My thoughts on the US State Department report on terrorism in Canada

The US State Department has released a 220-page report which suggests that Canada is still not doing its part to combat radical Islamists within its borders (see coverage here and here.)

Usually, I am pretty pro-American, and although I haven't read it, this report sounds like it's complete nonsense.

First of all, they point to the Arar case as demonstrating that there are issues with the free flow of information between the two countries. Fair enough. But this quote is the kicker: "The Arar case underscores a greater concern for the United States: the presence in Canada of numerous suspected terrorists and terror supporters."

Now I don't think Maher Arar is lillywhite, but there have been absolutely no criminal charges laid against him, so pointing to the fact that Maher Arar is a free man today as proof that there are numerous terrorists walking around is a half-truth at best. I don't doubt that there are terrorists walking around but the Arar affair doesn't prove anything on that front.

Secondly, the fact that there are five non-citizens being held on security certificates (which means they have been deemed inadmissible to Canada and are considered a threat to national security) is not evidence of a problem, as the report apparently alleges, but rather, evidence that Canada possesses and uses the legal tools available to it in order to detain and remove those non-citizens whose presence within the country could be injurious to its national security. There is so much misinformation floating around out there about security certificates that it would a lot easier (and perhaps more politically expedient) for governments of Liberal and Conservative political stripes to just let these men go, but Canada is sticking firm. I don't see that as a bad thing, especially not if you're American and are concerned about Canada being used as a staging ground for attacks on US soil.

Finally, they say that the Anti-Terrorism Act has only been used once to arrest someone for plotting terrorism. True, the very existence of the Act in the face of tons of criticism from the civil liberties left AND libertarian right shows that Canada is determined to use the necessary powers to prevent attacks from happening. The laws are on the books, and although the Charter handcuffs authorities from taking any action which may be considered or construed by lawyers as draconian in any sense, authorities are very much aware of the Act and have repeatedly stated that they need it. There's also the deterrent effect. (I wouldn't say that al-Qaeda sympathizers look at our anti-terror laws and think twice, but its provisions certainly make it a lot harder to plan and carry out an attack than if they weren't encoded in law.)

Americans need to be reminded time and again that the 9/11 attackers did not come from Canada. They came from within America's own borders. I believe that the Canadian government could and should be doing more on the national security front by dedicating more resources to it, but the fact is that there is a broad bi-partisan consensus (leaving out the Bloc and NDP) on the importance of ensuring that Canada is not a threat to our allies. This is a fact and there are a lot of people who work very hard day in and day out to ensure that North America is kept safe from al-Qaeda. Diverting attention away from America's own shortcomings on national security by bashing Canada is dishonest and cheap because Washington should look in the mirror before pointing fingers up north.