Borealis Threat & Risk ConsultingCanadians are funny people. I don’t mean funny ha-ha although we do have a pretty good track record of comedians (Jim Carey, Mike Myers, Samantha Bee, John Candy, Catherine O’Hara – I am sure I am missing other great comics). I mean we want our security and intelligence agencies to stop terrorism but we don’t […]
I see that one of the greatest terrorism scholars alive, Bruce Hoffman, has just published a piece in Foreign Affairs predicting an eventual alliance between Al Qaeda (AQ) and Islamic State (IS). I see this article as Mr. Hoffman’s attempt to remind us, as he so often has, that AQ is not dead and cannot […]
Of all the tools used in countering terrorism and violent extremism in Canada, one of the most controversial is the peace bond. It is normally issued by the Court in cases where an individual is judged likely to commit an offence but where there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has actually […]
The answer to the question in the title of this blog should be a no-brainer. We want research to help us come up with ways to stop (or prevent) terrorism. Who would quibble with that? Well, things are not as simple as they seem according to an article in the New York Times. In the […]
First of all kudos to the Trudeau government for its recent announcement on funding for counter radicalisation and community engagement. $35 million over five years is an excellent start and, although details are wanting, the government sees the new “Office of the Community Outreach and Counter Radicalisation Coordinator” as a leadership post for Canada’s efforts. This […]
In the wake of the horrendous attacks in Brussels this week, there has been a cascade of stories, op-ed pieces and analyses of the event, ranging from why Belgian security services did not prevent it to whether more are on their way. Political scientist, sociologists and even a few former spies have weighed in, and […]
As I have stated many times I am not a fan of speculation in the absence of facts. All we know so far about the heinous act of terrorism this morning in Brussels is that three bombs went off and that at least two of the attacks were suicide. Belgian police and security forces are […]
If there is one theatre of war tactic that remains controversial – aside from the inevitable divisions of futuristic killer robots I keep reading about – it is the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles as the military prefers to call them. Relentless, tireless, brimming with state of the art gadgetry, these flying platforms […]
I am fascinated by polls and the science of polling. Yes, some firms have taken a hit for what turned out to be inaccurate predictions (especially when it comes to election results), but we do not have a better way at present to gauge the pulse of the public on any given issue. It is […]
There are many occasions on which public perception does not hold up well once research is carried out and data collected. For instance, people in Canada and the US think that crime is on the increase when statistics show quite the opposite and that we are in an era of unprecedented safety. Global warming is […]