NCJ Number
70596
Journal
Terrorism Volume: 1 Issue: 3 and 4 Dated: (1978) Pages: 307-313
Date Published
1978
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article briefly outlines the organization and procedures that have evolved at the Federal level of the Canadian Government for the handling and management of crises relating to internal security.
Abstract
These procedures and organization are designed to conform with the Canadian constitutional arrangement in which the Criminal Code of Canada, a Federal statute, is enforced by the attorneys general of each of the 10 provinces and the 2 northern territories. The article discusses three significant steps that were taken following the 1970 kidnapping of the British trade commissioner in Montreal and the kidnapping and murder of a Quebec cabinet member by the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLO). Following these events, now known as the October Crisis or the Cross-Laporte affair, the government adopted a 'lead minister' or 'lead department' concept in which a particular cabinet minister is apponited to coordinate governmental response at the Federal level in an emergency or crisis. Some jurisdictional problems are also discussed, such as a hostage situation in which the victim is a Federal cabinet minister, or an aircraft is hijacked in Canadian air space. Basic policy in dealing with terrorist incidents and in the control of public information is described and some unresolved issues are outlined. The article concludes that having one person in charge is of vital importance, and that the present procedures for incident management, characterized by almost total reliance on certain key personnel, may only be strengthened through long experience.