Soft on Terror

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attack, our government seemed more concerned with preserving the status quo than strengthening our defences against terrorism. Lawrence MacAuley, the Solicitor-General, for instance, suggested he would fast-track legislation taking away the charitable status of known terrorist fronts, but did not want to make a "mistake" by moving too quickly and actually outlawing these organizations. Elinor Caplan, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, responded to those who called for tough new immigration and refugee policies by denouncing them vaguely as "anti-immigrant, anti-everything."

But, to their credit, Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, and the members of his Cabinet are now showing signs of mobilization. Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice, is promising new anti-terrorist legislation. Art Eggleton, Minister of Defence, has declared he wants to beef up our sorry military machine. Martin Cauchon, Minister of Revenue, is studying ways to improve border security while maintaining the flow of commerce between Canada and the United States. Even Ms. Caplan has abandoned her first-blush rhetorical response -- that "our laws are amongst the toughest in the world when it comes to inadmissibility for criminality and terrorism" -- and is now calling for a heightened state of security at Canada's ports of entry.

These policy initiatives are all welcome. But they are not enough. What we need is a fundamental shift in psychology -- an end to the prickly hubris and self-importance that has characterized our government's attitude toward legitimate U.S. security and foreign policy objectives. The war on terrorism signals an acceleration in the process of continental integration. As historian Michael Bliss wrote in the National Post on Saturday, "Although we may still chant the camp songs of Canadian sovereignty, there is probably no turning back. We are heading toward some kind of greater North American union."

Ordinary Canadians already know this, for the events of Sept. 11 have made them realize how petty their nationalist insecurities are in the larger scheme of things. In response to a recent poll, more than three-quarters of respondents said they believe their world has been transformed. Nearly 60% say they have no fear of giving up some of Canada's sovereignty as the price of increasing overall security; and the same number back Canadian participation in the war on terrorism. Given these attitudes, the government's agenda should be clear. In order to maintain free and unfettered trade with the United States while defending the continent from terrorists, we should co-operate in the erection of a continent-wide perimeter that entails uniform security and immigration policies. More than half of polled Canadians support this project. Our government should, too.

The most urgent area for reform is our refugee policy. On Friday, the Post reported that Citizenship and Immigration Canada has at least 27,000 outstanding deportation warrants from the last five years for foreigners whose refugee claims were rejected. These people could be in Canada, they might be abroad -- no one knows. "I cannot tell you that we know because, I've explained over and over, we do not have exit controls," an immigration official said. If the agency had such controls, said the official, Canada might become "a police state." But that fear is misplaced, for our policies are absurdly lax. Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian man with known terrorist connections, was permitted to remain in Canada for several years after his asylum claim was rejected. If not for alert U.S. customs officials, he might have succeeded in his plan to blow up Los Angeles International Airport. A Moroccan man working out of the same Montreal cell, Said Atmani, is now on trial in Paris for his activities in Bosnia. Mr. Atmani filed a refugee claim in Canada in 1995. Though it was refused, he was permitted to remain in Montreal for another three years. And then there is Nabil Al-Marabh, a suspected operative in Osama bin Laden's organization who is thought to have connections to at least two of the Sept. 11 hijackers. Although he had been turned down for refugee status in 1994, he re-entered Canada after stabbing a man in Boston. When he was caught with forged travel documents, an immigration adjudicator released him into the care of an Islamic priest.

The federal Liberal party will also have to change its benign attitude toward Canadian groups that have links to terrorist organizations. In plain sight, Liberal MPs have supported the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), which has been identified by the U.S. government and by our intelligence agency as a front for the Tamil Tigers, a terror and military organization that regularly uses suicide bombers against civilian targets in Sri Lanka. In June, 2000, Tiger supporters in Canada held an outdoor party celebrating the Tigers' recent campaigns. Jim Karygiannis, a Toronto-area Liberal MP, proudly attended this celebration and hoisted the Canadian flag alongside the Tamil Tiger flag. Imagine the uproar if Mr. Karygiannis had raised the Maple Leaf next to the flag of Hamas or al Qaeda. Yet the Tigers have killed more people than both of these organizations combined. Despite this, neither Mr. Chrétien's government nor the Liberal Party of Canada have done or said anything publicly to distance themselves from Mr. Karygiannis.

Canada's lax policy on the financing of terrorism is not just bad policy, it is also out of step with the community of civilized nations. On Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1373, which requires that all states shall "criminalize the wilful provision or collection, by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds should be used, or in the knowledge that they are to be used, in order to carry out terrorist acts." Though we are often skeptical of UN instruments, this is one we expect Canada to respect.

In the past, the Liberal government has been loath to take any anti-terrorist measure that might be interpreted as an effort to "stigmatize" minority communities. Last May, for instance, opposition MPs were smeared as racists when they asked why Paul Martin, Minister of Finance, and Maria Minna, Minister of International Development, attended a Toronto event sponsored by FACT. But the time for such multicultural posturing came to a definitive end on Sept. 11. The Canadian government must overhaul refugee and immigration laws to ensure we are not harbouring more Ahmed Ressams and Mohamed Attas. And it must create strict new financing laws that ensure Canada does not remain a lucrative cash source for their bagmen. It is time to put old reflexes to one side and focus on the deadly threat posed by terrorism.

The first and best thing that could be done would be to remove Elinor Caplan from any decision-making whatsoever related to this issue. She is the most fanatical knee-jerk reactionary to anything that might have the slightest (and I mean the slightest) hint of "racism". Promptly deport bogus refugee claimants who have had their day in court and have lost? Racist! Strongly tighten immigration rules? Racist! Deport lawful immigrants who have brought their crap-hole countries' problems to Canada and then continued their terrorist activities from within? Racist! Work with the U.S. to put Middle Eastern immigrants and travellers under the microscope at the border? Gosh no... that would be Racist! She and Al Sharpton should hook up. They have to be the only two people that would believe each other's Bullsh**. The arrogant, self-involved feelings of Jean Chretien notwithstanding, my guess is the vast majority of Canadians would like nothing more than to see Ms. Caplan hooked up to parachute and dropped over Kabul.

Our biggest problem is the enemy within......: All the people who elevated PC and anti-hate and profiling and diversity and ACLU above our basic values of fairness and rule of law. Those people will be the biggest obstacle to making America safe.

my guess is the vast majority of Canadians would like nothing more than to see Ms. Caplan hooked up to parachute and dropped over Kabul.

My guess is the vast majority of Canadians wouldn't recognize Ms. Caplan's name.......

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