Local officials to heighten security on Canada Day amid ISIS threat

Local officials say all necessary measures are being taken to ensure that crowds celebrating Canada’s 150^th birthday in Toronto this weekend will be kept safe, after it came to light that ISIS specifically mentioned Canada as a potential target in recent months.

Thousands of people are expected to turn out at various celebrations across the city Saturday to mark Canada’s sesquicentennial. Events include large celebrations at Nathan Phillips Square, Woodbine Beach and dozens of other spots across the GTA.

“I had a full briefing from the chief of police and some senior officials last week and I’m satisfied without getting into the details – because you normally don’t tell people what security measures you put in place – that I’m satisfied that they are doing everything that is responsible and appropriate to make sure the people of Toronto are kept safe,” Mayor John Tory told reporters on Thursday.

The comments come after a national security memo obtained by CTV News Tuesday noted Canada and the U.S. were explicitly named as targets by ISIS after the attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England in May.

The memo said ISIS threatened to use explosives, vehicles and beheadings to kill “crusaders.”

The threat did not mention Canada Day celebrations or any particular city specifically and sources told CTV News that there are no specific or credible plots concerning Canada day that they are aware of.

Still, the memo urged increased security at local gatherings across the country.

Country’s threat level unchanged

Toronto police told CP24 that security services are working “around the clock” to identify any potential threats to the city.

“We have a lot of experience in planning for large events on an annual basis,” Toronto Police Spokesperson Mark Pugash said Thursday. “We are extremely well-connected with law enforcement and intelligence locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. We have people who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week monitoring any possible threats against the city. We are always reviewing our security plans and we make changes wherever necessary.”

Pugash added that while security preparations for large events require lots of planning, the Toronto Police Service has as much experience handling public safety as any other organization in the country.

“This is not something that is different or unique. We get new information, new issues all the time. We respond, we adapt, we adjust,” he said.

While the ISIS threat prompted a call for increased local security, one expert told CP24 that he doesn’t believe Torontonians should be any more worried than they normally are about the possibility of attacks.

“The threat level hasn’t changed,” security expert John Thompson said. “We’re still at a medium level of threat. However the big problem these days is not the big, well-organized terrorist attack. We’re really good at stopping those. It’s the spontaneous attack or the near-spontaneous attack with vehicles and with knives and that’s much harder to defend against and one of the reasons the police are basically calling out everyone they can.”

Thompson said people could see increased security in the form of more officers cicrculating through crowds or restrictions on where vehicles can go.

While security officials won’t discuss the specifics of the threat, Thompson said that’s probably for good reason and added that he plans to be out celebrating in the city himself on Saturday night.

“The threat isn’t that severe. I live near here and I intend to be celebrating at Nathan Phillips Square myself,” he said.

Canadians can be confident in security agencies: Trudeau

Speaking in Toronto on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounded a similar tone and said people should feel confident to be out celebrating Canada’s big birthday this weekend.

“Canadians can have confidence in their government, in the excellent national security agencies, in the police services that do a great job of protecting us in our homes, in our communities right across the country every single day,” Trudeau said.

“Every year, we step up around Canada Day to ensure that everything is done to keep Canadians safe and I want to make sure that people are at ease, that they will be able to celebrate – with their families, with their neighbours, with perfect strangers – this extraordinary country.”

While the threat level has not been elevated ahead of Canada Day festivities, ordinary citizens are nevertheless being advised to remain vigilant in case they spot anything suspicious.

“I think the real message to the people of Toronto is this: they should be vigilant and they should watch for people who look like they’re engaged in activities that they shouldn’t be,” Tory said. “At the same time they should also be confident that we have excellent intelligence services in this country.

“We have an excellent police service here which locally implements safety measures they think are in the best interest of keeping people safe at large events or just in everyday life and that I’m confident that that’s exactly what’s being done.”

- With files from CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson