Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Professor Sands, thank you for raising a point in your opening remarks that I find rather interesting and concerns me in particular.
You listed threats to the security of North America. You mentioned home-grown terrorism. I am the MP for the riding where a member of the Canadian Forces was attacked and killed by a person in a car. I am therefore directly concerned by home-grown terrorism as a threat to North American security, which is what we are studying today.
This raises a question that many of my constituents often ask me. At what point can we label an attack against a member of the Canadian Forces as a terrorist attack?
You gave the example of the Ottawa attack, but, in the attack I am referring to, the person had a knife and was driving a Nissan 2000. That was all the equipment he had. He had no training.
You are experts in security, but not in propaganda. As experts in security, would you place the attack against the World Trade Center and individual attacks on the same level? The attack against the World Trade Center required organized international cooperation where people were sent to a country to receive pilot training. The other attack was committed by an individual who had access to terrorist rhetoric on the Internet, but was a lone wolf, isolated, and, because of mental health issues, could not have relationships with his neighbours or family members.
Can those two attacks be treated in the same way? What is your assessment of those two events?