The government is spending more on new surveillance equipment in response to the fallout from the Paris attacks, as the number of terrorism-related cases has skyrocketed.
In addition to the new equipment, the government is also spending $6 million to improve access to emergency medical care, which is also expected to increase the number and severity of terrorism cases.
As of Monday, there were more than 5,000 terrorism-associated cases in Canada, according to data from Statistics Canada.
That’s up from just over 2,500 cases in December 2016.
While many of the cases involve terrorism-linked cases, there are still about 10,000 cases in total, according a report from the Canadian Press.
The increase in cases in 2017 is partly due to increased reporting of terrorism, said Canada’s Minister of National Defence Gen. David Deptula.
“This is a result of increased reporting and better surveillance and prevention,” he said in a statement.
The increase in terrorism cases has coincided with a spike in cases from the United States, which has seen more than 7,000 terror-related incidents.
The U.S. has been on a national state of emergency since the January 6 attacks in New York City, and there are concerns about a new wave of attacks from Islamic State.
There have also been more than a dozen shootings across the country, including one in Canada’s capital, Ottawa.
More than $10 million has been allocated for new equipment to increase surveillance and response capabilities.
The government says it is investing about $8.7 million in the equipment and $2.3 million in funding for community policing, which will include more resources to use to help prevent and respond to terrorism-inspired attacks.
The Department of National Defense has allocated $10.5 million to upgrade surveillance equipment to improve its ability to identify potential terrorists, the Associated Press reported.
Another $5.4 million will be used to help police agencies develop a “community-based response framework” to help communities identify threats, such as people who may be acting alone, and then act to mitigate those threats.
A $1.4 billion increase in funding is also coming from the federal government to beef up its national policing plan, which includes a $1 billion increase for training, equipment, and funding for police.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the $4.5 billion plan is needed because of a “critical gap in the country’s counterterrorism capabilities,” which have not been properly integrated into the national security strategy.
