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Jamaica is among several countries in which Canada’s special forces are undertaking training missions, as they become the “go-to” choice of the federal government for a host of global security tasks.

But while these forces are both skilled and respected among western militaries, critics want to know a lot more about how they are being used.

Special forces handle a range of unique missions, such as hostage rescue; dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; raiding enemy compounds; and battling terrorists who have seized aircraft, buildings, or ships. No surprise they are considered ideal for training foreign counter-terrorism forces.

As well, they can be quickly sent overseas and are typically small, so they are less costly than more cumbersome conventional forces. Special forces soldiers are adept at operating in difficult and rugged conditions, and don’t need the large-scale support of a regular army.

Their missions make some secrecy inevitable. But that fact also gives the government carte blanche in deciding what it wants to reveal, if anything, about their actions. Although special forces are under military and, ultimately, government command, there is no formal independent oversight, as there is with similar covert organizations such as Canada’s spy agencies.

“Neither the public nor Parliament has any real idea of where these forces are working and what the implications are for our national security policy,” said retired Col. Pat Stogran, who worked with Canadian special forces when he led Canada’s first mission to Afghanistan in 2002. “The less transparent you make things, the more susceptible it is to being abused.”