RCMP and CSIS deserve praise

Opinion (Calgary Herald) – It has become de rigueur to be down on the RCMP — and rightly so, after the much-publicized tragedies of the Robert Dziekanski incident and the Air India bombing, their role in Maher Arar’s deportation to Syria by the U.S., and the managerial bungling that resulted in four young Mounties dying in Mayerthorpe. Not to mention the recent airing of political dirty laundry and infighting over Commissioner William Elliott’s management style.

Yet that doesn’t mean the RCMP is doing everything wrong. The above incidents caused a lot of Canadians to lose confidence in the force, but when Canada’s iconic Mounties get their man, they deserve credit for the hard slogging they do out of sight of the public. Such credit is more than deserved this week with the news that the RCMP have broken up a possible Ottawa terrorist cell allegedly with links to al-Qaeda. The cell is thought to have been readying a terrorist attack on Canada.

Nabbing alleged terrorists and thwarting a potential attack on home soil is the product of tedious, patient intelligence and surveillance work. The rewards may be slow in coming, but in the end, they are well worth waiting for, and they represent months of diligent toil. The RCMP, along with CSIS, helped prevent certain mayhem and death with the Toronto 18 arrests and convictions and here is yet more evidence that their vital work continues. We should all be grateful.