Canada a ‘huge laggard’ in cyber security at a time when threats growing: expert
Cyber security needs to be a greater priority for the federal government in a time when state actors are increasingly taking clear risks to meddle in other countries’ affairs, say several analysts. The federal government conducted consultations on concerns and possible solutions for cyber threats and espionage from Aug. 16 to Oct. 15, 2016. A […]
The Canadian government must do more to combat hate crimes in Canada
When it comes to the health of a society, there are few symptoms of concern as telling as hate crimes. The frequency of such incidents and the response of government and civil society are a litmus test for a country’s commitment to the values of liberal democracy. As individuals from three diverse minority groups—the Jewish, […]
How do you solve a problem like IS defectors?
Years ago when I first joined the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, there was a veteran counter-terrorism guy, whom I’ll call ‘Mike’ in this article. Mike had been around a fair bit and I had a great deal of respect both for his experience and his insight into Islamist extremism. In all his time in the […]
Terrorism, honour, and modelling
On June 30, 2009, the bodies of three young women and a middle-aged woman were found in a car that had been submerged in a lock along the Rideau Canal system just north of Kingston, Ontario. Scarcely a month later, three people from the Shafia family, Afghan immigrants to Canada, were arrested and charged with […]
Dyer writes misguided rant on democracy: Egyptian ambassador
Re: “Democracy is dead in Egypt,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 30, p. 13). Gwynne Dyer’s bungled article on Egypt is at best a piece fraught with confusion, and at worst a concoction of half-truths. It is unclear where he drew his statistics from on the allegedly imprisoned and murdered Egyptians. But it was refreshing to […]
How much tolerance is too much?
Living in a liberal democracy is generally a good thing. Not that there aren’t problems that arise from time to time, but those who abide by liberal (in the classic sense of the word) values tend to be open to a great deal of diversity, as long as the overall tenor of society is not […]
Maintain the momentum on public safety officer health research
This fall, the House Committee on Public Safety and National Security, tabled its first major report examining the mental health challenges that confront public safety employees in Canada. Led by a motion from Liberal MP Pam Damoff, the Committee studied the phenomenon of operational stress injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among public safety officers, […]
“The Federal Court has found CSIS broke the law in retaining metadata collected over a decade. What should be done in response?”
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “The Government of Canada welcomes the Federal Court’s findings related to CSIS’s retention of metadata. We will not appeal the decision. “CSIS is taking immediate action to address the court’s findings; it has halted all access to and analysis of metadata as it works to assess and address the ruling. The […]
Why can’t we identify terrorists before it is too late?
OTTAWA—Woodstock, Ont., a small city just up the road from where I grew up, is having a tough time of it. A nurse has just been accused of killing at least eight elderly patients over a seven-year span by giving them lethal drugs. She is already being called one of Canada’s worst serial killers even […]
Canada’s safety record compares well with others, but its skies aren’t risk-free
Air transport plays a vital role in the Canadian economy, bringing people and goods closer together and helping to shrink the vast distances from coast to coast to coast. And whether they’re in St. John’s, Ottawa, Victoria, or Inuvik, Canadians can take pride in knowing that our aviation network is among the world’s best, comparing […]
