Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSET; , ''EISN'') are

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

counterterrorist Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to com ...

, counter-

foreign interference Foreign electoral interventions (FEI) are attempts by a government to influence the elections of another country. Common methods include backing a preferred party or candidate, harming the electoral chances of another party or candidate, elevati ...

, and

counter-espionage Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...

units operating under the auspices of

Public Safety Canada Public Safety Canada (PS; , SP), legally incorporated as the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEPC), is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for (most) matters of public safety, emergency management, nat ...

. These federal investigative teams were formed in 2002 in response to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Canadian provinces will have National Security Enforcement Sections (NSES) instead of an INSET in places that do not have a large city.

Organization

INSET units are made up of personnel from the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

(RCMP),

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; , ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border guard, border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and Customs, customs services in Canada. ...

(CBSA),

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; , ''SCRS'') is a Intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service and security agency of the Government of Canada, federal government of Canada. It is responsible for gathering, processing, a ...

(CSIS), and

police forces The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

at the municipal and provincial levels. These units are tasked with investigating criminal national security matters domestically and internationally. INSET units are known to operate in and around

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Mandate

The mandate of INSET units is as follows: # Increase the capacity to collect, share and analyze intelligence among partners, with respect to targets (individuals) that are a threat to national security. # To create an enhanced enforcement capacity to bring such targets to justice. # Enhance partner agencies' collective ability to combat national security threats and meet specific mandate responsibilities.

History

INSET units were established in 2002 after the September 11 attacks. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver NSES units were changed to be INSETs in response to the attacks. An INSET unit operating in Toronto played a major role in the capture of 17 terror suspects on June 2, 2006. In 2012, INSETs were tasked to secure Albertan energy infrastructure from all attacks. On May 6, 2022, the RCMP announced that an INSET unit arrested an unnamed individual with officers from the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section (OPP PATS) and the Windsor Police Service for contributing to terrorist activity. In April 2022, several unnamed RCMP officers resigned from an INSET unit after they were ordered to arrest a suspect by the

without being told why. On January 24, 2024, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is reportedly investigating a shooting incident at Edmonton City Hall concerning a Canadian Corps of Commissionaires (CCC) employee named Bezhani Sarvar alongside an INSET unit.

References

{{authority control Federal departments and agencies of Canada Security

Organization

Mandate

History

See also

References