Alberta gets $4M to address causes of radicalization
Funding goes to Edmonton Police Service and Organization for the Prevention of Violence
Keeping young people from falling into the thrall of violent extremist groups online is one of the goals of a new $4-million program to combat radicalization in Alberta.
Infrastructure and Communities Minister Amarjeet Sohi announced the new federal funding Friday at Edmonton City Hall.
The program was developed before the Sept. 30 truck attack and not in direct response, police spokeswoman Cheryl Sheppard said, although speakers at the event linked the two.
“We believe that the first step of prevention is awareness,” said John McCoy, executive director of the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV). “We need to make the right people aware of this problem, and by that I mean parents and educators — those who can spot early risk — and those who are in law enforcement roles or other roles where they might encounter this particular issue.”
Around $2.2 million over five years will go to the Edmonton Police Service to “discourage individuals from radicalizing to violence by addressing the potential sources of violent extremism available online and offline,” a news release from Public Safety Canada said.
The OPV will receive another $1.2 million of the grant for a threeyear study, Countering Violent Extremism in Alberta, which will map potential sources of violent extremism in the province and establish partnerships with community groups.
McCoy said radicalization is a major issue, especially in Alberta, which has a long history of farright extremist groups.
“I think we can safely say based on what we have (that) Alberta is disproportionately impacted by these issues in comparison to most other provinces in Canada,” he said. “It’s an open question why that exists.”
Ahmed Abdulkadir, a SomaliCanadian community leader and a cofounder of the organization, said the study would not target any particular community or group.
“Let’s be frank — hate-motived violence comes from all different groups or individuals,” he said.
Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht said the funding would give police and community groups a better understanding of why young people are drawn to violent ideologies. Parents, teachers or school resource officers could then intervene with young people who are showing warning signs before they become violent.
“We all remember back when we were 13, 14, 15, 16, we’re more vulnerable at that time. We’re trying to find our way through life, and people exploit that. Social media is a huge component of this.
“These are people that generally fly under the radar and are not engaged in mainstream society. I think this project will allow us to identify them and understand them and work with them.”
The funding announcement comes months after a Sept. 30 attack in which a suspect rammed an Edmonton police officer with a car and attacked him with a knife before mowing down Jasper Avenue pedestrians with a U-Haul truck.
The accused, Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, a Somali refugee, was investigated by the RCMP after a complaint that he was “espousing extremist ideologies” in 2015. They did not have enough evidence to warrant additional investigation, RCMP officials said at the time.
Knecht said he believes everything that could be done to prevent the violence was done.
“We are a democracy, we’re not a police state where you just are on people all the time, nor do we have the resources to do anything like that,” he said. “So you monitor as best you can, you do as much as you can, and I think that is what this (project) will help us do.”