DOES CANADA'S MULTICULTURAL FRAMEWORK MAKE IT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 002442

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2015
TAGS: PTER KCRM PGOV CA
SUBJECT: DOES CANADA'S MULTICULTURAL FRAMEWORK MAKE IT
SAFER FROM TERRORISM?


Classified By: POL M/C Brian Flora, 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (C/NF) Summary: In a briefing during the Cross Border
Crime Forum's Counterterrorism Working Group, and discussions
with Britain's Political Counselor, Poloff was given two
views of the internal terrorist threat in Canada. Canadian
officials have, since long before the London bombings, been
concerned about the growing numbers of terrorists who,
because of their Canadian citizenship and at times Canadian
ethnicity, can move without the scrutiny of foreign
terrorists. They highlight the importance of cross border
information sharing to combat this threat. HMG PolCouns said
Britain is looking closely at how Canada integrates its new
immigrants and manages multicultural diversity and what
lessons could be applied in Britain. He considers Canada
well ahead of the UK in this regard and believes
well-designed policies crafted decades ago have created a
more peaceful social environment in Canada than England. End
Summary

AN EVOLVING THREAT
--------------


2. (C/NF) In the June 16 Cross Border Crime Forum
Counterterrorism Working Group, CSIS Deputy Director for
Operations Jack Hooper offered an assessment of the threat in
Canada from Canadian citizen extremists. In the wake of the
London bombing, Poloff met with British Pol M/C to discuss
how Britain views the comparison between it and Canada with
regards to the threat from Islamist extremists. The two
views are complementary, not contradictory, and offer two
different slices of this issue.


3. (C/NF) Hooper gave a brief presentation on the evolving
terrorist threat in Canada and how law enforcement and
intelligence officials are tracking it. He said there are
three groups that are of increasing interest to intelligence
and law enforcement officials. First, are individuals like
Khadr, who speak English, have Canadian citizenship, and can
travel at will. A second group is committed converts to
Islam who are also committed jihadists. He cited the case in
Edmonton of six "farm boys" who had converted to a radical
variant of Islam and were now considered dangerous. The
third group is female operatives, some of whom are WASP
converts; others are first or second generation immigrants to
Canada from the Middle East or South Asia.


4. (C/NF) Hooper said that these groups are of particular
concern because of their ability to travel undetected inside
and outside of the country. He said that the traditional
threat from foreign terrorists also exists, but it is this
emerging threat that requires new methods to combat. We need
ways to look closer at "people who look like us." He made
the point that rapid intelligence sharing is vital with
regards to the converts because they would not be on any
international watch lists at this point. We need, Hooper
said, to develop common models of law enforcement and
intelligence that are as seamless as possible.

THE VIEW FROM ACROSS THE POND
--------------


5. (C/NF) In the wake of the London bombings, Poloff engaged
HMG Pol M/C, Andrew Staunton, to discuss how he sees the
difference between Britain and Canada in terms of the
internal threat. Staunton said that PM Blair recently
directed British embassies in Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand to provide an assessment. The assumption was that,
while they may have similar problems, Britain's were far
worse and there may be lessons learned about how to treat the
issue of home grown Muslim extremism. Staunton believes that
the Muslim communities in Britain and Canada are about equal
in size as a proportion of the population, but the percentage
of that community that is radicalized is significantly larger
in Britain. (Note: There are approximately 700,000 Muslims
in Canada, about 2 percent of the population. Of 1.8 million
immigrants who came to Canada between 1991 and 2002, Muslims
accounted for 15 percent. The median age for the Canadian
Muslims is 28, compared to 37 for the general population.
End Note)


6. (C/NF) Staunton believes that while there is a small
extremist threat here, Canada is light years ahead of Britain
in terms of cross-cultural relations and in allaying societal
and cultural conditions that feed extremism. He also
articulated some non-cultural reasons that he believes make
Canada safer than Britain. Among the key differences:

Immigration Policy: Canada has a fair and transparent policy
of immigration in which approximately 250,000 persons per
year are allowed into the country, for the most part as
families and largely based on skills. In Britain, by
contrast, Staunton said there is extremely limited
immigration by invitation, and the majority of immigrants
either sneak in or overstay legitimate visas. This means
that immigrants in Britain are more likely to be young males
who are separated from their families, and do not have a
clear long-term economic future in Britain. Making matters
worse, they often have short-term benefits as refugees once
in, which provides them with significant time on their hands.

