Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney will soon table a bill that will give Canada's national security agencies greater capabilities to track terrorists abroad.
One part of the bill will allow security agencies to exchange information, Blaney told CTV's Question Period in an interview that aired Sunday.
Another part of the bill will ensure that "those who are working with our intelligence (agencies) can be protected, just as a police officer's sources are protected," Blaney said.
"We need that legal, sound basis so we can have the tools that are needed to keep us safe."
Last week, Blaney told Parliament's public safety committee that he would bring forward new measures for monitoring terrorists, but offered no details.
Paul Taillon, an ex-soldier and former officer with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said the issue of confidentiality for contacts is a key component of complicated anti-terror investigations.
A contact is likely operating in a far-off country and could be a member of a terror group, and no investigator wants to expose his or her sources in court.
"You have to protect those contacts," Taillon told CTV QP host Robert Fife. "One has to be cognizant of the security (situation) they are in."
Threat 'real, not imminent'
Blaney also responded to recent reports that raised the possibility of extremist "knife-and-gun" attacks in Canada, including public beheadings.
CTV News reported last week that the federal government has increased security at key public buildings, including the United States Embassy in Ottawa, over concerns of potential attacks.
NBC News had also reported about a potential range of terror attacks on Canadian soil, from an attack on an unnamed shopping mall to attacks on American citizens or the U.S. Embassy. NBC later removed those references from its story.
Asked whether the threat of public attacks, including beheadings, in Canada is serious, Blaney replied that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service assesses all "rumours."
"There is information circulating and the threat is always assessed by CSIS, and the threat is evolving," Blaney said. He added that he takes CSIS director Michel Coulombe at his word when he says that "'the threat is real, but not imminent.'"
'A complicated process'
Also last week, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson told the public safety committee that there are 63 ongoing investigations into more than 90 suspected extremists who either plan to join terror activities abroad, or who have returned to Canada.
Earlier this year, a report issued by Blaney's department said the government was aware of more than 130 individuals who had travelled abroad and were suspected of engaging in terror-related activities.
Asked why authorities have not arrested any of the suspected extremists on Canadian soil, Blaney said law enforcement must follow a proper investigative process to ensure convictions.
"This is a process…we are a democracy," Blaney told Question Period. "We are building evidence and when we are laying charges we want them to stick and we want them to be converted into sentence."
Pierre-Yves Bourduas, former deputy commissioner of the RCMP, told Question Period that it's "a very complicated process to gather the necessary evidence" to make a case against a terror suspect.
Bourduas cautioned that there is a difference between a "perceived threat and a real threat," and law enforcement will monitor each suspect to determine which category they fit into.
Law enforcement agencies also run outreach programs to open a dialogue with members of the community, he said.
"If there are elements in the communities that could potentially cause problems, then the outreach program allows this exchange of information."
CTV Question Period airs Sunday at 11 am ET, check local listings
