Terror Threats in Canada

[BretttheRiderFan]

So I've discussed with some people in light of recent events in Boston and arrests in Ontario/Quebec the threat that terrorism holds in Canada. Now I don't want to single out any particular groups or motives, just speaking to the wider threat of terrorism to Canada.

How big do you think the threat is? Do you think there is ample protection? What are the biggest or easiest targets in this country?

I personally don't really live in any fear of terrorism (well of course not, I live in a small city in Alberta), but there is definitely a possibility and several spots in this country that would probably be considered "high risk".

[SignalHillHiker]

I'm a bit of a fatalist as far as terrorist attacks are concerned. If that's how I die... so be it. It's like a tornado, or a lightning strike... the odds of it impacting the little square of earth when you're standing are small, but if it happens, it happens.

That said, I think the threat of an attack in Canada (especially in Ontario, which would be the most obvious target) is very high.

We don't have as many enemies as the States, but those we do have hate us just as much. There's certainly enough will to carry out a terrorist attack in Canada in some circles.

We also don't have the same forms of protection as the States. I don't know if this makes us less safe overall - because we have a stronger social contract between all our people, not just regarding terrorism but civic life in general. One of my favourite comments on an article about Ontario's Muslim community foiling this terrorist plot was from an American:

So you're telling me they have great healthcare, lower murder rates, maple syrup AND Muslim communities that prevent attacks?

To compensate for not having this, the Americans have fewer privacy protections, civil rights, etc. in the name of increased security.

Which will prove to actually make people safer? We'll have to see.

[Vertigo3000]

The Boston bombers were proven to have no affiliation with any terrorist group, and the VIA rail incidnt may have been heading for New York with the train. And the threat of terrorism in Canada is most likely the same threat that England and France is under, England may be at a higher risk than us. The US is barely at risk from terrorism, they used to be but not anymore. Terrorism is not a speific country origin or army, it's just gangs of extremists that could come from any country or background, IRA jihad etc. So every country is and has always been threatened.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Vertigo3000

The Boston bombers were proven to have no affiliation with any terrorist group, and the VIA rail incidnt may have been heading for New York with the train. And the threat of terrorism in Canada is most likely the same threat that England and France is under, England may be at a higher risk than us. The US is barely at risk from terrorism, they used to be but not anymore. Terrorism is not a speific country origin or army, it's just gangs of extremists that could come from any country or background, IRA jihad etc. So every country is and has always been threatened.

I think you're being overly optimistic. Just because the threat is lower doesn't mean it's minimal.

I'd agree that Canada is a low-level target but it depends on what happens. If terrorists decided to attack the allies of their primary target , Canada would be ideal for a number of reasons. Despite what a lot of Canadians would love to believe and take every opportunity to expound on , we're not really that different from our southern neighbour. Culturally we're nearly identical and our general value system is the same.

Today the greatest threat comes from Islam but tomorrow it could be separatists , right-wing ultra-libertarian types , or who knows who else. We don't live in a vacuum either so if Falun Gong were to become a terrorist organization , China went out of its way to really dig into them , and Canada went along with it , that would make us a bit of a soft target. That's just one example.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that the U.S. and Canada aren't working together very closely in regards continental defense. Nor should you forget that just because terrorists haven't been particularly successful at penetrating U.S. defense networks that they've given up. They most certainly haven't and it's unlikely that they'll do so any time soon.

[Deepstar]

A few years ago I would have thought Canada was not under much threat, but I would say it is more apparent today.

The recent threat in Ontario may have targeted a US bound train, but it still would have had Canadians aboard, and not too long ago there was a group of guys - a dozen or so - arrested in Toronto that were plotting something.

I do feel good about the fact that members of a local Toronto mosque were the ones that gave the tip to RCMP on the latest terror plot. The best thing the Islamic community can do is distance themselves from the radicals.

[Vertigo3000]

I'm not being overly optimistic, the chances of getting killed on the streets by accident, (which doesn't happen often in Canada) Is greater than getting killed by a foreign terrorist. It's sad and scary when bombings happen, but what about murders, they happen too and are far more likely.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

How big do you think the threat is?

Minimal. There's still a potential threat but I'm not quaking in my boots. Chances are higher that I'll die in a head-on collision.

Do you think there is ample protection?

So far as I know, it is adequate. If there are holes that have to be plugged, then plug them. From where I stand though, the police and our intelligence agencies have been doing their jobs and there doesn't seem to be any cause for us to change course.

What are the biggest or easiest targets in this country?

Infrastructure, but probably something other than rail or airports now that those have become higher profile. Maybe highway bridges.

[kw5150]

I think that if we keep bragging about our economy and tying ourselves to the USA, the terror threats could be very real. I liked it better when we distanced ourselves from the USA, travelling abroad felt so much safer as a canadian.

