WebPosted Tue Sep 25 22:27:15 2001
OTTAWA - The opposition parties pounced on the comments made by the U.S. attorney general about beefing up security on the American side of the Canada-U.S. border.
The Canadian Alliance says the federal government should not simply rely on the Americans making improvements on their side of the border.
Reading from an American report, Alliance MP Paul Forseth says U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is right to be concerned about the Canadian border.
"The United States faces a growing threat from organized crime groups that are using Canada as a gateway for criminal activity directed at the United States."
Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan says Canada is taking measures to increase security at the border and that "Canada is not, and will not be a gateway" for terrorists to enter the United States.
After a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said the government has acted quickly to help the Americans.
After his meeting on Monday with U.S. President George W. Bush, Chrétien said he and the president agreed they want commerce at the border to return to normal.
He repeated that message in the House of Commons.
"We discussed some bilateral issues that we have to work together to make sure there is a free flow of movement of goods between Canada and the United States," said Chrétien.
There's an apparent contradiction that is bound to confound the government as well as Canadian exporters.
If, as Chrétien says, Bush wants the free flow of goods to resume, why is his attorney general suggesting there's an urgent need to increase security on the American side of the border with Canada?
Canadian government officials say they can't answer that question.
------------------------------------------- Macdonald Stainsby Rad-Green List: Radical anti-capitalist environmental discussion. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green ---- Leninist-International: Building bridges in the tradition of V.I. Lenin. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international ---- In the contradiction lies the hope.
--Bertholt Brecht