Security vs. Immigration in Canada
WALLER, HAROLD M.
After September 11 Security vs. Immigration in By Harold M.Waller Montreal A? ITS NEAREST point, Canada lies a mere 400 miles north of New York City. So it did not take long for Canadians...
...Of course debt repayment, a key priority for several years, willbe delayed...
...suppression of evidence to protect classified information...
...He hopes the previously projected surplus will cover the new spending commitments, and that the economy will hold up well enough to prevent a deficit...
...With bilateral trade now valued at approximately $1 billion daily, the economic cost of such delays is something Canada cannot bear...
...Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, who traveled to the Middle East in the fall, went so far as to make the distinction between types of terrorism explicit, provoking intense criticism...
...they have always been wary of...
...The real test for the political system will be whether the reduction in liberty is abused, and whether it proves to be temporary...
...Canadians are realizing that for them geography is destiny...
...What will change—what must change— is our ability to identify and exclude those who come to Canada fraudulently for whatever reason...
...The move ran into trouble when, in deference to pressure from several Arab states, an attempt was made to draw a distinction between the military and charitable wings of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas...
...Threats and warnings of further terrorist actions, in fact, now routinely include Canada as a possible target...
...Admittedly, Canada hardly qualifies as a Satan, Great or otherwise...
...The Catch-22 is that the Korean War marked Canada's last serious involvement in a military conflict...
...Since then, except for a minor contribution to the Gulf War, its main reason for deploying troops overseas has been peacekeeping...
...consecutive sentencing...
...Harold M. Waller, who writes for the NL on Canadian affairs, is a professor of political science at McGill University...
...Such talk had abated, but started up again after September 11...
...is an overpowering neighbor...
...Moreover, the financial demands of major domestic programs, such as health and education, have left the Canadian Forces badly underfunded and generally unprepared for a significant combat role...
...the country's history is replete with situations in which it was forced to define itself in juxtaposition to the U. S. The difference is that the question today is whether the pressures for integration will become so great that they can no longer be withstood...
...No doubt it will also be part of the postwar peacekeeping force...
...But after September 11, the long run has suddenly become a pressing concern for thinking citizens...
...It has become a source of friction with Washington, for potential illegal migrants to the United States often present themselves in Canada as refugees fleeing persecution...
...So it did not take long for Canadians from coast to coast to realize that terrorism is a serious threat to them too...
...Some two dozen Canadians who were employed at the World Trade Center in New York did perish on September 11...
...Canadians are aware of how European nations have relinquished aspects of their sovereignty to be part of a united Europe...
...In sum, Canadians have reason to fear that the exigencies of the post-September 11 situation are propelling them into the kind of relationship with the U.S...
...Canada is also sharply increasing spending on security, not only by adding personnel at border posts but by stationing more immigration officers at overseas diplomatic posts to sift out undesirables before they reach its shores...
...An example would be Ahmed Ressam, the Algerian who used Canada as a base and then tried to enter the U. S. in 1999 to carry out a terrorist attack in Los Angeles...
...dollar as the country's currency...
...Butpast surpluses have already served to lower the debt to around 50 per cent of the GDP, from about 75 per cent just five years ago...
...The easiest way out was simply to assert "we aren't Americans," and leave it at that...
...probably will require a reexamination of the meaning of Canadian sovereignty...
...economy, has taken a substantial hit...
...Over the years, especially as many aspects of Canadian and American life converged, what seemed to unite the citizens of this country was a conviction that somehow they remained different from their neighbors to the south...
...Thus they are placing greater emphasis on "continental security," or having the two countries take a common approach on the entry of third country nationals...
...The incident highlighted one of the glaring inconsistencies of Canadian foreign policy: While the government has enthusiasticallyjoined in the struggle against Osama bin Laden and AI Qaeda, it has been somewhat ambivalent about Palestinian terrorism directed against Israel...
...Often they cited universal medical care, orcharacterized their country as a kinder, gentler version of the U.S., or noted the virtues of a multicultural society based on the heritage of two founding linguistic groups...
...Altogether, these advances barely make a dent in the military's wish list, prompting Bercuson to comment that "the only military capability this government excels at is camouflage...
...The reflexive distancing from the U.S...
...As a result, there was an extensive reassessment of anumber of government policies and its effects are likely to be felt for a long time...
...Martin acknowledged that the economy, which is closely tied to the U.S...
...Additional funds are also being provided for equipment, especially to protect against the effects of an unconventional attack...
...In Afghanistan, Canada's participation has consisted of support personnel, four naval vessels in the Arabian Sea, and a small number of crack antiterrorist troops on the ground...
...During the first few days following the tragedy there were rumors that some of the hijackers had entered the U.S...
...from Canada, a charge later disproved...
...Its more controversial provisions include preventive arrests for limited periods based on reasonable suspicions that terrorist activities will be carried out...
...In his new budget...
...Still, given its close alignment with the United States politically and its geographical location, an attack on the U.S...
...Its inability to recover led some economists to advocate "dollarization," the adoption of the U.S...
...expanded police wiretapping powers...
...preventive detention and compulsory testimony—have sunset clauses after five years...
...At some point soon Canada will have to decide whether its compassion has enabled crafty plotters to play it for a patsy...
...Meanwhile, one of the most visible effects of the terrorism is the concern about the U.S.-Canadian border...
...But there is a certain irony to this instinctive identification with the United States...
...For example, were Canada to adopt the greenback as its currency, how much influence would it have over monetary policy...
...that has been so common among politicians here seeking to accentuate their country's independence is no longer appropriate...
