Intelligence agencies are generally poorly understood in our societies. The agencies themselves are partly to blame since they shroud themselves in secrecy, albeit for good reasons. In addition, public perception is at fault, partly due to the assumption by many that spies are nefarious creatures at heart and partly due to the often highly inaccurate […]
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If there is one issue that is quite controversial and sensitive when it comes to our discussion about terrorism it is the relationship between Islam and violent extremism. As with a lot of subjects there are views that are extremes on either end, ranging from ‘Islam is a terrorist faith’ to ‘Islam, as a religion […]
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Seeking to stop the unstoppable
Some people have unrealistic views of security intelligence services. I cannot count how many times I have turned to my wife, while we were watching a movie featuring the NSA (the US signals intelligence agency) or the CIA, and guffawing ‘as if!’ when something truly outrageous is presented. Like when a small team can find, […]
When you work for CSIS or the RCMP in national security the one thing that keeps you up at night is the possibility that you might miss something (or, more probably, don’t have enough resources to run down all the leads you discover) and a terrorist act succeeds in Canada. The second thing that makes […]
After much delay, the Trudeau government announced today that it will introduce legislation into the House of Commons that contains a significant overhaul on how this country’s security intelligence community operates. Bill C-59 is wide-ranging in scope and seeks to address some of the concerns Canadians raised over the previous Harper government’s C-51, passed in […]
Canadian courts are showing themselves to be prudent and worthy interpreters of the law of the land when it comes to terrorism. A number of cases have now worked their way through the system and in the majority of them the Crown has successfully made its argument that a small number of Canadians are guilty […]
One criticism that has been leveled a lot in the post 9/11 period is that governments, through their security intelligence and law enforcement agencies, has run roughshod over civil rights and what should be seen as legitimate political activity, and criminalised some behaviours all in an effort to prevent terrorism from occurring. The timeline on […]
Most people in Canada have a good impression of Sweden I would think. Whether it focuses on tall, blonde attractive men and women or the increasing number of star hockey players – the Ottawa Senators have been blessed with both Daniel Alfredsson and Erik Karlsson – the images are positive ones. And if you have […]
We in Canada are, disturbingly to some, becoming used to this story. A Canadian travels abroad, to a native land or elsewhere, is picked up by local authorities, placed in jail (often in appalling conditions and sometimes allegedly tortured) and eventually released when the foreign government decides there is no case against him. He returns […]
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ISIS in Scarborough?
Once in a while I come across (or, in this case, have someone point me in the right direction) a story related to terrorism that surprises even me, a 30-year grizzled veteran of intelligence and counter terrorism. I saw a lot in my time at CSIS and had the incredibly amazing opportunity to work on […]