TORONTO, – B’nai Brith Canada has welcomed the release of a new governmental report, Building Resilience Against Terrorism: Canada’s Counter-terrorism Strategy, which unveils a comprehensive strategy to identify and counter terrorism against Canada, Canadians and Canadian interests urges that safeguards must be put into place as this strategy is unrolled.
Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, stated: “We commend the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, and his team for the efforts and expertise that obviously went into identifying the parameters and source of the threats Canada’s faces, including the threat of homegrown terror and the need for counter-radicalization strategies. B’nai Brith Canada has been a major voice in raising concern about these sorts of threats, and was the pioneer force in the appeal for federal grants to secure the institutions of vulnerable communities, including the Jewish community, who face ongoing threats from Islamic terrorist groups. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with the Government to help secure from ongoing terrorist threats.
“However, as the response set out in the announced strategy takes shape, we urge that measures be put into place to ensure that those selected to advise the government and work within various groups are indeed committed to fighting terrorism as well as advancing positions reflective of Canadian policies on peace. The government must be vigilant in monitoring ‘double speak messaging’ so as to ensure that what is conveyed to Canadian youth is the same as what is communicated to by government officials. Only in this way will Canada’s counter terrorism strategy truly meet the challenges of the 21st century."
