OTTAWA —
The federal government is adding 13 new extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities, freezing their assets and opening up people who are affiliated with them to criminal sanctions.
The move is a major step towards combatting ideologically-motivated extremist sentiment in Canada, and officials suggested Canada is the first country to make the decision to label the Proud Boys as a serious terror threat.
In addition to several al Qaeda and Daesh affiliates as well as one new international terror group being added to the list, the federal government is moving to list four ideologically motivated violent extremist (IMVE) organizations.
They are:
Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group founded in the U.S. in 2013 that was present at the 2017 Charlottesville rally;
Russian Imperial Movement, a nationalist group that trained those who bombed a left-wing bookstore and asylum facilities in Sweden in 2016;
Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group founded by a Canadian and formed in 2016 that, according to the government, played “a pivotal role” in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6; and
The Base, a neo-Nazi group founded in 2018, primarily active in the U.S., and whose members plotted to carry out attacks at a January rally in Virginia.
All four of these groups have called for, or engaged in acts of violence against those who are perceived to be opposed to their ideological beliefs, says the government.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced the move on Wednesday, highlighting the safety and security concerns these extremist groups raise for Canadians.
“This update hopefully sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate ideological, religious or politically-motivated acts of violence,” Blair said.
The decision also brings a range of “significant” legal and financial implications for people participating in or who are otherwise affiliated with these groups. Specifically, the Criminal Code includes charges for people or organizations that deal with property or finances of a listed entity. It also criminalizes certain supporting activities such as training and recruitment. These charges could be laid on a going-forward basis and cannot apply to past actions.
For example, any future purchasing Proud Boys merchandise from the group could now be considered a criminal act in this country, though belonging without any financial ties to a group is not illegal.
Further, anyone looking to enter Canada may not be allowed in if they are found to be associated with a listed group, and Blair can revoke the passports of anyone deemed to pose a threat to travel to engage in terrorist activities.
“Behaviour becomes a threat when people advocate or engage in violence as a means of promoting or furthering their ideology,” said one senior government official briefing reporters on a not-for-attribution basis.
In line with the new label as terrorist entities, steps are also being taken to remove any online content from these entities.
In addition to the IMVE groups, the government has also added the following al Qaeda affiliates to the list: Ansar Dine; Front de Libération du Macina; and Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimin. The government is also adding five new Islamic State affiliates based in Bangladesh; East Asia; the Greater Sahara; Libya; and the West Africa Province.
As well, one international terror group has joined the list: Hizbul Mujahideen, which was formed in 1989 as a militant Kashmiri liberation group.
The government says it has recently reviewed seven other organizations currently on the list in line with a legal requirement to do so, and it was determined all six groups remained a threat and so it was warranted to continue listing them.
“Based on their actions and ideologies, each group meets the legal threshold for listing as set out in the Criminal Code, which requires reasonable grounds to believe that an entity has knowingly participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity, or has knowingly acted on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with such an entity,” said the government in briefing materials provided to reporters in advance of Blair’s press conference.
GROWING THREAT OF EXTREMIST VIOLENCE
These extremist organizations newly added to the terrorist list join the ranks of Boko Haram and the Taliban, among many others. There are now a total of 73 terrorist entities on Canada’s list. Wednesday’s update is the first time new names have been added since 2019, when International neo-Nazi network Blood & Honour and its armed affiliate Combat 18, were added to the roster.
In making the announcement the government emphasized that federal intelligence agencies consider ideologically-motivated violent extremism a “growing threat,” and countering the online component of these organizations remains a “complex and ever-evolving issue.”
While generally considered “right-wing” groups, the federal government has sought to move away from that descriptor, stating it and “left-wing” are largely subjective and do not capture the complexity of the threat posed.
The classification of IMVE groups includes racially-motivated and ethno-nationalist violence, anti-authority violence, gender-driven violence like the Incel movement, and other grievance-driven violence. The government differentiates these groups from those who espouse religiously-motivated violent extremism or politically-motivated violent extremism.
In January, Blair first signalled in an interview on CTV’s Question Period that new additions to Canada’s list of recognized terrorist organizations could be coming.
Blair said at the time that Canadian national security officials were actively gathering intelligence about white supremacist and other extremist hate groups on an ongoing basis.
