Borealis Threat & Risk Consulting
Quick Hits Episode 276 – Is the Alberta referendum on separation open to influence from outside powers or not? Canada is sorrily used to talk of separation. We went through two referendums (referenda? neverendums?) on Quebec independence in the 1980s and 1990s and are now faced with a possible vote to split in Alberta. That […]
Episode 275 – Why we need to take government claims of counter terrorism success with a grain of salt Terrorist groups come and go, like just about everything else. And yet, some seem to last a long time, pronouncements of their deaths notwithstanding (I want to channel my inner Mark Twain here but…). Boko Haram […]
Episode 274 – Why in heaven’s name is a convicted unapologetic jihadi being released from prison? Prisons serve several purposes, or so it seems to me (I am not a incarceration specialist). First and foremost it is a system that can help keep the public safe from truly dangerous people. Second, it is part of […]
Episode 273 – Terms may hurt, but accuracy is paramount In a world dominated by jihadi terrorism we cannot discount the minor players who are also bent on violence. We have Hindu terrorists in India, Christian terrorists in the US and, wait for it, Jewish terrorists in Israel. Violence in the West Bank and elsewhere […]
Quick Hits Episode 272 – Who should be responsible for counter-terrorism in Canada? In a surprise announcement on March 24, the Chief of Toronto Police, Myron Demkiw, stated that his force would create a “standalone” counter-terrorism unit. Recent attacks against the US Consulate in Toronto and several Jewish institutions in the city, likely linked to […]
Episode 271 – Why it is important to analyse state recognition objectively If there is one conflict I have tried to stay away from, because it is so intractable, it is Israel-Palestine. The two have been at each other’s throats for decades and terrorist attacks have been carried out on each other’s territory by individuals […]
Episode 270 – The melting of the icecap and mass migration may also impact national security in the West During the Cold War, Canada maintained radar stations in its north to warn against Soviet ballistic missiles coming over the pole, in an arrangement with the US called the DEW Line (distant early warning). Now with […]
Episode 269 – How do we deal with climate change and global warming through a threat lens? When we talk national security the same few challenges come up: terrorism, espionage, cyber attacks, sabotage, foreign interference, etc. These are ‘traditional’ in the sense that they are open to investigation, information gathering and, in the worst case […]
Episode 268 – How serious is the RW threat to Canada? If you listen to many ‘experts’ the biggest threat to world safety emanates from the far right (what normal people call right-wing terrorism (RW) but the Canadian government calls IMVE – ideologically-motivated violent extremism). Recent RCMP arrests in Quebec hit the news yesterday and […]
Episode 267 – A look back at the 7/7 London (UK) bombings twenty years later. When it comes to major terrorist attacks that grab the world’s attention a few rise to the top. 9/11 (of course!), the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, the Bataclan/Stade de France massacre and the Madrid metro attack in 2004 […]