RCMP plans to go undercover online to trap violent extremists

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

Experts in 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 having officers carry out undercover investigations online using fake personas could violate charter rights or lead people to take actions they otherwise might not take.

They point out that the RCMP ran afoul of Canada's privacy commissioner earlier this year with other online investigative activities. They're also calling 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 cover anything 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 counter threats to national security, it also outlines the RCMP's plans to take its investigations beyond simply watching what is posted online.

"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," says the strategy document.

"Federal Policing National Security (FPNS) is currently taking steps to address this recommendation through proactive legend-building and backstopping personas, but this work needs to be prioritized and accelerated in order to meet future demand for online undercover activities."

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

"Should Federal Policing expand its online undercover and intelligence capacity in the IMVE space, there will be a need for additional online personas, monikers, and information technology equipment to sustain these activities," says the document.

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 fake identities are conducting undercover online investigations.

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

"The RCMP uses various technical investigative tools and methods to lawfully obtain evidence in order to protect Canadians and advance serious criminal investigations," the RCMP said in an e-mail 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 its use of undercover operations.

"All undercover operations are unique and assessed independently, subjected to extensive planning, review, monitoring and approval processes, and the use of any investigative tools by the RCMP is governed by the [Charter of Rights and Freedoms] and subject to appropriate judicial processes, if applicable," says the email.

"Undercover police investigations, among many tools, remain an effective technique to thwart the commission of serious crime and resolve historic offences. The focus is on uncovering the truth, verifying facts and determining if someone is involved."

Allies offer 'just a crumb' of intelligence: document

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

"We are often given just a crumb — maybe a name and some suspicious activity — but not enough to start a real investigation," says the document. "Building our own in-house intelligence capacity would allow us to use intelligence with far fewer restrictions."

The IMVE strategy says the RCMP's operational improvement review states the RCMP should move away from terrorism charges as the gold standard. Instead, it says police should pursue 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 Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, said the strategy is overdue and most Western countries are far ahead of Canada in countering IMVE threats.

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

"They're being exposed to these narratives, xenophobia, homophobic, transphobic, antifeminist, anti-woman, you name it," said Perry. "They're being exposed to them online, offline, and they're adopting some of those pieces as a way to make sense of what they're seeing and how they're understanding the world without necessarily affiliating with a particular group, without joining or naming any particular group."

Perry said Donald Trump's election as U.S. president in 2016 led to a surge in right-wing extremism, while Barack Obama's election in 2008 resulted in "a dramatic growth in white supremacist groups."

Garth Davies, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University and an expert on violent extremism, said he also worries about the U.S. campaign driving an increase in IMVE threats north of the border.

"Like a lot of people, I am nervous about the election south of the border because it will definitely have repercussions for Canada and they're likely to be problematic on a political level," he said.

Davies said Canada's legal landscape has made it more difficult for national security organizations to carry out undercover operations online, but they're needed.

"It doesn't happen very much but I would suggest to you that a move in that direction is required and is a long time coming," he said.

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

Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, said the RCMP's online operations have been problematic in the past. He cited the privacy commissioner's concerns and Mounties' use of fake Facebook profiles to monitor 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 recognizing that it is one of the leading threats to Canadians," he said. "We have concerns overall about how the RCMP and the government in general has tried to address violent extremism in the past and ensuring that civil liberties are protected."