The threat of violent extremism has increased in Canada during the pandemic — fuelled by misinformation and resulting in threats to politicians and public servants — top security and policing officials told members of Parliament on Thursday.
But while police and intelligence agencies are taking steps to detect extremists and prevent them from carrying out attacks, the government must also work proactively to counter the extremism in the first place, they added.
Testifying before the public safety and national security committee, Cherie Henderson, assistant director, requirements for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) described the rise of ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE) over the past two years.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMVE activity has been fuelled by an increase in extreme anti-authority and anti-government rhetoric, often rooted in the weaponization of conspiracy theories,” Henderson told the committee.
“CSIS has noted a marked increase in violent threats addressed at elected officials and public servants.”
Henderson said CSIS has moved more resources to monitor IMVE.
Video posted to social media show protesters shouting at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and following him to a vehicle after a campaign event in Peterborough, Ont., on Tuesday. (Freedom Through Unity – Peterborough/Kawartha/Facebook)
The hearing came only a couple of days after an ugly altercation in Peterborough, Ont., where protesters shouted profanities at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh after a provincial election campaign event.
That incident appeared to weigh on the minds of some committee members Thursday as they wrapped up their hearings on IMVE.
“This has been a very sombre time for the NDP caucus,” said New Democrat MP Alistair MacGregor.
“Our leader Jagmeet Singh had to wade through a group of people who were calling him a traitor. They were hurling expletives at him, saying they hoped that he would die,” he said.
“This is the exact same kind of behaviour that we saw littered throughout the occupation of Ottawa and it’s time for us to wake up to the fact that this kind of behaviour has real, physical manifestations and real threats.”
Liberal MP Pam Damoff said she and other MPs have received threats but that they don’t necessarily lead to criminal charges.
Former security adviser Richard Fadden told MPs the key to countering ideologically motivated violent extremism is dialogue. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
“It feels like it’s a matter of time before this rhetoric and this kind of aggressive anger turn into something more violent,” she said.
RCMP Deputy Commander Michael Duheme said the Mounties have also seen a rise in IMVE incidents, most by people “who are not clearly affiliated with a group and who are motivated by very individualized ideologies.”
Duheme said the RCMP has identified gaps in how it has dealt with IMVE and has developed a strategy to address them over the next three years and to work with local police forces and other groups.
By “improving information sharing and building up our own intelligence capacities,” specifically online, the RCMP will “be in a better position to identify individuals and groups who pose a threat before they are motivated to violence,” he said.
Leslie Soper, director general of national security policy for the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, described IMVE as “a serious threat” to Canada.
While some people on the right of the political spectrum are drawn to IMVE, such extremists come from a wide range of political perspectives, she said.
“It may be aligned to what we might traditionally call right-wing extremism. It may be motivated by other factors; anti-mandate. It could be motivated by other societal factors,” Soper said.
Earlier, Conservative MP Dane Lloyd challenged Soper and CSIS officials to tell him what they were doing to investigate 30 churches that were set on fire in 2021. Both responded that those were police matters.
Richard Fadden, a former national security adviser and director of CSIS, said IMVE has been around for a while but it is now more intense, organized and co-ordinated.
Fadden said if Canada wants to counter IMVE, it must get to the roots of the dissatisfaction felt by those attracted to it, and their feeling that their views aren’t being heard.
Fadden called for more dialogue with those being attracted to IMVE, saying countering it needs to go beyond the federal government to provinces, municipalities and schools.
However, he also acknowledged it can be difficult these days to talk openly about some things.
“I really do think that political correctness has reached the point today where it’s almost impossible to have a conversation about a whole raft of issues and if you’re frustrated with government and with society to begin with, this is not helpful,” he said.
RCMP officers put their hands up to protect Justin Trudeau as protesters shout and throw gravel at a campaign stop during last year’s federal election in London, Ont., on Sept. 6, 2021. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
