-Caveat Lector- Canada: A stricter immigration policy forecast http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/257/nation/A_stricter_immigration_policy_forecast+.shtml A stricter immigration policy forecast By Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff, 9/14/2001 MONTREAL "The carnage next door may finally compel Canada to toughen its antiterrorist policies at home and force the country to sacrifice a degree of national sovereignty by joining a ''continental security'' pact with the United States. Not only were scores of Canadians killed when terrorists aimed their suicide planes into the World Trade Center, but Canada may also have served as an unwitting gateway to the United States for some of the plotters of Tuesday's attacks in New York and Washington. Investigators from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and FBI are pursuing leads that either the hijackers themselves or accomplices entered the United States by way of its northern neighbor. Even if that proves not to be the case, Canada - bound so intimately to the United States by blood kinship, history, and the largest two-way flow of trade the world has ever known - seems overdue for a serious reckoning with terrorist cells that have taken advantage of its humanitarian ideals and lax refugee rules to create havens in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. ''After Tuesday, there can be no more thinking of ourselves as the peaceable kingdom, remote from the troubles of the US,'' said Reid Morden, former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, now chairman of KPMG Corporate Intelligence Inc., a Toronto-based accounting firm. ''There is a terrible new sense of vulnerability.'' At the very least, analysts predict, the attack will force Canada to take a tougher line against illegal immigrants with terrorist ties who for decades have found safe haven in this country. According to Canadian intelligence reports, more than 50 terrorist outfits - from the shadowy loyalists of Osama bin Laden to Sri Lanka's bloodstained Tamil Tigers - have fund-raising and operational cells in Canada's major cities, all located near the US border. ''Canada ... has long been the `soft' place to enter North America,'' said Christopher Sands, an expert on International Studies in Washington. Now, many analysts predict, Canada will swallow its national pride and join the United States in creating a European Union-style ''continental security perimeter'' - in effect, allowing the superpower next door to dictate at least some of the security rules and standards by which international travelers enter Canada from outside North America." Suspects Entered Easily From Canada http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28632-2001Sep14.html Officials Scrutinize Border Areas in Maine; Chretien Says Evidence Is Lacking By DeNeen L. Brown and Ceci Connolly Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, September 14, 2001; Page A17 TORONTO, Sept. 13 -- "Two suspects in Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the United States crossed the border from Canada with no known difficulty at a small border entry in Coburn Gore, Maine, which is usually staffed by only one border inspection officer, a U.S. official said today. Another suspect appears to have slipped into the country from Canada at a border crossing at Jackman, Maine, one of the four busiest land entry ports in the state, while one or more may have ridden a ferry from Nova Scotia, docking at a port in Maine. Maine police confirmed that authorities believe two suspects boarded a 6 a.m. flight from Portland to Boston, where they connected to the two jets that would take down the towers of the World Trade Center. The U.S.-Canada border -- the world's longest undefended frontier -- has only minimal controls at many of its numerous crossing points. This facilitates tourism and commerce; Canada and the United States are each other's most important trading partner. But even before Tuesday's attacks, many security experts were arguing that easy passage could let in criminals and terrorists. Those experts were especially concerned because, in their view, Canada's political asylum laws have helped make the country a "safe haven" for foreign extremists. Many U.S. legislators contend the border crossing points suffer from understaffing, as overworked and overwhelmed Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs Service officials try to inspect hundreds of people, cars, trucks and buses that pass each day from Canada. ... Defenders of Canada's political asylum laws say they give oppressed people protection and a chance to make a new life. Canada has long been proud of taking a humanitarian role; its soldiers are particularly active in U.N. peace-keeping operations. But security experts have for years accused Canada of be o the country with false passports, claim refugee status and then -- while their cases are being processed -- raise money and make plans for terrorist attacks. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has identified 50 groups and 350 people whom it classifies as terrorist-related. A recent report by the agency said that "Canada . . . has been a frequent destination for international terrorists and their supporters. . . . Over the past 15 years, we have witnessed a disturbing trend as terrorists move from significant support roles, such as fundraising and procurement, to actually planning and preparing terrorist acts from Canadian territory." ... Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, said the two countries should work on synchronizing immigration and visa requirements. "Should immigration policies be more similar? That is a question we should look at," Cellucci said. "We need to defend the people of North America."" Heightened Security Conflicts With Efforts To Speed Flow at Canada, Mexico Borders http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1000429585778717907.htm "The U.S. could be hard-pressed to streamline the flow of people and commerce at border points with Canada and Mexico following this week's terrorist attacks in the U.S. With reports that some of the terrorists involved in the attacks may have entered the U.S. from Canada, concerns are again being raised about Canadian security and the effectiveness of the 5,500-mile border between the two countries. Canadian officials Thursday stressed that the reports so far are unproved. Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay said that, although the investigation is in its early stages, "at this point there is no Canadian connection" to the terrorist attacks. The busy U.S.-Mexico border largely has remained open for the past three days, albeit on alert status. Only at one point, the Amistad Dam crossing near Del Rio, Texas, has international traffic been halted, after the private operators of the dam decided to seal the grounds. In California, the San Ysidro border station -- the busiest border point in the world with 45,000 daily crossers -- experienced delays of up to four hours Wednesday, and was closed for two hours after a bomb threat was received Tuesday night. No device was discovered and the border was reopened. Thursday, fallout from the attacks already was being felt along the U.S.-Canada border. Because of intensive inspections and questioning, U.S.-bound truckers waited as long as 12 hours to cross the border, while traffic into Canada faced delays nearly as long, according to a customs broker. U.S. Customs Service officials "are searching every vehicle, every passenger," said spokesman Kevin Bell. "You're going to see a real intensive, stepped-up security effort at all U.S. airports" and "increased uniformed presence at all border points,"' Mr. Bell said." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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