over the British military presence in Iraq.

"Sometimes it's easier for Canadians to say, because we weren't in Iraq, therefore why would someone want to launch a terrorist attack here in Canada against Canadians," McLellan said, appearing on CTV's Question Period.

"I think the world in which we live is more complex than that, I think there are a host of motivations for the terrorist attacks that we've seen around the world...it's not simply about the fact we didn't go to Iraq."

When asked about the report that one of Osama bin Laden's lieutenants said Canada was an al Qaeda target, McLellan said she was taking the warning seriously.

"We always take these threats seriously," she said.

"I don't think anyone should underestimate the fact that we have been named -- we are not flying below someone's radar screen."

British High Commissioner to Canada David Reddaway agreed that Canadians should not succumb to feelings of complacency.

"The incidents of terrorism go back well before war on Iraq. We have had bombings in countries that were not involved on the war in Iraq," he said, appearing on Question Period.

"I would say you are not safe to assume that you are immune. One of the prices of a free and diverse society like yours, like ours, is that it gives people space to operate, so there must be a risk for you."

Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier recently confirmed that members of Joint Task Force 2 -- Canada's elite and secretive commando unit -- will be involved in combat missions against al Qaeda supporters and remnants of the former Taliban regime.

McLellan dismissed suggestions that this would antagonize potential terrorists.

"I don't think there is any direct link in the sense that I believe… the motivations are complex and many, and go well beyond any kind of military action, be it in Iraq or Afghanistan," she said.

Reddaway echoed her sentiments, saying: "I think the risk is there anyway, frankly, and I think the terrorists will look to act wherever they think they can have an impact, wherever they have the freedom to act."