Are peace bonds worth the trouble?

New questions are being raised about the effectiveness of peace bonds as a counter-terrorism tool in the wake of a bomb plot that was foiled in Ontario. A number of conditions had been placed on Aaron Driver, an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant sympathizer, that restricted his movements and activities; yet, he was still able to shoot a martyrdom video and successfully detonate a bomb Wednesday that injured a taxi driver before he died. Douglas Quan examines the issue.

Q What are peace bonds?

A Peace bonds are essentially restraining orders that can be placed on individuals whom police believe may commit terrorism offences. They are typically sought when authorities don’t have enough evidence to lay charges.

Q What conditions were placed on Aaron Driver?

A Last summer, following his initial arrest, Driver was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and attend religious counselling as part of his bail conditions. This past February, a peace bond was issued against Driver that eliminated those two requirements but still ordered him to stay away from his computer, cellphone and social media; not possess firearms or explosives; and remain at a specific address in Strathroy, Ont.

Q The fact he was able to create a martyrdom video and detonate a bomb suggests the peace bond failed, right?

A On the face of it, the answer is yes, says Craig Forcese, a University of Ottawa law professor. Driver was the subject of numerous conditions and yet his move toward violence did not trigger scrutiny from authorities until the 11th hour. That raises serious questions, he said, about whether additional intermediate measures are needed beyond peace bonds.

Phil Gurski, a former strategic analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said the case made him wonder: are peace bonds enough to deal with or mitigate the threat from someone who is dedicated to an ideologically motivated cause? “That’s a question we have to ask ourselves right now.”

Fortunately, Gurski said, we can take solace in the fact that intelligence was received from the FBI, it was acted upon quickly and Driver was prevented from carrying out a mass attack.

Q So if peace bonds are not sufficient, what else can be done short of charging someone?

A Round-the-clock surveillance is one option, but it requires intensive resources and is just not realistic. That was pretty much acknowledged Thursday by RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana. “Our ability to monitor people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week simply does not exist,” he said.

It is clear though that putting someone on a peace bond cannot be viewed as a permanent solution, Forcese said. There needs to be investment in and serious consideration given to programs of de-radicalization and for countering violent extremism. “I don’t think we have a choice,” Forcese said.

The problem is this is a new area of social science; nobody knows if it actually works. If such programs can’t eliminate radical thoughts, maybe at least they can stop someone from straying into violent acts, he said.

Q How many others have been issued peace bonds related to terrorism? What do this week’s events mean for them?

A Forcese estimates there may be about 20 people who have received terrorism peace bonds over the years. It doesn’t appear this week’s events are going to cause any drastic changes in how they are being monitored.

All persons of interest are already evaluated and re-evaluated on an ongoing basis, Cabana said. Sometimes, surveillance is tightened up as a result. “It’s very fluid,” he said.

Q At the end of the day is there any way to know if peace bonds actually work?

A Of the small numbers of people who’ve been issued peace bonds over the years, Driver is the first person known to attempt to carry out an attack. Some peace bonds have expired and have not been renewed and those individuals have fallen off the radar. This could be because they never really were risks in the first place or they were risks but those risks abated with the passage of time. It’s hard to know.

While civil liberties concerns cannot be discounted, the peace bond tool in principle is a good one, Forcese says. Gurski agrees. If you can’t lay charges against someone, what are you left with? “Do you just let the guy go? Investigate him until the cows come home?”