Attack in Ottawa could increase calls to give CSIS more power

Two snipers from the RCMP Emergency Response Team attempt to enter a building during the shootings in Ottawa that left one soldier dead as well as the shooter on Oct 22, 2014.

By Colin Freeze, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 22 2014

Two deadly attacks perpetrated against Canadian soldiers by suspected extremists are raising the stakes in the domestic fight against terrorism.

In recent months, the public and politicians have pushed federal security officials to get more aggressive. One response has been renewed efforts to block or revoke passports to stop the exodus of extremists to fight with the Islamic State jihadis and related groups.

Yet counterterrorism officials increasingly regard extremists in Canada as more menacing and harder to predict. Security measures are already stretching to their legal limits – yet Parliament is set to confer more powers to federal agents as the threats continue to mount.

“This will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday evening in a televised address. He said that the violence in Ottawa and near Montreal will lead his government to beef up counter-terrorism efforts.