Social Integration: When Canada's immigrants are in, they
are really in, and are given benefits to help them integrate
while having full access to education and social services.
Facing a shortage of manpower, for several decades Canada has
created a climate that is immigrant-friendly, and Canadian
politicians vie for the votes of recent immigrants. The
Liberal Party continually promotes itself as the party of
immigrants, and both major parties have very prominent MPs
that are visible minorities, something reinforced recently by
the selection of a Haitian-born Governor General. There is a
clear way forward here for immigrants, that Staunton says is
not the case in Britain.
Nativist rhetoric: Staunton said some British politicians
have appealed to nativist sentiment to stake out
anti-foreigner positions, which often come across as racist
and anti-Muslim. The message to some is that immigrants will
never really be British. In contrast, Canadian politicians
are sometimes accused of pandering to the non-Canadian born
vote. More than 80% of Muslim voted in the 2004 election and
71% of them voted Liberal. The Canadian Islamic Congress
claims that Muslims hold a key swing vote (between 1.8 and
13.5%) in as many as 100 ridings. The message of all
Canadian politicians is that Canada values the skills and
contributions of immigrants, and the message of Canadians is
that they value diversity.

Radical Imams: Britain has been unlucky, Staunton says, with
regards to radical Imams. He believes this is less because
of distinct government policies, since free speech is
similarly protected in both Canada and the UK, as much as the
simple luck of the draw. Once London began to attract
radical Imams several decades ago, they fueled each other and
the city became a hub of extremist rhetoric. Canada
experienced no similar invasion and with only a few
exceptions its Imams have been comparatively moderate.

Distance from Middle East: Staunton also believes that
London's status as a political, economic, and travel "hub"
gives it a different dynamic than, say Ottawa and Toronto,
which are final destinations. This simply increases the
traffic in and out of London and the likelihood that radicals
will come there and stay. London has been a European hub of
radical politics for decades, Staunton says, and such
politics are well ingrained there. Canada has not been
involved in Middle Eastern politics and is simply not on the
beaten path for those who are.

CANADA'S APPROACH TO MULTICULTURALISM
--------------


7. (C/NF) Staunton provided Poloff with a copy of a briefing
prepared by Canadian Heritage in May 2005, entitled "Canada's
Approach to Multiculturalism." He was provided the brief
under the condition that he not share it with London
(although he said there was no stipulation about sharing it
with the US Embassy). The briefing reviews Canadian
government policies on multiculturalism, and how these
policies are evolving with an eye toward the 150th
anniversary of Canada in 2017. It describes the goals of
Canada's multicultural program as civic participation, social
justice, and identity. Priority areas include shared
citizenship, cross cultural understanding, development of
institutions reflecting diversity, and efforts to combat
racism and discrimination.

Diversity in Canada is built on the three fundamental
realities of: 1) Aboriginal population, 2) Linguistic
duality, and 3) Ever-increasing diversity -- ethnic, racial,
cultural, and religious. It states as policy, that "Canada's
diversity provides the country with the opportunity to
strengthen Canada by building an all-inclusive society which
values differences and fostering a sense of belonging, while
maximizing the potential and contribution of all Canadians."


8. (C/NF) The brief goes on to describe Canada's model of
"shared citizenship, which is one of inclusion, not
assimilation; pluralism, not homogeneity; valuing diversity,
not simply tolerating it, and peaceful resolution of
conflict." There is an overview of the legal framework that
supports Canada's multiculturalism policy, including the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982),the Citizenship Act
(1985),and notably the Multiculturalism Act (1988). The
latter is described in the act's preamble as being intended
to "preserve and enrich the multicultural heritage of
Canadians while working to achieve the equity of all
Canadians in the economic, social, cultural, and political
life of Canada. It strives to develop a framework to
eliminate racism and discrimination, promote equality and
cross cultural understanding, foster shared citizenship, and
help federal institutions to be responsive to Canada's
diversity." Other initiatives are an Action Plan Against
Racism, and the Canada 2017 Initiative, designed to help
cushion the transition to a Canada in which one in five
Canadians will be a visible minority.


9. (C/NF) Comment: Analysts such as John Thompson of the
MacKenzie Institute are arguing strongly that Canada is
vulnerable to terrorist attack and "our turn is coming soon."
And there is increasing awareness that Canada does face a
threat both from terrorists who emanate outside the country
and a small number who could emerge from within. But the
differences between Canada and Britain in terms of the
internal threat are worthy of consideration, and the things
Canada has done to integrate new immigrants who could, even
at the second and third generation, turn hostile to their
adopted homeland, are noteworthy. In this regard these very
well crafted policies of the past several decades are paying
off and should be helpful as Canada faces an increasingly
multi-cultural future.

Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa

WILKINS