Developing a  Modernized Federal Response Plan for Canadians Victimized Abroad in Acts of Mass Violence:

How Canada can address the needs of cross-border victims based on international best practices


“Developing a  Modernized Federal Response Plan for Canadians Victimized Abroad in Acts of Mass Violence” is an educational initiative of the Canadian Security Research Group in partnership with the Canadian Coalition Against Terror made possible with a grant from the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.

March 2022

Part I: The Needs of the Cross-Border Victims and the Current Systems Across the Five Eyes

Executive Summary 

Canadian citizens have long been victim to terrorist attacks, both at home and abroad. Despite this long-standing phenomenon, there is a pressing policy gap when it comes to these Canadians that are victimized abroad (“cross-border victims”). With multiple jurisdictions involved, and little to no policy direction, these vulnerable individuals can frequently fall through the cracks, without having their needs met nor respected.

With transnational terrorism ever-present and growing, it is more important than ever to ensure that Canada has a comprehensive and coherent policy to address the dynamic needs of Canadians who are victimized abroad. This two-part report series aims to assist in closing this gap, and to begin the process of developing a comprehensive, federal, victims-centred policy with respect to Canadians victimized abroad in acts of terrorism, war, and mass violence.

This first report undertakes a comprehensive review of the relevant literature and identifies and expounds on the well-established needs of these victims: emergency response, respect and recognition, protection, support including information, access to justice, and compensation and restoration.  It also reviews existing systems that are presently used to address cross-border victims needs across the Five Eyes; namely, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

This will lay the groundwork for the forthcoming “Part II” of the series, which will analyze these systems in connection with each other and with the literature, and consider how they address victims’ needs. This forthcoming analysis will ultimately discern a series of best practices that will illuminate how governments should best address the dynamic needs of cross-border victims over time. The best practices will ultimately ground specific recommendations for Canada, to assist in the development of a comprehensive, federal, victims-centred policy with respect to Canadians victimized abroad in acts of terrorism, war, and mass violence.

Part II: Analysis of the Five Eyes’ Systems for Addressing Cross-Border Victims’ Needs –

Discerning Best Practices and Proposing Targeted Recommendations for Canada 

Executive Summary 

Canadian citizens have long been victim to terrorist attacks, both at home and abroad. Despite this long-standing phenomenon, there is a pressing policy gap when it comes to these Canadians that are victimized abroad. With multiple jurisdictions involved, and little to no policy direction, these vulnerable individuals can frequently fall through the cracks, without having their needs met nor respected. 

With transnational terrorism ever-present and growing, it is more important than ever to ensure that Canada has a comprehensive and coherent policy to address the dynamic needs of Canadians victimized abroad. This report aims to assist in closing this gap, and to begin the process of developing a comprehensive, federal, victims-centred policy with respect to Canadians victimized abroad in acts of terrorism, war, and mass violence.

In “Part I. The Needs of Cross-Border Victims and the Current Systems Across the Five Eyes” we undertook a comprehensive review of the literature and the current systems across the Five Eyes to identify and explain the needs of cross-border victims and the current systems at play to address those needs.

This lay the groundwork for this present report –Part II of the series– which analyzes the current systems across the Five Eyes, in connection with each other and with the literature, to examine how the various Five Eyes’ systems are presently addressing (or not addressing) cross-border victims’ needs. These analyses discern a series of best practices that illuminate how governments should best address the dynamic needs of cross-border victims over time. These best practices then ground specific recommendations for Canada.