PROUD BOYS’ CANADIAN ROOTS
Started by Canadian and former VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys are a far-right organization that prides itself on “neo-chauvinism” and their core belief in “anti-political correctness.”
Although the group has denied any affiliation with far-right rhetoric in the past, it has been increasingly violent in the wake of Donald Trump’s election in 2016.
The group has “openly encouraged, planned, and conducted violent activities against those they perceive to be opposed to their ideology and political beliefs,” according to federal officials, who also acknowledged that no members of the group have been charged with terrorism offenses to date.
Trump’s infamously told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020.
Attention on the organization has been heightened following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, where participants were seen clearly in footage and on social media sporting Proud Boy colours, patches, flags and apparel affiliated with the group.
There are chapters of the group across Canada, and the labelling of the organization as a terrorist entity could have future implications for its Canadian members.
According to the government’s description of the organization published on Wednesday, “members of the group espouse misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and/or white supremacist ideologies and associate with white supremacist groups.”
While Blair could not provide specific intelligence gathered that led to the inclusion of the Proud Boys on the terror list, he said federal security officials have been monitoring its activities for some time and has seen “an escalation,” like acquiring weapons and engaging in criminal actions.
The minister said that while freedom of speech and freedom of association remain rights, “there is a threshold” where it becomes terrorism.
“There is a trove of evidence that has become available to us through the work of our law enforcement and security officials, but also the Americans, that really demonstrates the criminal intent, the violent criminal intent to engage in violent insurrection but also targeting individuals, targeting politicians for violent acts, all of which crosses that threshold where we believe it’s necessary and appropriate to list them as a terrorist entity,” Blair said in an interview on CTV’s Power Play.
SEPARATE FROM HOUSE MOTION
In the wake of the U.S. Capitol attacks, the federal government has faced calls to reassess the domestic terror threat and on Jan. 25, on the proposal of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, members of Parliament unanimously agreed to call on the federal government to declare the Proud Boys a “terrorist entity.”
The motion called on the government to “use all available tools to address the proliferation of white supremacists and hate groups,” however the decision on who is, or isn’t declared a terrorist group, is not one for politicians to make.
As officials emphasized on Wednesday, the decision was based on the intelligence Canada’s federal agencies have gathered. As the process works, the justice department would have had input on the legality of the decision and Blair would have then consulted cabinet on the new listings before the amendments were made to the regulations to add the new groups.
During the briefing on the decision, a federal official told reporters that the listing of these 13 entities was an action taken “very much aside” from the parliamentary motion.
Reacting to the announcement, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was pleased with the move as he thinks it will have “real impacts” on the Proud Boys networks in Canada, but called for a further dismantling of all white supremacist and extreme right-wing groups in Canada.
“We need to build a country where everyone feels like they belong and those types of hateful groups have no place in this country,” he said. “What this, I hope, does is have a chilling effect on these groups.”
In a statement, Conservative public safety critic Shannon Stubbs questioned why Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has not been deemed a terrorist entity, after parliamentarians have called for them to be added for years.
“The Trudeau Liberals have been soft on extremism… Canada must stand against terrorism wherever it is found and whatever its motivation,” Stubbs said.
In a statement the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group expressed concerns about using terrorism laws to combat hate-based violence, stating that it’s been criticized by civil liberties organizations, and racial justice advocates for “threatening the fundamental rights of Canadians.”
Officials cautioned that not all extremist actions in Canada will meet the threshold for making the terrorist list and other efforts are being taken to combat the threat this “toxic rhetoric” can pose, such as the amplification of conspiracy theories. For example, CSIS says it has shifted its resources to better focus on the ongoing threat posed by IMVE groups.
Entities have the ability to apply to challenge their listing, and can take the matter to Federal Court.
WINNIPEG – Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore.
Estonia, Finland, Japan and even Fenwick, Ont., have pins representing places outside Winnipeg where someone has ordered a page-turner from the independent bookstore that specializes in mystery and crime fiction novels.
For 30 years, the store has been offering fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a place to get lost in whodunits both old and new.
Jack and Wendy Bumsted bought the shop in the Crescentwood neighbourhood in 2007 from another pair of mystery lovers.
