RCMP plan to go undercover online to ensnare violent extremists

The RCMP plans to conduct undercover online surveillance using fake personas to investigate ideological extremists in Canada, according to an internal strategy document.

Experts on ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE) in Canada say the strategy is overdue at a time when online extremism threatens to spill over into real-world violence. They warn that extremist activity in Canada could increase in the wake of the U.S. election, regardless of who becomes the next president.

Civil liberties advocates say they fear that allowing agents to conduct undercover investigations online using fake personas could violate charter rights or push people to take actions they might not otherwise take.

They point out that the RCMP clashed with Canada's privacy commissioner earlier this year over other online investigative activity. They also call for guardrails to cover undercover online surveillance.

The internal strategy document, dated April 2024, was obtained through Access to Information Law by Matt Malone, Balsillie scholar at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and shared with CBC News.

The term IMVE can encompass everything from white supremacists and neo-Nazis to far-left environmental and animal rights organizations.

While much of the internal document discusses the need for police forces to work together to address threats to national security, it also outlines the RCMP's plans to take its investigation beyond simply looking at what's online is placed.

“The RCMP's lack of a covert online presence was previously highlighted in the OIR (Operational Improvement Review), which recommended that the RCMP develop its own online undercover program to assist with national security criminal investigations,” according to the strategy document.

“The Federal Police National Security (FPNS) is currently taking steps to address this recommendation through proactive legend building and backstopping personas, but this work must be prioritized and accelerated to meet future demand for online undercover activities.”

The force will also need to add resources, it said.

“If the federal police were to expand its online undercover and intelligence capabilities in the IMVE space, there will be a need for additional online personas, monikers and information technology equipment to support these activities,” the document said.

It is not clear how much progress the RCMP has made with its online undercover program since the strategy was written in April, or whether officers using false identities are conducting undercover online investigations.

Asked about the status of the program, RCMP officials remained tight-lipped.

“The RCMP uses a variety of technical investigative tools and methods to lawfully obtain evidence to protect Canadians and further serious criminal investigations,” the RCMP said in an emailed response. “To maintain the integrity of our operations, we generally do not disclose specific techniques or tools used in the course of an investigation and will not comment further on the status of these techniques.”

The force also defended the use of undercover operations.

“All undercover operations are uniquely and independently reviewed, subject to extensive planning, review, monitoring and approval processes, and the RCMP's use of investigative tools is governed by the [Charter of Rights and Freedoms] and subject to appropriate legal process, if applicable,” the email said.

“Undercover police investigations, among many tools, remain an effective technique to thwart the commission of serious crimes and solve historical crimes. The focus is on uncovering the truth, verifying facts and determining if anyone is involved .”

Allies offer 'just a crumb' of intelligence: document

The strategy document says intelligence-led policing is critical to the RCMP's counter-terrorism efforts, including combating IMVE. While it says the RCMP receives intelligence documents from Canadian and foreign partners, much of it cannot be used because key pieces of information are missing from them.

“We often get just a crumb – perhaps a name and some suspicious activity – but not enough to start a real investigation,” the document said. “Building our own internal intelligence capacity would allow us to use intelligence with far fewer restrictions.”

The IMVE strategy says the RCMP operational improvement review states the RCMP must move away from terrorism charges as the gold standard. Instead, the report says police should deploy public safety and disruption techniques such as alternative charges, inadmissibility proceedings under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, terrorism peace bonds or de-escalation and mental health interventions.

Barbara Perry, director of the Center on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, said the strategy is overdue and that most Western countries are far ahead of Canada in countering IMVE threats.

She said there has been an “atomization of the movement,” with those drawn to ideological extremism now less likely to join defined groups than in the past, making them harder for law enforcement to monitor.

“They are exposed to these narratives: xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, anti-feminist, anti-woman, you name it,” Perry said. “They are exposed to it online and offline, and they adopt some of those pieces as a way of making sense of what they see and how they understand the world, without necessarily being affiliated with a particular group, without joining a certain group or give it a name.”

Perry said the election of Donald Trump as US president in 2016 led to a wave of right-wing extremism, while the election of Barack Obama in 2008 resulted in “a dramatic growth of white supremacist groups.”

Garth Davies, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University and an expert on violent extremism, said he is also concerned that the US campaign is leading to an increase in IMVE threats north of the border.

“Like many people, I am nervous about the election south of the border because it will certainly have an impact on Canada and will likely be problematic at the political level,” he said.

Davies said Canada's legal landscape has made it more difficult for national security organizations to conduct undercover operations online, but they are necessary.

“It doesn't happen much, but I would suggest to you that a step in that direction is necessary and will take a long time,” he said.

“There will be concerns that will be raised. There's no doubt about that. But it is counterproductive to handcuff our national security and intelligence services and not allow them to function in a space where extremists operate very openly.”

Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, said the RCMP's online activities have been problematic in the past. He cited the privacy commissioner's concerns and Mounties' use of fake Facebook profiles to surveil Black Lives Matter and Idle No More activists.

“It's good to see that the RCMP is working on a strategy to address IMVE and recognize that this is one of the biggest threats to Canadians,” he said. “We are generally concerned about the way the RCMP and the government in general have historically attempted to address violent extremism and ensure civil liberties are protected.”