Integrated Security Unit

An Integrated Safety and Security Group (ISSG; French: Groupe intégré de la sécurité - GIS), formerly known as an Integrated Security Unit (ISU), is a unified and coordinated task force comprising multiple law enforcement agencies in Canada. It is responsible for coordinating the safety and security for major national and international events, including the G7 Summit and the Olympics. This administrative and operational entity was first created by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 2003.
In 2003, the RCMP formed an ISSG for the 2010 Winter Olympics and for the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver. Subsequently, another ISSG was formed for the 2009 World Police and Fire Games. In 2010, the RCMP formed an ISSG to coordinate security planning and operations for the 36th G8 Summit in Huntsville (Ontario) and the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto (Ontario). In 2015, an ISSG was activated for the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games held in Ontario. In 2018, the RCMP formed an ISSG to support the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec. Finally, in 2024, an ISSG has been created to lead safety and security efforts to the 2025 G7 Summit, to be held in Kananaskis, Alberta.
012009 World Police and Fire Games
The 13th World Police and Fire Games were held at Metro Vancouver in the summer of 2009. For the protection of international athletes and due to the presence of firearms in competition, importation of pharmaceutical products, and other restricted articles under Canadian law, the BC2009WPFGISU was formed to integrate all regulatory function.
Members included:
022010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games
The initial Integrated Safety and Security Group, then known as Integrated Security Unit, was established in 2003.
The Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (V2010 ISU or VISU) was initially started with a budget of $175 million CAD, the final expenditure was over $900 million. Private security cost $100 million.
The unit consisted of approximately 16,000 police, military and private security personnel:
- 4,000 RCMP personnel
- 1,700 members of 120 police and law enforcement agencies across Canada, including:
- Vancouver Police Department
- West Vancouver Police Department
- Victoria Police Department
- Central Saanich Police Service
- Saanich Police Department
- Delta Police Department
- South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (Transit Police Service)
- Nelson Police Department
- British Columbia Conservation Officer Service
- British Columbia Corrections Branch
- British Columbia Sheriff Services
- Canada Border Services Agency
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service
- Alberta Sheriffs Branch
- Ontario Provincial Police
- Sûreté du Québec
- Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
- Calgary Police
- Edmonton Police Service
- Taber Police Service
- Winnipeg Police Service
- Brandon Police Service
- Hamilton Police Service
- Saguenay Police
- St-Eustache Police Service
- Ottawa Police Service
- Toronto Police Service
- York Regional Police
- Peel Regional Police
- Waterloo Regional Police Service
- Stratford Police Service
- Service de police de la Ville de Montréal
- Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
- Hanover Police Service
- West Grey Police Service
- 5,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces
- 4,800 private security screeners (Contemporary International [United States], United Protection Security Group [Canada], and Aeroguard [Canada]),
- Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association
- NORAD
The unit was scaled down to 750 local RCMP officers, 500 military personnel and less than 6,000 private security personnel for the Paralympic Games.
032010 G8/G20 summits
The Toronto Police, Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP, York Regional Police and the Peel Regional Police had formed an ISU for the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto, along with help from Canadian Armed Forces.
The Toronto Police Service and the OPP focused on providing policing at the G20 Summit site in downtown Toronto and immediate security zone. As for Toronto Pearson International Airport, the Canadian Armed Forces and Peel Regional Police focused their operations within the airport and its perimeter. For the G8 Summit in Huntsville (Ontario), the OPP, the RCMP and the Canadian Forces provided the main security coverage.
Approximately 1,600 police officers were mobilized from outside the Grand Toronto Area (GTA):
042015 Pan American Games, Toronto
The ISU was activated again for the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games held in the Greater Toronto Area. It consisted of 10 police units:
- Ontario Provincial Police
- Toronto Police Service
- Hamilton Police Service
- Durham Regional Police
- Peel Regional Police
- York Regional Police
- Niagara Regional Police
- Halton Regional Police
- South Simcoe Police Service
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Additional units included:
The OPP was the lead agency of the ISU for this event.
052018 G7 Summit
An ISU was activated for the 2018 G7 Summit held in La Malbaie, QC. The RCMP was the lead agency and partnered with the following agencies:
- Canadian Armed Forces
- Sûreté du Québec
- Service de police de la Ville de Québec (Quebec City Police Service)
- Service de sécurité publique de Saguenay (Saguenay Police Service)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Integrated Security Unit”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Security guard training at a portal at the Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village.jpg by Earl Andrew (talk), Public domain
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