ANTI-TERRORISM ANNOUNCEMENTS LACK INNOVATION: HILL

October 11, 2001

OTTAWA-PC DR Coalition Solicitor General Critic, Jay Hill says that Canadians shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the measures announced last week by the Ministers of Transport, Customs and the Solicitor General. 

“When you set aside the hype and fanfare that the Government had hoped to generate with these announcements, there is nothing in the way of new and innovative security measures to protect our borders from undesirables.” stated Hill, “The technology being acquired may be new to Canadians, but it has been in use for years in countries where Governments continued to fund national security to an acceptable level.” 

Hill was referring to the specific spending initiatives into which the Ministers intend to direct their share of the $250 million previously announced for improvements to national security. 

“The one thing that the events of September 11th, 2001 have shown us is that our existing security measures are ineffective. Rather than choosing the simple and short-sighted approach of increasing funding of a flawed system, the Government should be changing the way the system operates.” 

Among the various suggestions Hill had in mind were the introduction of a Canada-US Trade Corridor where vehicles are inspected and sealed at the point of origin, and an EU-style immigration program at points of entry comprised of two gateways - one for Canadian passport holders and another for foreign nationals. 

“The Government needs to make it easier and safer for Canadians to travel to, from and within our borders if our economy and our way of life are to be preserved. The only way for this to be accomplished is for us to get innovative in our approach to national security.”