To understand the organized crime phenomenon in Canada, it is not only necessary to grasp the workings of the country’s various criminal markets, but also to have an appreciation for the principal entities that drive these markets: organized crime groups. It is therefore necessary to understand the inner workings of groups (i.e. structure), their membership, the relationships between groups, as well as the various tools and methods they use in the commission of their criminal endeavours such as violence, cross-border operations and technology.