Vancouver Information and Newspaper

OTTAWA – Canada’s top Mountie says more criminal prosecutions are needed to help fight the scourge of terrorism, suggesting there’s been too much emphasis on simply eyeing extremists from the shadows.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott told a security conference Friday it’s time for police to step up their activities in the realm of national security.

“We need greater capacity to put terrorism cases before the courts and more terrorists in jail,” he said at the annual gathering of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies.

At issue is the longstanding tension between spies who prefer to toil quietly in the background and police who arrest suspects with the expectation they will be tried in open court.

Elliott’s comments came a day after CSIS director Richard Fadden outlined the perils of divulging spy tactics in the courtroom.

Fadden defended a recent decision to withdraw evidence in the national security certificate case against Montrealer Adil Charkaoui, saying “an intelligence agency that cannot protect its sources and tradecraft cannot be credible or effective.”

Elliott suggested Friday that intelligence agency efforts to spy on extremists have overshadowed the role of police in charging them with crimes.

The RCMP commissioner said that in order to protect Canadians security officials must sometimes disrupt terrorist plans before sufficient evidence can be gathered to justify criminal charges.

“However, counter-terrorism measures based exclusively on intelligence that falls short of the evidentiary threshold are fraught with danger and difficulty.”

Security agencies will now have to make tough choices as to what they are willing to reveal in open court, he said.

“Intelligence should always be gathered with one eye on the problem of how to turn it into admissible evidence before a judge in a criminal court.”

Elliott said terrorism cases are often seen as overly lengthy and complex and there’s a perception that they seldom result in criminal convictions. But he pointed out there have been seven convictions under the Anti-Terrorism Act since its 2001 passage.

“I note that there are more cases before the courts, and there are more coming where we will recommend criminal charges.”

He said a boost in criminal prosecutions would rob terrorists of legitimacy and enhance Canada’s security relations with the United States.

Canada still suffers from a U.S. perception as a safe haven for extremists, Elliott said.

And the threat of terrorism has not abated, he warned.

The RCMP boss said Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network remains a serious danger and serves to inspire violent extremists worldwide – including in Canada.

“Al-Qaida is both a brand and an ideology.”

Elliott said Hezbollah’s hatred of Israel endangers allies of that country, and he warned that the desperate conflict in Somalia may help radicalize young Canadians.

There’s a possibility of Somali-Canadians travelling to the African country to fight, returning to Canada “imbued with both extremist ideology and the skills necessary to translate this into direct action.”

Elliott became the first civilian commissioner of the RCMP two years ago after serving as a national security adviser. He was chosen to oversee sweeping changes to a force widely seen as stuck in the past.

Elliott noted Friday there has been speculation the commission of inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing will recommend creation of a national intelligence czar.

“I am personally not convinced that this is necessary.”

But he allowed that police and intelligence officials must work together effectively to help ensure more prosecutions take place.

“What is required is closer collaboration between intelligence agencies and law enforcement, so that as operations are planned and intelligence is gathered, the requirements for disclosure and the admissibility of evidence are duly considered and, to the extent possible, put in place.”