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“Canada is fundamentally a safe and peaceful nation, but we are not naive about the security issues that dominate the world's attention.”
Those are the words of Ralph Goodale, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in his introduction to the 2016 Public Report On The Terrorist Threat To Canada.
The report outlines the state of terrorism in Canada, and says the main threat to the country remains the one “posed by violent extremists who could be inspired to carry out an attack in Canada.”
The report focuses primarily on the group many know as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which it chooses to call Daesh, because “the group is neither Islamic nor a state.”
Threats posed to Canada from recruits to Daesh and similar groups, have experts identifying the threat level in Canada as “medium.”
The 2016 report presents the threat level to Canadians for the first time ever, pointing out that it’s not meant to elicit a response from the public, but to help law enforcement officials. It says the level is determined by “past trends and current intelligence on the known intentions and capabilities of terrorist entities and the opportunities they have to conduct attacks.”
With Daesh and similar groups remaining the primary focus of counter-terrorism efforts in Canada, the report points out that Canadians travelling abroad for “extremist activities” remains a large concern for the country.
The report states that, as of the end of 2015, the government was aware of approximately 180 people with ties to Canada whom it suspects are engaging in “terrorism-related activities" abroad.
On top of that, the government knows of 60 “extremist” travellers who have recently returned to Canada.
It further warns that “the number of extremist travellers reflects only one aspect of the terrorist threat to Canada,” noting the number doesn’t account for people aspiring to travel, whose travel plans have been thwarted and who are abroad but not yet identified.
The report also says the government “uses a wide range of tools to counter threats,” to the country, including participation in the global effort to counter Daesh, equipping foreign states to better fight terrorist groups, and arrests and convictions at home.
It states that 20 people have been convicted of terrorism offences under the Criminal Code since 2002, and another 21 have been charged with terrorism-related offences (including 16 since January 2015).
The scope of terrorist activity and intelligence is explored in much more detail in the report, which is available here.
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