Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSET; french: Équipes intégrées de la sécurité nationale, ''EISN'') are

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

counter-terrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

, counter-foreign interference and counter-espionage security forces operating under the auspices of

Public Safety Canada Public Safety Canada (PSC; french: Sécurité publique Canada, SPC; PSP), legally incorporated as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEPC), is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for (most) matters of ...

. These federal investigative teams were formed in 2002 in response to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. Canadian provinces will have National Security Enforcement Sections (NSES) instead of an INSET in places that do not have a large city.

History

The INSET was formed in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver NSES units were changed to be INSETs in response to the attacks. An INSET operating in Toronto played a major role in the capture of 17 terror suspects on June 2, 2006. In 2012, INSETs were tasked to secure Albertan energy infrastructure from all attacks. On May 6, 2022, the RCMP reported that an INSET team arrested an unnamed individual with officers from the Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section (OPP PATS) and the Windsor Police Service for contributing to terrorist activity.

Controversies

On April 2022, unnamed RCMP officers have resigned from an INSET unit after they were briefed to arrest a suspect without being told why by CSIS.https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-csis-national-security-1.6432787

Mandate

The mandate of INSETs is as follows: # Increase the capacity to collect, share and analyze intelligence among partners, with respect to targets (individuals) that are a threat to national security. # To create an enhanced enforcement capacity to bring such targets to justice. # Enhance partner agencies' collective ability to combat national security threats and meet specific mandate responsibilities.

Locations

INSET teams are operating in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Organization

INSETs are made up of personnel from the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP),

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...

(CBSA),

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...

(CSIS), and

police forces The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

at the municipal and provincial levels, are tasked with investigating criminal national security matters domestically and internationally.

References