...would of course like to shut down this avenue for illegal immigration, and argues plausibly against the release policy...
...Much of that changed after September 11...
...American authorities fear, however, that there are others like Ressam operating in Canada...
...When asked, most had difficulty pinpointing the differences between the two societies...
...To DATE, the government's strongest reaction to 9/11 has come in the form of two bills—one focused on antiterrorism, the other on public safety...
...The U.S...
...University of Calgary military historian David Bercuson, writing in the National Post, observed that "it has become the Canadian way to let others do the bleeding and dying for us...
...late last year...
...Perhaps there was an unspoken satisfaction in knowing that young Americans sometimes attached maple leaf flag pins to their backpacks before traveling overseas, on the assumption that Canadians are less likely to be resented in foreign lands...
...The public safety bill covers aviation security measures, biological weapons, technology, and immigration regulations...
...The horrific suicide-bomber attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa in early December gave Ottawa an opportunity to condemn Palestinian terrorism without qualification, and to express support for Israel...
...Certainly that plus Canada's broad interpretation of who is agenuine refugee, its subsidies to those awaiting adjudication, its letting them work, and its seemingly endless appeals system have made it what Concordia University political scientist Stephen Gallagher calls a "magnet that draws refugee claimants...
...The heightened fear in the U.S., though, meant that even the possibility of terrorists coming through Canada in the future required action...
...Using existing laws, the government had already initiated an effort to cut off the flow of funds to terrorist groups by issuing an official list of organizations that were declared subject to such action...
...Civil libertarians have countered that, once in place, they will be hard to remove even if the threat diminishes...
...with weapons of mass destruction could very well produce casualties here...
...The need for this became evident after September 11, when massive traffic snarls that sometimes lasted over 10 hours disrupted cross-border traffic...
...cutting off funding of terrorist groups...
...and criminalization of the harboring of terrorists...
...The top fighting unit, Joint Task Force 2, will be able to double in size, but that will only add some 250 soldiers to the country's operational forces...
...Fortunately, he was apprehended at a border post between British Columbia and Washington, and eventually was tried and convicted...
...Both are popular with the public, but civil libertarians have expressed concerns about the erosion of individual freedom...
...Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan added that "our number one priority is stopping people from coming to Canada who are bad people, who don't have proper documentation, and those people who might pose any kind of a risk to Canada...
...According to Martin, "Canada has always welcomed those seeking a new life in a new land and this will not change...
...In the short run, Canada is expected to continue to thrive as a sovereign state pursuing essentially independent policies...
...it would inevitably dominate even a limited union in ways that could not happen in the European Union...
...Their problem is that the U.S...
...Be that as it may, there can be little doubt that the events of the last few months have led Canada in a new direction, at least for now...
...The main bill defines terrorism for the first time under Canadian law, using a broad standard that requires some connection with political, religious, or ideological objectives...
...There is no denying that civil liberties protections are being compromised in the interests of enhanced safety during a time of crisis, as in the United States...
...Finance Minister Paul Martin did increase funding for the military slightly...
...The U.S...
...actually has been worried for some time that Canada is not sufficiently stringent in its immigration controls with the rest of the world, and that undesirables are therefore allowed entry...
...It traded at roughly $ 1.05 U.S...
...The prospect of even closer ties with the U.S., necessitated by a joint response to the terrorist threat, has reinforced the convictions of dollarization advocates...
...compulsion of testimony at investigative hearings...
...Understandably, the government will step back from a full embrace and strive instead to find a middle way that will preserve the benefits of economic convergence while limiting political integration...
...25 years ago and touched an all-time record low of 62.3 cents U.S...
...The two countries have harmonized their visa requirements, established joint units to screen passengers at international airports, and agreed to exchange fingerprint data...
...One of the initial responses was to join the U.S.-led antiterrorist coalition and offer military resources to the war effort...
...Nonetheless, a critical problem is Canada's very lenient treatment of refugee claimants...
...In addition, the government plans to improve infrastructure at the U. S. border to speed processing...
...anytime soon, but it does mean far greater policy coordination and a corresponding reduction in Canada's ability to act autonomously...
...People quickly realized that aside from any desire they had to better protect their homeland, the U.S.' determination to enhance its own security would have serious implications internally and along what they proudly refer to as "the world's longest unprotected border...
...This is hardly a new challenge for Canada...
...Thousands of others and their families back home shared the apprehension Americans felt...
...Yet aligning itself ever more closely with the U.S...
...Among the major casualties were the "just-in-time" inventory systems widely utilized in the integrated auto industry...
...By contrast, the economy's improvement in recent years has done little to help the sagging Canadian dollar...
...To get the situation under control, it has already concluded a border control agreement with the U.S...
...In the past a declining dollar has shielded Canada from having to face the reality of an economic performance that lagged behind that of the U. S. Whether this has to be confronted now on purely economic grounds is questionable, yet in the aftermath of the terrorist attack it will be hard to avoid...
...Even if an immigration officer is not persuaded by the claim, the individual is usually released pending appeal...
...But late last month the freeze was extended to Hamas' charitable activities as well...
...Because the two countries are linked in so many ways, not only geographically, Canada no longer has the luxury of going its own way...
...The flip-flops, though, have left some observers feeling the terrorist threat in all of its manifestations has not been thought through clearly enough...
...That does not mean full political conformity with the U.S...
...To placate the critics, some of the antiterrorism bill's most contentious stipulations—e.g...
...The refugee claimant then can try to sneak or be smuggled into the U.S...
...To put it mildly, this is a very sensitive issue, one that is fraught with great symbolism...
Vol. 85 • January 2002 • No. 1
