Terrorism threat level heightened in Canada

The 2007 Aon Terrorism Threat Map shows that Canadas threat levels have increased from 2006 even though the map shows a weakening of the Islamist terrorist group Al Qaeda, as well as the other groups operating under its umbrella.The global war on terrorism seems to have disrupted the command and control mechanisms of the groups, fragmenting the cells, Paul Bassett, executive director of Aon Crisis Management, said in a statement.This has a downside, however, in that the many and varied plots are often unrelated, he said, adding that, vigilence is now as critical as ever.On the flip side, as terror networks become more fragmented and less coordinated, intelligence and counter-terrorism authorities appear to be becoming more coordinated and organised on a global basis, an Aon statement says. The implications for businesses are significant, he stressed. Businesses need to realise that the level and the shape of the risk is constantly evolving, he warned.France and the United Kingdom also had their threat levels raised.The map assesses the threat but does take into account of mitigation, for example, the effectiveness of local counter-terrorism or security force infrastructure.