Roundup: Reporting the terror threat

Posted on by

The government released their 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada yesterday, and there are a few items of note, particularly that there are more Canadians who are suspected of travelling abroad to engage in terrorist activities, more women are joining the cause, and more of them are returning to Canada after some time abroad, all of which needs to be monitored. The biggest threat remains those lone wolves who are “inspired” by terrorist ideology rather than being directed from abroad, because quite obviously it’s much harder to detect and monitor. Apparently it’s also news that Ralph Goodale is calling ISIS “Daesh” in the report, but some terror experts will note that this is just a bit of name-calling. On a related note, RCMP are talking about their roadblocks in the fight against terrorism, which is a lot about the difficulty in turning evidence gathered from partners like CSIS into something they can admit to the courts, which is apparently harder than it seems. I’m not really sure that I’ve got a lot to add on this one, just that despite the various howls from both the Conservatives and the NDP in how the Liberals have been handling the terror file – the Conservatives insisting that the Liberals have given it up and are running away from the fight (objectively not the case), and the NDP caterwauling that C-51 needs to be repealed full stop – that the Liberals do indeed seem to be taking this seriously. While experts have been praising them on their go-slow approach rather than legislating in haste, I think it’s also notable that they are making reports like these public in order to give a realistic picture of what is going on, rather than relying on hysteria in order to try and build public support that way. We’ll no doubt see a lot more from them in the next couple of months as the new national security committee of parliamentarians is set up, and consultations on the state of our anti-terror laws transition into legislation, but this was a good reminder that things are in the works. In the meantime, here are some more thoughts from a real expert on these kinds of things, Stephanie Carvin.

https://twitter.com/stephaniecarvin/status/768814441865605120

https://twitter.com/stephaniecarvin/status/768848309754564609

https://twitter.com/stephaniecarvin/status/768853486670708738

https://twitter.com/stephaniecarvin/status/768914845475278849

Good reads:

  • The short version of the Liberal caucus retreat is telling backbench MPs not to rest on their laurels, and that there’s plenty of hard work to do.
  • Ruh-roh! Turns out that one of Hunter Tootoo’s staff lost a cabinet document, but they say no sensitive material was in it.
  • Liberal MP Kate Young got her knuckles rapped by the Ethics Commissioner for writing a letter to the CRTC when she shouldn’t have.
  • The Chinese ambassador to Canada hopes that the trade dispute over canola won’t impact Trudeau’s visit.
  • Here’s a look at the tolerance for death threats against the Prime Minister posted on the Conservative Party’s Facebook page.
  • The former commander of JTF2 is facing a court martial for a negligent discharge of a firearm.
  • Stephen Harper has been awarded the Order of Liberty in Ukraine.
  • Mike Moffatt suggests the Bank of Canada mandate be changed to target national GDP growth rather than inflation.
  • Kady O’Malley takes a wander through the latest gift registry postings by the PM and his wife.
  • Chantal Hébert wonders if mandatory voting isn’t a route to consensus on the electoral reform committee if they can’t agree on a new system.

Odds and ends:

The government is throwing its weight behind a request to return the Beothuk remains currently housed at a Scottish museum to Canada.

CUPW has issued a strike notice for Canada Post workers, so that could happen by Sunday.