Note
Author(s) affiliated with: Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Royal Military College of Canada.
"The Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s mission is to help to inform sound public policy at the federal level. Our goal in this essay series is to help the new government best achieve its top policy objectives. This ninth essay in the series will help Canadians better understand the rationale and evolution of Canada’s approach to counter-terrorism with a particular focus on the goals and key provisions of Bill C-51. The goal is to inform policy thinking as the new government prepares to introduce new legislation in the Parliamentary session."--Page 2.
Summary
“National security can be a bit of an abstract concept for most Canadians. It is not like education or health, which touch our lives on a daily basis. Our typical encounter with national security is limited to airport screening when we travel for business or with our families. And yet, at the same time we are bombarded with media accounts of acts of violent extremism, occurring around the world with increasing frequency and tragic results. If it seems like mass terrorist attacks are increasing exponentially, it is because they are. So how should Canadians understand the available counter-terrorism policy options? Some perspective is required. The new government has begun to articulate its plan to address the threat posed by ISIS in particular and violent extremism in general at home and abroad. Two weeks ago it recalibrated the mission against ISIS by ceasing the air strikes and expanding Canada’s training role and humanitarian assistance in the region. The government will soon release its plan for domestic security, including “new legislation that strengthens accountability with respect to national security and better balances collective security with rights and freedoms” (Trudeau).”—Pages 1-2.