Despite the recent racist violence in the U.S., and an increase in right-wing extremist activity here in Canada, experts disagree about whether Ottawa should make such groups a national security priority.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, Canada's intelligence community has devoted much of its attention to preventing Islamist terrorism.
While right-wing extremism, including the activities of neo-Nazi and other racist groups, is monitored by CSIS and the RCMP, it doesn't receive the same amount of resources as threats from ISIS or al-Qaeda.
Yet the outburst of deadly racist violence in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend is not without parallels in Canada. Recent estimates suggest there are dozens of active white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups across the country.
They advocate everything from biological racism to anti-Semitism to radical libertarianism. Members of groups such as the Heritage Front, Freemen of the Land and Blood and Honour have been charged with dozens of crimes, including murder, attempted murder and assault.
Roughly 30 homicides in Canada since 1980 have been linked to individuals espousing some form of extreme right-wing ideology.
But the pattern of right-wing extremist violence in Canada is too inconsistent to merit being prioritized over the threat posed by Islamic extremists, according to two former members of the security establishment.
"I do think right-wing extremism is a national security problem, but we're not devoting the resources to it because we don't need to," said Phil Gurski, a former CSIS analyst who now runs a security consulting business.
"I have seen nothing to suggest that they pose an equally dangerous threat as that posed by Islamist extremism, which in and of itself is still a fairly minor threat in Canada." (more...)
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