Parliamentary Committee Notes: Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence
Issue
What is the Government doing to combat terrorism or extremist violence?
Proposed Response
- Public Safety’s Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence leads our government’s efforts to prevent and counter all forms of violent extremism including extreme forms of hate and hate-motivated violence.
- Its work is threat-agnostic and complements – but is distinct from – national security, law enforcement, and criminal justice approaches.
- The Canada Centre’s work relies on science-based approaches like those in fields like crime prevention, community safety, social work, conflict resolution, and public health.
- The Community Resilience Fund provides financial support to organizations working to improve Canada's understanding and capacity to prevent and counter violent extremism.
- By investing in research tools, we are supporting work that is critical to understanding violent extremist ideologies, and which ultimately contributes to our collective safety.
Background
Public Safety’s Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre)
Established in 2017, Public Safety’s Canada Centre leads the Government of Canada's efforts to counter radicalization to violence (CRV), its work complements national security and criminal justice efforts, as well as broader initiatives to address harms like hate and gender-based violence. The Canada Centre works with many partners in Canada and internationally, including to lead Canada’s support for the Christchurch Call Foundation which seeks to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.
Public Safety’s grants and contributions program – the Community Resilience Fund (CRF) – provides financial support to organizations working to improve Canada’s understanding and capacity to prevent and counter violent extremism. Through the CRF, the Canada Centre has funded and currently funds a variety of programs and research projects that directly address systemic racism and/or systemic barriers. Two such examples are: 1) the previously funded Edmonton-based Islamic Family and Social Services Association’s research project “Tools for Professionals who Support the Reintegration of Offenders to Detect and Address Radicalization” on the role of prison chaplaincy and equipping professionals with culturally and religiously appropriate tools to detect and address radicalization to violence within the justice system; and 2) the currently funded Yorktown Family Services' Estimated Time of Arrival program, which deploys rapid, mobile mental health and integrated care for people at risk of radicalization to violence in the Greater Toronto Area. This program targets individuals between the ages of 12 to 35 who might be involved with, at risk of, or present early stages of extremist activity. In total, the Canada Centre has supported 78 research and frontline support projects since 2017, with a total investment of about $69 million, to increase understanding and response to violent extremism of all forms. It is important to note that the Canada Centre does not work directly with individuals at risk or those who have radicalized to violence.
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