Question Period Note: Violent Extremism

Canada’s efforts to combat violent extremism.

• The Government takes seriously all forms of violent extremism.

• Canadians can be confident that law enforcement and security intelligence agencies, including the RCMP and CSIS, respond to all groups that threaten public safety, regardless of their ideology.

• Canada is investing in the prevention of radicalization to violence, as set out in the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence, launched in December 2018.

• Canada is working with our national and international partners to build national and international coordination against violent extremism.

• Canada has quadrupled the security infrastructure program to help religious and cultural organizations protect themselves, and is funding critical research and programs that address violent extremism, including violent right wing extremism, to bolster the efforts of law enforcement, policy makers, and frontline community-based organizations.

The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre) was launched in 2017 and leads the Government of Canada’s efforts to counter radicalization to violence in all its forms, including far-right extremism. The Canada Centre’s activities include: developing policy guidance; promoting coordination and collaboration among a range of actors to prevent radicalization to violence; funding, planning and coordinating research to better understand the issue; and funding targeted programming through the Community Resilience Fund (CRF).

On December 11, 2018, the Canada Centre launched the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence. In February 2019, the Government announced the launch of a National Expert Committee on Countering Radicalization to Violence, which will work to advance the work of the Canada Centre and the priorities of the National Strategy.

While Canada has faced a variety of threats stemming from violent extremism in recent decades, the main terrorist threat to Canada continues to be violent extremists inspired by terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Qaeda. However, individuals espousing and engaging in violence can be inspired by any extremist group promoting such behaviour. For example, some individuals within the far-right movement have espoused, glorified, promoted, and even engaged in violence.

Violent Extremism

Individuals associated with the violent extremism (VE) threat are traditionally driven by hatred and fear. It includes a wide range of individuals, groups, and online communities that back a wide range of issues and perceived grievances.

CSIS continues to see attacks by these individuals motivated by VE ideologies worldwide. Recent examples include the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Oct 2019 in Pittsburg that killed 11 individuals and the March 2019 terrorist attacks in Christchurch, NZ that killed over 50 people.

Canada is not immune to acts committed by VE. The 2017 shooting at the Islamist Cultural Centre of Quebec City, in which 6 Canadians were killed and 19 injured, and the 2018 van attack in Toronto which killed 10 people, are recent examples.

In Canada, individuals who hold these VE views are active in communities of like-minded people, often online. Violence in Canadian motivated in whole or in part by individuals holding VE views has been sporadic and opportunistic.

Community Resilience Fund (CRF)

Through the Community Resilience Fund (CRF), the Canada Centre’s grants and contributions program, PS supports research and programming to build the evidence base along with local capability and capacity to counter radicalization to violence in Canada. Examples include investing in establishing an updated, comprehensive view of the beliefs, motivations, activities and connections that characterize the right-wing extremism movement in Canada and will include an analysis of online content and media coverage, led by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. As well, the CRF is funding Moonshot CVE to provide positive content to vulnerable individuals searching for violent extremist material online and support practitioners across Canada by informing them about the harmful content being consumed in their communities, as well as content that can successfully challenge hateful ideologies. The 2018-19 Call for Applications closed on March 25, 2019, and the Canada Centre has finished the project assessment process, with funding announced forthcoming.

Security Infrastructure Program (SIP)

In response to concerns raised by a number of communities across Canada regarding their vulnerability to hate-motivated crime, the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) was created in 2007. The SIP is delivered through Public Safety Canada’s National Crime Prevention Strategy and provides funding to private, non-profit organizations linked to a community at risk of hate-motivated crime, to make security improvements to their community gathering spaces.
Most recently, in response to the sharp increase in police-reported hate crime in Canada, Budget 2019 has proposed an additional $2 million in ongoing annual funding for the SIP.

Since being introduced in 2007, the SIP has provided over $10 million in funding to 324 communities across Canada. According to the 2017-2018 Evaluation of the National Crime Prevention Strategy, all SIP funding recipients who were surveyed for the evaluation agreed that the SIP had increased their sense of security and had reduced the incidence of hate-motivated crime at their facilities.

None