Canada's role questioned following attacks in Paris

In the days following the attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead, some people are questioning what Canada will and should do.

Speaking to the CJME Morning Show Monday morning, Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale assured that Canada isn’t seeing any sort of increased threat following the Paris attacks.

“The evidence that we have thus far would indicate that there is no change in the threat assessment or the risk assessment in Canada.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is already facing pressure to reconsider his decision to withdraw Canada’s six CF-18 fighter jets from the U.S.-led coalition bombing ISIL in Syria.

Goodale wouldn’t comment on what the prime minister might do in the fight against ISIL in Syria, but said Canada must look at how it can be most effective.

“What can Canada do, given our size and our resources, to make the most-effective contribution? Not just in the short term but in the long term.”

The minister insisted that Canada’s role training troops in Syria is the best Canadian investment of resources. While the bombing mission is high profile, Goodale contends that the largest role in the battle will be played by local ground forces, which are receiving training from Canadian troops.

More questions have surrounded the Liberal government’s commitment to bring 25,000 Syria refugees to Canada by the end of the year. Goodale says the objective on that front remains the same, but the planning process isn’t yet completed.

He pointed to Immigration Services, National Defence, the Canadian Border Service Agency, CSIS and the RCMP all being involved the make sure security checks on refugees won’t be compromised.

Also speaking to the CJME Morning Show Monday morning, a former commander of Canada’s Counter Terrorism Task Force admitted he worries about the process being rushed.

“If you try to rush those same things through a government bureaucracy that is not traditionally built for speed, clearly you’re opening some gaps,” Steve Day said.

However, Day says the risk of insurgents making their way to Canada remains very, very low. He added that the worst thing for Canada to do in the wake of the attacks is to overreact.

“The best thing the Canadians can do is to continue living our lives the way we always have.”

Day does see an opportunity for Canada to contribute more to the fight in Syria by joining in on offensive attacks to kill insurgent leaders who cannot be rehabilitated.

While Day wasn’t overly surprised by the attacks in Paris, he says this is a decades-long conflict that won’t likely end anytime soon.