Madam Chair, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to speak today on this important topic as we approach the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

As the executive director of the integrated terrorism assessment centre, I am responsible for assessing and advising the government on the threat of violent extremism to Canada and to Canadian interests abroad. This includes recommending the national terrorism threat level.

As the leader of a national fusion cell, I am accountable to the national security intelligence adviser to the Prime Minister and the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

ITAC produces all-source assessments to predict the likelihood of a violent extremist attack. To reach a spectrum of clients, ITAC publishes at multiple levels of classification. In this way, we seek to inform many stakeholders and police postures as well as their dialogue with communities.

The ITAC paper that is cited in the report is a threat assessment on 2024 pride events. In preparing that document, analysts evaluated the complex interplay between threat actor intentions, capabilities and opportunities to carry out violence. The centre forecasted a period of heightened propaganda during pride season, and it reinforced the possibility of a lone attacker.

Then, as now, the most likely scenario facing Canada is an individual motivated by a personalized world view. Inside this view, there can be contradictory grievances. This person would use unsophisticated weapons.

Every day, ITAC personnel evaluate potential violence against those who advocate for sexual equality, diversity and equal opportunities. That is because, to be clear, women and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are constantly cited in violent extremist rhetoric and have been the target of specific violence in recent years. Both the ideologically motivated violent extremist and the religiously motivated violent extremist seek to victimize women and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Two recent examples punctuate the point: In 2023, a former student of the University of Waterloo went on a stabbing rampage in a gender-studies class to ‘instil fear’. That same year, Calgary police disrupted a foursome supporting the Islamic State; an underage male in the group wanted to kill a woman and made threats against Pride.

Since April 2024, 26% of ITAC's outputs addressed real or potential threats to individuals based on identity factors such as gender or sexual orientation. This category of violent extremist mentality is rooted, to be sure, in homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Our IMVE-related publications have increased each year over the past few years. IMVE is a global phenomenon, so ITAC also, unfortunately, provides products of this sort from allied agencies around the world. Western democracies have acknowledged how social media has contributed to the mainstreaming of violence. Our societies are increasingly polarized.

The impact of rhetoric on Canadians' perception of safety and security cannot be underestimated, even if the average number of terrorist attacks in Canada has remained at 1.8 attacks per year for the last five years. This causes me to acknowledge an important point, which is that the vast majority of hateful messages and actions fall below the threshold of national security.

Nonetheless, my colleagues in national security and I are deeply concerned that anti-gender violent rhetoric could inspire youth or other vulnerable members of our society to mobilize to violence. National security stakeholders, ITAC included, are using all of the tools at their disposal to prevent this outcome.

For its part, ITAC continues to serve as an early warning for serious violence against women, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, public policy-makers and community events.

I hope that my comments have advanced the committee's understanding of the issues. It would be my pleasure to answer questions.

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