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Canada Needs More Terrorism Preparation, Critics Say
Despite spending more than $7.5 billion on security since 2001, Canada is ill prepared to respond to a potential terrorist attack, some critics say (see GSN, June 10). The chairman of the Senate standing committee on national security and defense, Colin Kenny, said he hopes last week’s bombings in London will reinvigorate the effort. “Will London wake up Canadians?” he said. “Canada is the only country on the al-Qaeda list that hasn’t been hit yet.” Kenny was referring to an al-Qaeda document that listed Australia, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States as top targets, Macleans reported today. Other Canadian officials disagreed that not enough has been done. Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Anne McLellan said Ottawa’s terrorism response planning has been comprehensive. According to a report released last year by Kenny’s committee, however, Canada is not well prepared to deal with a variety of scenarios, including a crude nuclear device potentially going off in one of its major cities. The report names the Vancouver area as a prime target for such an attack, with its population of about 2 million people and relatively few streets leading out of its downtown. While Vancouver has a comprehensive emergency plan, it emphasizes natural disasters and firefighting, the report says. Authorities have attempted to guard against the scenario of terrorists smuggling a dirty bomb into the country through a seaport, but Kenny’s committee concluded that Canada’s ports are “riddled with criminals whose mission it is to open up holes for smuggling.” In addition, many are now concerned about security in Canada’s subway systems, Macleans reported. For example, the relative depth of Montreal’s Charlevoix metro station — 30 meters from the lowest platform to street level — means it takes passengers more than three minutes to walk from the trains out into the open air. There are comprehensive emergency response measures in place at the station, said Odile Paradis, spokeswoman for the Societe de Transport de Montreal. In the event of an attack on the metro, Montreal police would coordinate the response, she said. In addition, Ottawa set up a government operations center to manage response to a potential attack in spring 2004. However, according to the Kenny report, “the center is a significant ways from completion in terms of having all the infrastructure, procedures and personnel it needs in place to match the government’s pledge” (Geddes/Gilles, Macleans, July 12).
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