Roundup: Counter-radicalism and reality checks

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In the wake of the Aaron Driver near-miss last week, public safety minister Ralph Goodale is set to announce that the government is moving ahead with a counter-radicalization programme, but it looks like the details are still a little ways out. That said, Goodale has been pretty frank that our current counter-radicalisation programmes have little coherence and that’s what he aims to fix over the course of this year. And while we get the musings about what kind of leader Trudeau will be in the face of terrorism, we get his former foreign policy advisor Roland Paris reminding us of what he has done to date (which is not nothing, as his critics have stated). More importantly, however, we need to remind ourselves of the reality of the situation, and for that, I would turn your attention to Stephanie Carvin’s piece in this weekend’s Globe and Mail, which explains why counter-terrorism and counter-radicalism is not as easy as you might think, and provides a good reality check for the kinds of rhetoric out there, and why saying things like “connecting the dots” isn’t actually helpful to any kind of conversation around the subject.

Good reads:

  • The Aaron Driver case has highlighted the need to re-open the RCMP’s Canadian Bomb Data Centre, which was closed in April for lack of funds.
  • Harjit Sajjan has hinted that they may be looking to close the loopholes that allow some Canadian arms manufacturers from getting around export controls.
  • Mélanie Joly is looking to the BBC when it comes to trying to map a new future for the CBC, but I suspect her desire for CBC to take more risks is out of its character.
  • Here’s a longer read about the importance of the government apologising to gays and lesbians for historic persecution.
  • The new vice-chief of defence staff is looking to find efficiencies in the Canadian Forces as they restructure for the future.
  • At the CBA conference over the weekend, Donald Bayne spoke about the difficulty of dealing with the media interest in the Duffy trial.
  • Government officials are busy mapping out potential US election outcomes, including what a Trump victory would mean for things like NAFTA.
  • Jason Kenney is having his campaign defend his decision to collect an MP salary while campaigning for provincial party leadership, while he says nothing.

Odds and ends:

Dominic LeBlanc has lost control of his domain name, which is the bane of many a politician.

Justin Trudeau took part in Montreal Pride over the weekend.

One thought on “Roundup: Counter-radicalism and reality checks”

  1. Why is it that Politicians do not want to address the issue of Mental Health. Obviously in all cases mental health plays into the behaviour of the perpetrators. Zehaf-Bibeau was clearly deranged but Harper wanted a terrorist and the RCMP obliged. Driver needed help and his family failed him. Then again mental health cost money and is a provincial issue.

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