Parliamentary Committee Notes: Community engagement following the RCMP’s October 14, 2024 announcement
Senior officials at Public Safety Canada reached out in the hours and days after the RCMP’s announcement to several South Asian community groups, to inform and reassure them that law enforcement and intelligence agencies are taking action to ensure the safety and security of all citizens.
These same officials also reached out to Provincial and Territorial counterparts, as this issue cuts across multiple jurisdictions and affects all of Canada’s South Asian communities by undermining their rights and freedoms.
In addition, the National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator has engaged, and will continue to engage with the South Asian communities in Canada given the threats they face.
The Government announced $48.9 million in funding to the RCMP in 2023 to increase their investigative capacity and more proactively engage with communities at risk so they can better protect people in Canada from foreign interference. This also includes engagement efforts with police of jurisdiction who are often the first point of reporting by those who experience threats or intimidation.
An additional $13.5 million over five years, and $3.1 million ongoing has been allocated to Public Safety Canada to establish the office of the National Counter-Foreign Interference Coordinator to enhance outreach efforts with stakeholders and affected communities.
This builds on other longstanding efforts, including by CSIS, who has been at the front lines of engaging with Canadian civil society, Indigenous governments, research institutions, industry associations, community and advocacy associations, to advise on threat activity and national security concerns touching all Canadians and Canadian interests.