Author: Phil Gurski

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on November 16, 2017 (http://www.hilltimes.com/2017/11/16/go-mental-health-terrorism/125792) What is it about terrorism that people fail to grasp?  I’ll put it as simply as I can: there are individuals (and groups) out there that plan and carry out heinous acts of violence we label as terrorism because they really believe in […]

This piece appeared in the online edition of The Ottawa Citizen on November 27, 2017 (http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/gurksi-why-parliament-needs-a-dose-of-intelligence) At long last Canada is getting some serious oversight for its intelligence agencies.  Well behind most of our closest allies, including the US and the UK, the Trudeau government has created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians […]

This week I was very fortunate to be on a panel this week sponsored by the National Capital (Ottawa) branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) with Ben Rowswell and Dr. Stephanie Carvin of Carleton University entitled ‘From Blogs to Books to Software’.  Mr. Rowswell gave an outstanding talk on how social media is changing […]

I, and many others, have often been criticised for using the term Islamist terrorism or Islamist violent extremism.  My critics have accused me of conflating Islam and terrorism and giving fodder to all the bigots and idiots out there that really do believe there is an intrinsic link between the faith of a billion and […]

I see that Saad Khalid, a convicted member of the famous – by Canadian standards – ‘Toronto 18’ terrorist cell has been denied bail again by a Parole Board of Canada panel.  Mr. Khalid was found guilty for his role in the plot to detonate three fertiliser bombs in Toronto and at a Canadian military […]

I am fairly certain that I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I really enjoy the humour of Monty Python.  One of the sillier skits – not that it is easy to choose just one – was when John Cleese plays a drill sergeant trying to teach recruits how to defend themselves against […]

As a parent I know what it is like to worry about my kids.  I still worry about them, even though they are all in their twenties and doing very well, since that is what being a parent is all about.  After all, you want what is best for them, even when they do really […]

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, because I did (here is the blog post in case you did not see it first time). Yet another person is planning to sue the Canadian government for its ‘complicity’ in alleged abuse in connection with a counter terrorism investigation.  An Algerian citizen, Djamel Ameziane, says that Canadian security […]

A few weeks ago I found myself on a panel at a National Judicial Institute conference at the storied Algonquin resort in picturesque St. Andrews, New Brunswick along with Federal Court judge Richard Mosley and retired Ontario Superior Court judge Douglas Rutherford.  The three of us were asked to discuss the challenge of trying terrorism […]

I suppose that in many ways none of this should be unexpected.  Its obviousness does not make it right, however.  There are lots of things that we do not question that are nevertheless the wrong way of looking at things. I am referring here to the belief that we are at ‘war with terrorism’.  The […]