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In March 2016, Bob Paulson, at the time RCMP Commissioner, was giving testimony to a House of Commons committee about returning Canadian ISIS fighters. He said the following: "If we're not getting the evidence, are we satisfying the safety issues by surveillance and other techniques while we collect the evidence, or are there alternative ways of keeping communities safe by direct interventions with the individual or his family?"

It was jaw-dropping. Canada's top law enforcement official had publicly stated that if a member of ISIS - an organization that has threatened to attack Canada and Canadians - returns to Canadian soil, is apologetic and has a mother or psychiatrist to vouch for him, then the cops will make the discretionary choice not to charge him.