08.13.2016 10:07 AM

Not always getting their man

This week’s terror drama leaves me with many questions. I shared them with a London Free Press writer who was similarly puzzled.

1. Why did the RCMP issue a bizarre, Kafkaesque press release about terror that did not contain the who, the where, the what or the why? Doesn’t that serve only to, you know, scare people?

2. Why did the RCMP clearly try and give everyone the impression they had foiled a terrorist attack – when, in fact, it had been the FBI that did so?

3. Why didn’t the RCMP have the aspiring jihadist under 24/7 surveillance, given that everyone knew he was dangerous?

4. Why was he not picked up when he had broken his bail conditions – conditions that were so strict they had been covered by the media, coast to coast, and attracted the attention of civil libertarians?

5. If they don’t know what’s going on in their own backyard – if they are misleading us about who foiled the attack, and are communicating with us in a way that can only serve to actually terrify people – why the Hell are we keeping them around?

I vote for letting the FBI run the show. If nothing else, we’ll be safer.

15 Comments

  1. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    I heard that even for high priority targets that the RCMP and CSIS don’t have the human-power to maintain permanent long term surveillance. They go with threat assessment and after a given period of time, end the surveillance. Might be wise to increase the levels of staffing in the field.

    Look at CBSA and how many deportees they have lost track of…

    • Aongasha says:

      I’m sorry, but when did the precept of ministerial responsibility disappear? In other words the buck stops at the ministers desk. This case and that of the screwed up government payroll system would seem to indicate it went out the door with the Conservatives. Liberals seem to be responsible for nothing, as every time a Trudeau minister steps in front of the mic it becomes ‘All Harpers Fault’ or even worse that of a civil servant’s. When is a Liberal cabinet minister or the PM ever going to take responsibility for their government, other than during the good times?

  2. DJ says:

    Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call for the RCMP. There is much to review from this case. I wouldn’t be surprised if surveillance has stepped up on a few individuals on their watch list.

    • PJH says:

      Well said…..not saying heads should roll……but I’m sure they will be re-examining their protocols…..I’d also like to know where CSIS was on this…….

  3. Ron says:

    Friendly advice yes. Run the show ? Here ? No thanks.

    They work together and that’s enough.

  4. Jean A Paterson says:

    Good questions! I also wondered how staying with one’s stepsister (who presumably does not know what is going on ) is considered a good idea for a person on a peace bond. The Winnipeg Free Press has a long article about the troubled history of this young man. He had expressed a wish to die before this too.

  5. I am going to have to conclude your last sentence above is a bit of Trumpian sarcasm. We are supposed (!) to be in the international spook share and share alike age after all. Maybe one day our people will have a tip for our neighbours.

    And do not forget who did not grow themselves a bigger she’ll before or after the first attempt to blow up the WTC.

  6. Kevin says:

    Follow the money. When are budget increases being decided?

  7. e.a.f. says:

    When it comes to “terrorism” what ever that is, the RCMP and CISIS don’t know their heads from a hole in the ground. The like to carry on about “terrorism” because it increases their budgets. Bigger budgets, more staff, more staff, bigger salaries for those on top. Its called empire building.

    What terrifies me is the lack of clean hospitals in B.C. That killed 82 people a few years ago at Burnaby General, with el dificile. Dying of a dirty hospital in Canada is more likely to happen then getting killed by a “terrorist”.

    In B.C. last year we had approx. 85 people die of drunk driving and another 85 of distracted driving. That is terrifying.

    Having First Nations people die of mercury poisoning in Ontario, that is terrifying.

    The people the RCMP and CISIS want to call “terrorist”, in my opinion have largely been people with mental illnesses. For that matter I’d suggest dying from your mental illness in Canada is more probable than from a “terrorists”.

    one could also take the position, one person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. Just depends upon whose ox is being gored.

    As to letting the FBI run the show, not in Canada, but we as their northern neighbours can rest assured if there are terrorists here, the FBI will notify us so we don’t need the RCMP and CISIS doing all this spending of money. Let the RCMP and CISIS get on with finding the real death merchants in this country, the people who manufacture, import, distribute Fent.

  8. Cory says:

    I think this really highlights the fact that we’ve been very lucky so far but our lucky streak won’t last forever.

  9. Frank says:

    Amazing, this. “Lone-wolf” Islamic extremist Aaron Driver had been a long term ISIS admirer and “on the radar” since 2014 but it takes the FBI to warn us. How many other Canadians are “on the radar” walking around with “peace bond” ankle bracelets as a deterrent? In France the Interior Minister says there more than 10,000 radical Islamists on thier “Fiche S” list (flagged radicalized individuals seen as a threat to national security).
    In Germany there are 7,900 radical Salafi Islamists.

    In the UK under TPIM, 2,000 extremists have been identified and Belgium is the EU’s leading supplier of jihadists to ISIS per capita. So what do the rest of us do while these religious nut jobs are walking around free?

    • smelter rat says:

      You want to lock up EVERY religious nutjob? Interesting. Can we start with the Creationists?

      • Frank says:

        “Creationists”? Piss off, Smelter, you know what I mean. But let me clarify for you: the ones supporting, swearing allegiance to or otherwise encouraging murderous religious nut jobs with a proven track record. You know, like ISIS, Boko Haram?….

  10. bluegreenblogger says:

    yeah, I saw Press releases preceeding any actual real information, and my heart dropped. Clearly the RCMP wanted to milk it. I actually expected they would bullshit harder, then hide behind ‘ongoing terror investigation’ to hide the facts, obfuscate, and refuse any further information. It did not unfold like that though. They actually started a bit of explaining in the Press conference. It is a sorry enough story that we, the public, will want to know the details, and probably should. All I can say is thank god the guy was not a competent bomb maker.

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