Terror attack ‘brutal, craven act’
Minister says Canada’s security reviewed, no hike to threat level
Ralph Goodale, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness wasted no time in condemning the deadly terrorist attack that occurred Monday night at an arena in Manchester, England.
In Regina on Tuesday morning to take part in announcing Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations in Saskatchewan, the MP for Regina-Wascana, was visibly upset as he thought of the grieving families, friends and loved ones of those who were killed or injured during a concert in Manchester.
A suicide bomber killed at least 22 and injured 59 following an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. “This was a brutal, craven act of vicious terror aimed especially at young people,” Goodale said. “It stands condemned by all of the civilized world and all Canadians will stand shoulder-toshoulder with the British people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time.” He noted there is no known Canadian connection to the terrorist attack.
“Whenever events like this happen, naturally we re-examine all of our own security arrangements to make sure that everything that needs to be done to keep Canadians safe is in fact being done,” Goodale said. “I can assure you that that in fact is the case.”
The national terrorism threat level in Canada remains unchanged at medium, where it has stayed since the fall of 2014.
“It will have certainly been reassessed in the course of the last 10 or 12 hours,” Goodale said Tuesday morning. “The officials inform me that there is no basis upon which to adjust that threat level in Canada ... It’s not at the critical level that we would see in the U.K. But Canadians should be vigilant. If you see anything that strikes you as unusual or suspicious, it’s very important to report that to police.”
Goodale told reporters Canada’s terror watch list is maintained regularly.
“Whenever a group or an organization or individual that presents a risk is identified or comes to the attention of authorities, the appropriate steps are taken,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t discuss that in public. But Canadians can be absolutely assured that every step that needs to be taken to protect the health and safety of individuals and the security of the country — all of those steps are being taken.”
Given the magnitude of celebrations to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary on July 1, extra security precautions will be taken.
“Those are precautions that are obviously of a confidential nature, but when there are large gatherings of people, special steps are taken to make sure that they are safe and secure,” Goodale said.
The RCMP will closely collaborate with provincial and municipal police authorities across the country and the other national security agencies of the Government of Canada, he said.
“They will all be paying particular attention to large gatherings of people and, in our 150th year, there will be a great many of those gatherings, so all of our agencies and authorities will be doing their job very, very carefully,” Goodale said.