I thank you for your question. We live in a state of law.
It is extremely important that we adopt legislation that clearly defines the authority, roles, and responsibilities of both our law enforcement agencies and our national security agencies so they can clearly operate within the scope of the law. That's why when we see a direct threat to Canada from terrorist organizations, and specifically from the Islamic State, we need to be able to table legislation that clearly defines the mandate and also enables the agencies to appropriately protect Canadians.
That being said, we have with us this afternoon two very critical agencies, including the department that is monitoring and overseeing many activities, but there are more than 20 government agencies involved in the terrorism strategy. They range from CBSA, for border controls, to Finance, to stop those who could be tempted to provide money to terrorists. They include Health Canada, regarding possible terrorist attacks. So it's a broad approach. They've been working together.
We have to remain vigilant, but there are mechanisms in place, and there's a broad government approach. Of course, prosecuting and gathering intelligence are critical. Another bridge that is critical is to convert this intelligence into evidence that can be laid in front of the courts. For this, I see that the RCMP is being successful as we see the number of cases and charges and sentences increasing, especially with the tools we are providing. As legislators, we need to provide them the tools and give them clear authority, so they can work within the scope of the law. That is our part of successfully countering terrorism.