Who would ISIS vote for?
LONDON, ENGLAND—“Hillary Clinton’s weakness while she was secretary of state has emboldened terrorists all over the world to attack the U.S., even on our own soil,” wrote Donald Trump on Facebook after the bombing in New York on Sept. 17. “They are hoping and praying that Hillary Clinton becomes president, that they can continue their […]
Declining public confidence: policing’s quiet crisis?
It may not be the threat to Canadian policing that one would expect, but recent incidents involving police organizations across the country may pull public confidence down to levels not seen since 2012. A recent Angus Reid poll shows the public’s confidence in the RCMP and provincial and municipal police across Canada ranges from 60 […]
Ambrose backs away from criticism of Leitch over screening for Canadian values
Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose has backed away from criticism she leveled earlier this month at Conservative leadership contender Kellie Leitch for asking Canadians whether the government should screen refugee seekers and potential immigrants for “anti-Canadian values.” After more than a week of controversy over the question—which Ms. Leitch posed in an email to potential […]
Canadians lack understanding of CSE and why it needs to snoop
OTTAWA—If there is one spy agency in Canada that is poorly understood and about which much of little veracity has been published it has to be CSE, or the Communications Security Establishment. CSE has a number of roles, but the one that gets the most public attention is signals intelligence, or SIGINT. This method of […]
The threat of terrorism is real Mr. Prime Minister, writes Hall
You can hardly blame Canadians if we continue to have lingering doubts about just how serious Justin Trudeau is about terrorism. His delayed response in even commenting on the alleged plot that led to the death of Aaron Driver in Strathroy, Ont., is hardly reassuring. Immediately after this serious near miss with Driver, headlines like “PM Justin Trudeau […]
Secrecy in security may be frustrating, but it’s necessary
OTTAWA—The public has a complicated relationship with intelligence agencies. On the one hand, we love to watch James Bond and Jason Bourne films, despite the way these stories have very little, if anything, to do with how things really happen. On the other hand, we get frustrated because these agencies, in real life, tell us so […]
What threat do returning foreign fighters pose?
OTTAWA—As we still reel from the foiled terrorist attack this month in Strathroy, Ont., we can still rest assured that attacks, successful or not, remain a rarity in Canada. In the period since 9-11, we have had no more than eight of such incidents: on average one every two years. When we compare our experiences […]
Promised changes to immigration detainee system long overdue
The Liberal government appears poised to make substantial improvements to the country’s oft-maligned immigration detainee system. They’re a long time coming. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced Monday that the federal government would invest up to $138 million in hopes of creating a “better, fairer immigration detention system for the humane and dignified treatment of individuals” that […]
Liberals accused of playing politics with national security as they consult on changes to Bill C-51
The Trudeau government is stalling on introducing promised reforms to controversial anti-terror legislation because it sees the value of the new law, says a former Conservative cabinet minister. The Anti-terrorism Act, also known as Bill C-51, offers helpful new tools for authorities combatting the ever-evolving extremist threat, said Erin O’Toole (Durham, Ont.), who now serves as the Conservative critic for public […]
Should the media publish photos of terrorists?
Media have one important job to do: report the news. Sometimes they also bring in people to help us understand the news and speculate on what it means. At times, outside experts contribute much-needed analysis and insight, and at others they provide little of value to the issue at hand. In reporting the news there […]
