Dear committee members, thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. I'll use my time to briefly discuss my doctoral research, which is a study of right-wing extremism across Canada, undertaken in the school of journalism and communication in the faculty of public affairs at Carleton University.
While there's a lot I could say regarding the far-right spectrum across Canada, in this witness statement I will focus on one group I have studied as a way to show a range of behaviours, actions and risks that help us understand IMVE.
The group is the Three Percenters, which I have been tracking since 2018. They are now, as of June 25, 2021, a listed terrorist entity in Canada. In the past the Three Percenters, a group steeped in violent white supremacist ideology, openly called for and supported violent action, and while they have now been exposed and stopped, it is likely that current and future groups with a similar ideology have learned from the Three Percenters. However, while other extremist movements and groups may copy their organizational tactics, those same patterns can help us identify and overcome attempts at subterfuge from the next iteration of the Three Percenters and similar groups.
Today's brief discussion will trace what offline behaviours were encouraged by the Three Percenters' members, what values and beliefs they urged members to uphold and how their online discussions matched their various “About Us” sections on their websites and social media pages. These examples link to many of the issues the committee is examining. Whereas many researchers focus on what leads to individuals embracing or leaving extremist movements, my research tracks and identifies how right-wing extremist groups maintain the followers they have attracted. I trace the many ways right-wing extremist groups such as the Three Percenters cultivate digital and non-digital spaces for members to feel emboldened to express and potentially act on their most hateful and violent views.
The Three Percenters utilize several activities to form and sustain their members' resolve. The first is active and mandatory participation from “real” members, those who meet in person and take part in offline training in airsoft, where they simulate tactical military drills. The tactical training includes map reading, first aid and practical applications that benefit a military force. Accompanying such training is a code of conduct that leadership expects members to embrace and follow.
According to the Three Percenters Alberta chapter—and this is a direct quote—“Members shall use their training and capabilities to protect the public at all times, both on and off duty”. Moreover, they say, “A prospective member must be a patriot and possess a sense of the concept of Judeo-Christian values in an ethical (rather than theological or liturgical) sense. These values have been emphasized primarily by political conservatives.”
Here we get a sense of what Three Percenters expect physically, spiritually and ideologically of their recruits. Clearly the group appears to present as simply patriotic Canadians, yet by tracking their online dialogue, my data shows that their content is racist and grounded in white nationalism. The Three Percenters are radically opposed to Muslims, refugees and non-white immigration broadly. They are also engaged in the harassment of progressive politicians across Canada.
The discussions and content that transpired on the Three Percenters' social media pages are where I will focus my final remarks.
While the Three Percenters and other right-wing extremists attract a smaller number of individuals into offline activity, there is a hotbed of content that appears daily online and across platforms calling for and celebrating violence towards Canadian newcomers, non-Christian Canadians and Muslims. Their focus extends beyond domestic politics and concerns. All too often, the focus is on stories of refugees breaking laws anywhere in Europe and North America or a story of what they perceive to be a misogynistic attack anywhere in the Middle East. Any and all content they construe as socially progressive and friendly to Muslims is disparaged and fuels the hateful cycle that provides the life force for the Three Percenters and other right-wing extremists.
The Three Percenters are one example of many right-wing extremist groups across Canada that call for and celebrate violence. Rightly, the Three Percenters are a terrorist entity, given their active participation in military training to quell what they understand as a Muslim invasion. However, the digital platforms and social atmosphere that permit such hate and sustain their violent outlook will too easily morph into another threat in the form of new IMVE groups and individuals who will continue to foster and support violence targeting non-white and non-Christian Canadians.
With that, I will conclude my remarks. I would be pleased to take your questions or address other aspects of the committee's concerns.
Thank you for giving me the time to appear today.