Friday, June 9, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Renewed emphasis needed on countering the pervasive threat of terrorism: Christian Leuprecht and Sean Speer in Sun papers

March 7, 2016
in Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad, Columns, Foreign Policy Program, In the Media, Latest News, Security studies / counterterrorism, Signature initiatives
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

Sean SpeerCanadians shouldn’t let their safety relative to other parts of the world lull them into a false sense of security, write Christian Leuprecht and Sean Speer. The federal government needs to make a top priority of measures to snuff out terrorism.

By Christian Leuprecht and Sean Speer, March 7, 2016

A recent open letter to the public safety minister from two former senior civil servants, Luc Portelance of CBSA and Ray Boisvert of CSIS, has placed counter-terrorism and violent extremism near the top of the policy agenda in Ottawa.

The letter reminds the government that the “magnitude and complexity of the [security] threat – and the corresponding strain on our national security organizations – has seldom been so high”, and calls for a “national security reset.” It’s a reminder that national security issues loom large irrespective of which party is in power.

The government is launching consultations on Canada’s counter-terrorism policies. Here are five key ideas to inform a policy reset.

The first is to recognize the threat that violent extremism poses to Canada’s security and our democracy. The incidents in Paris, San Bernardino, Jakarta, and of course, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa are tragic reminders of the pervasiveness of this threat. We must therefore ensure the democratic state has the requisite tools to manage this diffuse challenge and protect safety and social order. Platitudes that suggest a binary choice between freedom and security are of limited value. Security and freedom are complementary – you can’t have one without the other.

Christian LeuprechtSecond, no one argues with calls for greater accountability and transparency with respect to our national security organizations. But the devil is in the details. How far should we expand the remit of the Security Intelligence Review Committee? What’s Parliament’s role? How do we avoid politicizing national security matters? Cosmetic changes that paper over election promises aren’t the answer. The logic of review, oversight, and accountability, and the ends it seeks to achieve, requires careful consideration.

Third, national security agencies need the right tools in their kit. The primary purpose of counter-terrorism policy is to deter and prevent terrorist attacks, not to prosecute perpetrators after they strike. Disruption, however inchoate – such as interfering with phone calls or bank transactions or changing a would-be terrorist’s airline ticket or canceling a car rental – is an important pre-emptive instrument. It protects the Canadian public as well as a would-be terrorist from an act that will forever shape his or her life and their relationship with the broader society. The government shouldn’t weaken CSIS’s ability to use disruption techniques in stopping violence before it happens.

It’s a reminder that national security issues loom large irrespective of which party is in power.

Fourth, the government’s community outreach and counter-radicalization efforts need to leverage federalism and resist a policy of centralization and top-down management. Ottawa should focus on its core competencies such as security intelligence, international cooperation, and the legal and security framework (such as terrorist financing and the listing of terrorist organizations). But safety is ultimately the purview of local communities.

Fifth, the government needs to tell a better story. Much time is spent fingering ideological extremism, yet little effort is undertaken to make Canadian democracy more resilient. Canada’s basic values are not relative. We need to articulate and promote core Canadian values. A pluralistic democracy works precisely because it has common expectations of all its citizens. Those who don’t buy into Canada’s fundamental values and laws don’t have the option of simply “opting out.”

It’s time for the government to renew its focus on violent extremism. We can hope for the best. But hope isn’t much of an agenda. Prevention, pre-emption and mitigation are the right tools for a reset of Canada’s counter-terrorism agenda.

– Leuprecht and Speer are Senior Fellows at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and co-authors of “From a Mandate for Change to a Plan to Govern: Defending Freedom by Effectively Counter Terrorism”.

Tags: christian leuprechtSean SpeerSun papersterrorism
Previous Post

Canada’s telecommunications sector the key to stimulating innovation, Sean Speer tells BNN

Next Post

Deficits in many major sectors a concern, Ian Lee tells CBC’s The Exchange

Related Posts

‘ASEAN centrality’ and the emerging great power competition: K. Yhome for the Observer Research Foundation
Columns

China should heed the concerns of its neighbors: Stephen Nagy in the Japan Times

June 8, 2023
A new national news media policy could save Canadian journalism
Releases

A new national news media policy could save Canadian journalism

June 7, 2023
Foreign Influence, A Perilous Tradition Unlike Any Other: Benjamin L. Schmitt for Inside Policy
Inside Policy

Foreign Influence, A Perilous Tradition Unlike Any Other: Benjamin L. Schmitt for Inside Policy

June 7, 2023
Next Post
Deficits in many major sectors a concern, Ian Lee tells CBC’s The Exchange

Deficits in many major sectors a concern, Ian Lee tells CBC’s The Exchange

Newsletter Signup

Follow us on

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

  • Inside Policy Magazine
  • Annual Reports
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.