OTTAWA, February 9, 2012 — Today, the Honourable Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, released Building Resilience Against Terrorism: Canada’s Counter-terrorism Strategy. The announcement was made at a Colloquium on Identifying Effective Programming to Prevent Terrorism, a meeting of international counter-terrorism experts and practitioners.
“Our government is committed to keeping our streets and communities safe. Canada’s Counter-terrorism Strategy sets out a clear approach for addressing terrorism, with a focus on building community resilience. I’m pleased to launch it today at an event where experts from around the world are exploring the matter of effective terrorism prevention,” said Minister Toews. “Our Government will take all reasonable measures to address real and persistent threats.”
The Counter-terrorism Strategy will help to prioritize the Government’s counter-terrorism efforts and promote an open discussion with Canadians on the threats we face. It also highlights the importance of cooperation with Canada’s international partners, all levels of government, security intelligence and law enforcement agencies, industry stakeholders and civil society.
The Strategy frames Canada’s counter-terrorism activities under four pillars: Prevent, Detect, Deny and Respond. The Government protects Canadians by preventing individuals from engaging in terrorism, detecting the activities of individuals who may pose a terrorist threat, denying terrorists the means and opportunity to carry out their activities, and responding proportionately, rapidly and in an organized manner to terrorist activities to mitigate their effects.
Countering the complex problem of terrorism demands innovative approaches and a global effort. The Government of Canada launched the Kanishka Project, named after the Air India Flight 182 aircraft, to fund research to better understand, prevent and counter terrorism. These research projects will help produce more effective policies and tools for people on the front lines, including community leaders, police, lawyers, and judges.
“Preventing another act of terrorism is the most fitting memorial to the victims of the bombing of Air India Flight 182,” said Minister Toews. “The Counter-terrorism Strategy and the Kanishka Project will help us to address the threat of terrorism in all its forms, and build stronger, more resilient communities.”
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