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The head of Canada’s spy agency is warning about a “worrying” number of young people becoming radicalized.
In his first annual address, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director Dan Rogers said violent extremism — be it motivated by religion, or ideological or political views — “persists as one of Canada’s most significant national security concerns.”
“Worryingly, nearly one in 10 terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18,” Rogers said to a crowd of invited guests at the National Art Centre in downtown Ottawa.
He pointed to an August case where a minor was arrested in Montreal for allegedly planning an attack on behalf of Daesh, also known as ISIS.
A few months earlier, the RCMP arrested a 15-year-old Edmonton area minor for alleged links to an online network of violent extremism known as COM/764. The network is known for manipulating children and youth across widely accessible online platforms.
The RCMP has also charged two 15-year-olds in Ottawa for allegedly plotting a mass casualty attack against the Jewish community.
Violent extremists are motivated by an often personalized set of beliefs, said Rogers, including xenophobia, accelerationism, nihilism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, extreme interpretations of religion, and more.
“They find inspiration and motivation in the events and trends that polarize society or cause them to lose hope for the future,” said Rogers. And, they easily access and amplify content online that radicalizes them and reinforces their view that violence is justified to achieve their extremist goals.
Fortunately, he said, only small number of youth or adults with extreme views resort to violence.
“But when they do, the consequences are devastating.”
The CSIS director said since 2014, there have been 20 violent extremist attacks in Canada resulting in 29 deaths, and at least 60 victims, and credited his employees and law enforcement for stopping more.
“Eroding social cohesion, increasing polarization, and significant global events provide fertile ground for radicalization and many who turn to violence radicalize exclusively online — often without direction from others,” said Rogers.
“They use technology to do so secretly and anonymously, seriously challenging the ability of our investigators to keep pace and to identify and prevent acts of violence. “
Rogers added societal support for youth can help curb radicalization early and prevent it.
It’s Rogers’s first speech since he took helm of the spy agency late last year. His predecessor David Vigneault started the tradition during his tenure.
The speech also touched on the foreign interference and espionage, naming China and Russia as known and persistent adversaries.
“My intent is not to alarm. I want to reassure Canadians that CSIS, and the rest of Canada’s security and intelligence community, is here and working tirelessly in their best interests,” said Rogers.
“CSIS will continue to prioritize deliberately and ruthlessly, and become comfortable with an extraordinary pace of change.”
Before becoming the CSIS director, he served as the deputy national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister and spent a decade before that working at the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s foreign signals intelligence agency.
