Guest Commentary
By RCMP Asst Comm. Wayne Rideout

Threats to national security are continually evolving, presenting a challenge to governments and law enforcement agencies around the world.
Here in Canada, the radicalization of individuals to the point of violence continues to pose a significant challenge for Canadian law enforcement. The recent attacks in St Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and Ottawa, Ontario, underscore the challenges, as these horrific events are clear examples of just how suddenly these attacks can occur.
This is the reason why Canadians need to be aware of the threats that exist in Canada, as well as the threats posed abroad, which include Canadians participating in terrorist activities in foreign conflict zones. A collective effort is needed across a range of Canadian agencies and departments, as well as within Canada’s diverse communities, to address this significant challenge. 
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as Canada’s national police force, is tasked with investigating and preventing criminal acts, including terrorism offences. Effective intelligence, investigations and prosecutions remain important tools for law enforcement to protect our country’s national security. The rule of law and strict adherence to rights and freedoms that all Canadian Citizens enjoy is paramount. 
The introduction of our RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams, also referred to as INSETs, following the events of 9/11 serves as an excellent example of this inter-agency cooperation. This was demonstrated earlier this year when the RCMP INSET in British Columbia charged Hasibullah Yusufzai, a resident of Burnaby, British Columbia, for leaving Canada to take part in terrorist activity. In fact, it was the first time the RCMP was able to charge an individual under this new provision of the Criminal Code. 
The RCMP and its INSET teams are closely networked with all policing agencies in Canada. It is through these networks that the collective expertise and resources of all Canadian police agencies and their partners are focussed and mobilized.
The RCMP also has other initiatives in places across the country to address the threat to Canada’s national security. We are working with our partners from the public and private sectors through our Critical Infrastructure Intelligence Team, which was formed to develop national security criminal intelligence focused specifically on detecting and analyzing criminal threats to Canada’s critical infrastructure. 
Our Counter-Terrorism Information Officer initiative is another example, as we provide first responders and frontline police officers with terrorism awareness training that draws upon the expertise from various agencies within the national security community. As early detection is vital to prevent terrorist attacks, the RCMP’s goal is to increase national security awareness to frontline police officers and first responders across the country so they can identify threats at the earliest stage possible.
We cannot effectively counter the threat of radicalization leading to violence through detection and disruption alone. This is why community engagement is so important. We are enhancing the longstanding relationship we have with Canadian communities and families, including the diverse ethnic, cultural and religious communities. Which is why in British Columbia, groups like the BC RCMP Commanding Officer’s Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee are so important to our collective efforts.
Our collective goal should be to prevent our youth and our citizens from engaging in violent extremism. Through community engagement and by building resilience against violent extremist ideology in individuals, families and communities, law enforcement officers can work with a variety of partner agencies to protect vulnerable individuals and prevent them from going down a path of violence, criminal activity and activity that places them in extreme jeopardy. 
In fact, any person—whether it be a parent, teacher, family member or a friend—can play a role in addressing the threat of radicalization to violence, since that person is often best positioned to identify changes in behavior, thinking, lifestyle and habits of someone they know. Ultimately, the best chance of being successful in this intervention is by acting early in the radicalization to violence continuum.
While prevention and deterrence achieved through strong, informed and credible counter narratives is our first objective the RCMP and its partner agencies have significant resources, expertise and tools at our disposal in order to conduct investigative and enforcement operations against those who choose a criminal path.
The RCMP has learned and continues to learn from terrorism events that have taken place both here and in other countries, and is strongly committed in strengthening its national security program. Protecting our country’s national security is a priority for the RCMP and in that we take terrorist threats and radicalization to violence very seriously. But it is also a shared responsibility. By working together and being forward looking, we can and will make the greatest impact in keeping Canadians safe.

Assistant Commissioner Wayne Rideout is the BC RCMP Criminal Operations Officer Investigative Services and Organized Crime (ISOC)