Ralph Goodale says Canada must be 'world leader' in tackling radicalization

Canada must become a "world leader" in stamping out radicalization,becauseouropen, tolerantsociety is at stake, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

In a wide-ranging interview with CBC News Network's Power & Politics, Goodale said Canada must become the "best in the world" at community outreach, engagement and counter-radicalization to avert a fundamental threat to Canadian values.

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"We're an open society, we're one of the most plural societies in the world; the most inclusive, the most tolerant. In order to preservethat nature of our country, we need to be among the best in the world at identifyingradicalizationand the techniques for counteringradicalizationand working with all other Canadians to make sure that's effective," he told host Rosemary Barton.

Goodalecould not provide the current number of individuals considered home-grown militantsor "foreign fighters."

But he said the government will make a "vigorous" effort to stamp outradicalization.The minister's mandate letter includes an order to create an Office of the Community Outreach andCounter-radicalizationCo-ordinator.

More money for the RCMP

Goodalealso promised the Mounties would have the necessary resources to keep up the fight. Last year,RCMPCommissioner Bob Paulson said he was forced to divert600 officers from white-collar crime and fraud files to focus on national security investigations.

"We cannot have a situation where your national police force has got to rob Peter to pay Paul," he said. "When we callupon them to perform serious functions in the name of national security, crime prevention, law enforcement and all the other important things that they do, they need to have the physical resources, including budget, to do that well."

Goodaleis travelling to Londonnext week for meetings oncounter-terrorism, violent extremism and cybersecurity.He will also be gathering information aboutUnited Kingdom's Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliamentas he prepares to adopt a similarmodel for Canadian parliamentarians.

Parliamentary oversight for security agencies

Goodale did not provide a time frame of when a committeewill be struck, buttold Power & Politicsthat an all-party committee will be sworn to secrecy to monitor activities of Canada's security agencies to ensure they are effective and respectingfundamental rights.

Right now, he said, Canada is an "anomaly" in that it does not have a parliamentary oversight body like those in the U.K., U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

"We'll be following their examples to make sure Canada has this kind of review mechanism in place to ensurewe're being effective in keeping Canadians safe, and at the same time protecting rights and values," he said.

The Security Intelligence Review Committee, a civilian oversight body, will remain with an enhanced mandate.

Goodalesaid the government is committed to repealing key elements of the anti-terrorism legislation known as BillC-51, including protecting civil protests andbetter defining"propaganda" and the expanded no-fly list.

No-fly list flaws

Responding to questions about recent media reports about children and others erroneously tagged on the no-fly list and flagged asnational security risks,Goodalesaid existing regulations do not require secondary screening for children under 18 years of age. Airlines may be "going beyond what they are required to do," he said.

Ottawa examining changes to No Fly List

9 years ago

Duration 2:08

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale speaks with Power and Politics Host Rosemary Barton about the No Fly List

"They may have been misinformed or confused about the application of the rules."

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Goodalealso provided more details onways the government could strengthen the no-fly list to ensure children aren't erroneously barred from flights or subject to secondary screening.

"It may be the date of birth is the right technique. It may be the SIN [social insurance number], it could be a unique PIN identifier," he said. "But we do need to have other means than the name alone, which can result in great inadvertent confusion."

And on the legalization of marijuana, Goodale said the government will ensure it takes a methodical approach that keeps public safety in mind, including the risks with impaired driving.

MADD Canada is warning that police officers must be equipped with new technology, training and tools to keep pot-impaired drivers off the roads.

"Before any discussion begins about legalizing marijuana, the federal government needs to give police enforcement officers the ability to do saliva testing at roadside to detect drug impaired drivers, similar to the testing for alcohol," CEO Andrew Murie told CBC News. "Without this measure, legalization of marijuana will lead to more impaired driving crashes, deaths and injuries. "