But really, everywhere I travel, people still love Canadians because we have a history of being great, accepting people who like to have fun. Lets keep it this way.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by Vertigo3000

I'm not being overly optimistic, the chances of getting killed on the streets by accident, (which doesn't happen often in Canada) Is greater than getting killed by a foreign terrorist. It's sad and scary when bombings happen, but what about murders, they happen too and are far more likely.

Murders happen more often, but the vast majority of murders are people that are acquainted with one another. Random killings are not near as common...... more common than terrorist attacks of course.

That said, the past and the future are often different. We could very easily start to see terrorist attacks in Canada in the future.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Vertigo3000

I'm not being overly optimistic, the chances of getting killed on the streets by accident, (which doesn't happen often in Canada) Is greater than getting killed by a foreign terrorist. It's sad and scary when bombings happen, but what about murders, they happen too and are far more likely.

We're not talking about homicide , we're talking about terrorism , are we not ?

I say you're overly optimistic because you said that the U.S. barely faces a terror threat at all. Really ? Really ?! Don't you read the news ?
It's not a one-off , it's what would happen an awful lot more if the U.S. had no counter-terrorism defense network. The Boston bombers may have had no official affiliation with anybody but that doesn't mean they weren't motivated by exactly the same thing that motivated OBL to organize a plane party for New York and D.C. Actually , I find it to be an incredibly glib comment to suggest that the U.S. barely faces any threat of terrorism at all.

[matthew6]

Originally Posted by Spocket

it's what would happen an awful lot more if the U.S. had no counter-terrorism defense network.

Is there any definitive proof of that?

[vid]

The threat of terrorism is relatively minor compared to other crimes. Several thousand people have been killed by guns in the US since the Sandy Hook massacre, and the US and Texas governments' unwillingness to inspect an ammonium nitrate plant in Texas killed 14, but three people were killed in Boston and their response is to shut down a city and propose to ban "brown people" and "muslims" from entering the country.

This is like having a pipe break in your house, and responding to that by buying new curtains because the old one has a small hole near the bottom.

Any murder is horrible, but authorities seem to have more fun hunting down "terrorists" than "boring ol' regular criminals", and if you're negligent, that's totally OK! The government was the problem! You're just an honest hard working man who made a mistake!

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by matthew6

Is there any definitive proof of that?

Well , do you think really think that after 9/11 everybody who wanted to attack the U.S. decided that they'd seen enough ?

[Klazu]

There is no threat against Canada and absolutely no need for any Canadian to live in fear. There has always been individual madmen and always will be, no matter what the country. I don't want to see any campaigns playing on fear to limit our civil liberties and have droids in the sky watching our every move like (very soon) in down south they have.

Canada should also distance itself from the US on international politics. Would do much good to us and rest of the world.

[freeweed]

Canada is under almost exactly zero threat. In fact statistically we're under exactly zero threat.

How do I know this? Simple - ask yourself this: how easy would it be to pull off an attack like the Boston Marathon in Canada? How many places do we congregate by the thousands, with practically zero security in place?

Then ask yourself WHY HAVE NO ATTACKS HAPPENED.

Hell, the US is under almost no threat as well. I could easily bomb a hockey game, county fair, marathon, public park, school, shopping mall, or any of a thousand places and kill dozens if not hundreds, in most US cities. Yet, it just isn't happening. 2 terror attacks in 13 years is not a big threat.

And it's still debatable whether Boston was a terror attack. It still seems to me to be more of a mass murder attempt than anything. Terrorism, for those too young to remember pre-9/11 days, means motive. Threats. Political gain. SOMETHING OTHER THAN JUST KILLING PEOPLE. By definition.

Sorry for the caps, but I honestly and truly believe that the average person is completely and utterly retarded about this issue. It would take me 5 minutes on Google (or 30 minutes in a library in the old days), $50 in parts at a hardware store, and I could easily kill a lot of people. And I'm not some terror mastermind. If there was a real terrorism threat, trust me, we'd have seen it by now.

Do people honestly think that the RCMP is arresting all of these supposed terrorists on a daily basis? That every public event has all sorts of bomb/gun plots stopped by anti-terror forces? Strange that we almost NEVER HEAR ABOUT IT, EH? Shit, the one arrest they've made in the past decade has been front page news for a week.

Christ, in Calgary alone there are easily 300 events a year that would make good, soft, easy-to-hit terror targets. Granted 3/4 of them are during Stampede, but still. If we're under such a threat, WHERE ARE THE TERRORISTS?

Seriously people, use some basic thinking here.

[Vertigo3000]

+++++10000000000000000000

[vid]

I find it especially ironic when people in smaller communities worry about terrorism. Our paper mill occasionally leaks toxic gas that forces the neighbourhood nearby to evacuate but "oh, those brown people look mighty shady to me!!"

Makes no sense. All of the outrage we've directed at the Boston marathon bombers should be directed at the Texas Government and West Fertilizer Company. That explosion killed almost 5 times as many people.