The married couple had been longtime customers of the store. Wendy Bumsted grew up reading Perry Mason novels while her husband was a historian with vast knowledge of the crime fiction genre.
At the time, Jack Bumsted was retiring from teaching at the University of Manitoba when he was looking for his next venture.
“The bookstore came up and we bought it, I think, within a week,” Wendy Bumsted said in an interview.
“It never didn’t seem like a good idea.”
In the years since the Bumsteds took ownership, the family has witnessed the decline in mail-order books, the introduction of online retailers, a relocation to a new space next to the original, a pandemic and the death of beloved co-owner Jack Bumsted in 2020.
But with all the changes that come with owning a small business, customers continue to trust their next mystery fix will come from one of the shelves at Whodunit.
Many still request to be called about books from specific authors, or want to be notified if a new book follows their favourite format. Some arrive at the shop like clockwork each week hoping to get suggestions from Wendy Bumsted or her son on the next big hit.
“She has really excellent instincts on what we should be getting and what we should be promoting,” Micheal Bumsted said of his mother.
Wendy Bumsted suggested the store stock “Thursday Murder Club,” the debut novel from British television host Richard Osman, before it became a bestseller. They ordered more copies than other bookstores in Canada knowing it had the potential to be a hit, said Michael Bumsted.
The store houses more than 18,000 new and used novels. That’s not including the boxes of books that sit in Wendy Bumsted’s tiny office, or the packages that take up space on some of the only available seating there, waiting to be added to the inventory.
Just as the genre has evolved, so has the Bumsteds’ willingness to welcome other subjects on their shelves — despite some pushback from loyal customers and initially the Bumsted patriarch.
For years, Jack Bumsted refused to sell anything outside the crime fiction genre, including his own published books. Instead, he would send potential buyers to another store, but would offer to sign the books if they came back with them.
Wendy Bumsted said that eventually changed in his later years.
Now, about 15 per cent of the store’s stock is of other genres, such as romance or children’s books.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to look at expanding their selection, as some customers turned to buying books through the store’s website, which is set up to allow purchasers to get anything from the publishers the Bumsteds have contracts with.
In 2019, the store sold fewer than 100 books online. That number jumped to more than 3,000 in 2020, as retailers had to deal with pandemic lockdowns.
After years of running a successful mail-order business, the store was able to quickly adapt when it had to temporarily shut its doors, said Michael Bumsted.
“We were not a store…that had to figure out how to get books to people when they weren’t here.”
He added being a community bookstore with a niche has helped the family stay in business when other retailers have struggled. Part of that has included building lasting relationships.
“Some people have put it in their wills that their books will come to us,” said Wendy Bumsted.
Some of those collections have included tips on traveling through Asia in the early 2000s or the history of Australian cricket.
Micheal Bumsted said they’ve had to learn to be patient with selling some of these more obscure titles, but eventually the time comes for them to find a new home.
“One of the great things about physical books is that they can be there for you when you are ready for them.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 15, 2024.
MONTREAL – Canada’s labour minister is praising both Air Canada and the union representing about 5,200 of its pilots for averting a work stoppage that would have disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Steven MacKinnon’s comments came in a statement shared to social media shortly after Canada’s largest air carrier announced it had reached a tentative labour deal with the Air Line Pilots Association.
MacKinnon thanked both sides and federal mediators, saying the airline and its pilots approached negotiations with “seriousness and a resolve to get a deal.”
The tentative agreement averts a strike or lockout that could have begun as early as Wednesday for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, with flight cancellations expected before then.
The airline now says flights will continue as normal while union members vote on the tentative four-year contract.
Air Canada had called on the federal government to intervene in the dispute, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that would only happen if it became clear no negotiated agreement was possible.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
When it comes to plant-based alternatives, Canadians have never had so many options — and nowhere is that choice more abundantly clear than in the milk section of the dairy aisle.
To meet growing demand, companies are investing in new products and technology to keep up with consumer tastes and differentiate themselves from all the other players on the shelf.
“The product mix has just expanded so fast,” said Liza Amlani, co-founder of the Retail Strategy Group.
She said younger generations in particular are driving growth in the plant-based market as they are consuming less dairy and meat.
Commercial sales of dairy milk have been weakening for years, according to research firm Mintel, likely in part because of the rise of plant-based alternatives — even though many Canadians still drink dairy.
