The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has warned Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) of rising levels of “anti-government” and “anti-authority” sentiment since the onset of the Wuhan virus pandemic.
CSIS stated that there has been a rise in ideologically-motivated violent extremism, or IMVE, over the last two years of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that there has also been an increase in threats toward politicians and other public servants.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMVE activity has been fuelled by an increase in extreme anti-authority and anti-government rhetoric, often rooted in the weaponization of conspiracy theories,” CSIS assistant director Cherie Henderson told MPs, CBC reports.
“CSIS has noted a marked increase in violent threats addressed at elected officials and public servants,” Henderson added and claimed CSIS was working to do more to monitor extremism.
Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Michael Duheme stated that mounties have also noticed an uptick in IMVE, but claimed incidents were not coordinated vt groups but rather motivated by personal and “very individualized ideologies.”
Leslie Soper, director-general of national security policy for the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, claimed that extremists came from a variety of backgrounds saying.
“It may be aligned to what we might traditionally call right-wing extremism. It may be motivated by other factors; anti-mandate. It could be motivated by other societal factors,” Soper said.
When Soper and CSIS officials were pressed on the issue of mass attacks against churches across Canada that saw many burned to the ground last summer by Conservative MP Dane Lloyd, however, they dismissed the violent campaign as a police matter.
At least 68 churches across Canada had been either torched or vandalised as of August of last year.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the church attacks were “unacceptable” — but also claimed that the anger fuelling the attacks was “fully understandable.”
“One of my reflections is I understand the anger that’s out there against the federal government, against institutions like the Catholic church; it is real and it is fully understandable given the shameful history that we are all becoming more and more aware of, and engaging ourselves to do better as Canadians,” Trudeau said.