The No. 1 reason people opt for plant-based milk is because they see it as healthier than dairy, said Joel Gregoire, Mintel’s associate director for food and drink.
“Plant-based milk, the one thing about it — it’s not new. It’s been around for quite some time. It’s pretty established,” said Gregoire.
Because of that, it serves as an “entry point” for many consumers interested in plant-based alternatives to animal products, he said.
Plant-based milk consumption is expected to continue growing in the coming years, according to Mintel research, with more options available than ever and more consumers opting for a diet that includes both dairy and non-dairy milk.
A 2023 report by Ernst & Young for Protein Industries Canada projected that the plant-based dairy market will reach US$51.3 billion in 2035, at a compound annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent.
Because of this growth opportunity, even well-established dairy or plant-based companies are stepping up their game.
It’s been more than three decades since Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.-based Natura first launched a line of soy beverages. Over the years, the company has rolled out new products to meet rising demand, and earlier this year launched a line of oat beverages that it says are the only ones with a stamp of approval from Celiac Canada.
Competition is tough, said owner and founder Nick Feldman — especially from large American brands, which have the money to ensure their products hit shelves across the country.
Natura has kept growing, though, with a focus on using organic ingredients and localized production from raw materials.
“We’re maybe not appealing to the mass market, but we’re appealing to the natural consumer, to the organic consumer,” Feldman said.
Amlani said brands are increasingly advertising the simplicity of their ingredient lists. She’s also noticing more companies offering different kinds of products, such as coffee creamers.
Companies are also looking to stand out through eye-catching packaging and marketing, added Amlani, and by competing on price.
Besides all the companies competing for shelf space, there are many different kinds of plant-based milk consumers can choose from, such as almond, soy, oat, rice, hazelnut, macadamia, pea, coconut and hemp.
However, one alternative in particular has enjoyed a recent, rapid ascendance in popularity.
“I would say oat is the big up-and-coming product,” said Feldman.
Mintel’s report found the share of Canadians who say they buy oat milk has quadrupled between 2019 and 2023 (though almond is still the most popular).
“There seems to be a very nice marriage of coffee and oat milk,” said Feldman. “The flavour combination is excellent, better than any other non-dairy alternative.”
The beverage’s surge in popularity in cafés is a big part of why it’s ascending so quickly, said Gregoire — its texture and ability to froth makes it a good alternative for lattes and cappuccinos.
It’s also a good example of companies making a strong “use case” for yet another new entrant in a competitive market, he said.
Amid the long-standing brands and new entrants, there’s another — perhaps unexpected — group of players that has been increasingly investing in plant-based milk alternatives: dairy companies.
For example, Danone has owned the Silk and So Delicious brands since an acquisition in 2014, and long-standing U.S. dairy company HP Hood LLC launched Planet Oat in 2018.
Lactalis Canada also recently converted its facility in Sudbury, Ont., to manufacture its new plant-based Enjoy! brand, with beverages made from oats, almonds and hazelnuts.
“As an organization, we obviously follow consumer trends, and have seen the amount of interest in plant-based products, particularly fluid beverages,” said Mark Taylor, president and CEO of Lactalis Canada, whose parent company Lactalis is the largest dairy products company in the world.
The facility was a milk processing plant for six decades, until Lactalis Canada began renovating it in 2022. It now manufactures not only the new brand, but also the company’s existing Sensational Soy brand, and is the company’s first dedicated plant-based facility.
“We’re predominantly a dairy company, and we’ll always predominantly be a dairy company, but we see these products as complementary,” said Taylor.
It makes sense that major dairy companies want to get in on plant-based milk, said Gregoire. The dairy business is large — a “cash cow,” if you will — but not really growing, while plant-based products are seeing a boom.
“If I’m looking for avenues of growth, I don’t want to be left behind,” he said.
Gregoire said there’s a potential for consumers to get confused with so many options, which is why it’s so important for brands to find a way to differentiate themselves, whether it’s with taste, health, or how well the drink froths for a latte.
Competition in a more crowded market is challenging, but Taylor believes it results in better products for consumers.
“It keeps you sharp, and it forces you to be really good at what you’re doing. It drives innovation,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
