In my edited shortened speech below, I addressed a deep philosophical
problem of Liberals in Parliament, which the nation was reminded of, because of
the horror of the World Trade Centre attack.
Now in 2017, the recent waves of “surprise
arrivals” that have been swamping our borders, indicates that the old misplaced Liberal
mindset has not improved, despite the lessons that could have been learned down
through the years. In part, read my analysis from that time in
2001, when Canada was feeling very raw and bruised. Then compare, to understand that there has
been no improvement in the federal Liberal mindset about protecting Canada and
securing our borders.
37TH PARLIAMENT, 1ST SESSION EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 79
Monday, September 17, 2001
Mr. Paul Forseth (New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby,
Canadian Alliance):
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my constituents of
New Westminster--Coquitlam--Burnaby and all freedom loving people to extend the
deepest heart felt condolences to the many Americans, Canadians, British and
others who are direct or indirect victims.
I concur with the motion before the House that states:
That this
House express its sorrow and horror at the senseless and vicious attack on the
United States of America on September 11, 2001;
That it express its
heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the American
people;
That it reaffirm its
commitment to the humane values of a free and democratic society and its
determination to bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack on these
values and to defend civilization from any future terrorist attacks.
Freedom will always have to be defended from senseless acts
of terrorism or in the face of the complacent.
As Canadians watched in horror and tried to understand the
incomprehensible, I find it difficult not to think of the possible Canadian
connection. Indications may or may not
be valid but regardless, the fact that Canadian law and administration
continues to allow non-Canadians with terrorist ties to reside in Canada is
just not acceptable. Given the weakness
of our current procedures, we can only say that we are lucky so far, that crime
has not been worse.
It is time for the government to get real, stop its denials,
stop the defence of name calling put downs against the official opposition and
just re-allocate personnel resourcing. Most
countries that accept refugees accept about 10% to 15% of claims but we are so
inadequate in our background checks that we accept about 50% or even more. It is no surprise then that CSIS says that
most of the world's terrorist groups have established themselves in Canada for
operations. The Canadian Security
Intelligence Service has a mandate to monitor threats to Canada. On June 12, it
said:
Terrorism in the years
ahead is expected to become more violent, indiscriminate and
unpredictable...There will likely be terrorist attacks whose sole aim would be
to incite terror itself...Canada a potential venue, for terrorists attacks.
The auditor general gave another wake up call in April 2000
saying:
Visa officers feel
they are not only going against their own values, but also making decisions
that could carry risks that are too high, and that could entail significant
cost for Canadian society.
In response, the government remained complacent and thereby,
by definition, perhaps complicit. Some
people coming into Canada found that the way the system is presently designed
it allows them to perform their own malevolent goals. Without sufficient incentive to comply with
removal (deportation) orders or reporting conditions, arrivals will continue to
stay on and become lost in the system. People smugglers bring their victims with
little fear of prosecution.
Sadly, by the turn of events this week, we are reminded
again of the need for the systems to act more promptly and with much greater
care for the public safety. The courage
to act requires a much better allocation of human and financial resources and
the best available information systems for protection and enforcement. Without these pragmatics, the best speeches by
the government today will never be effective or save us from any tragedy.
Dealing with the volume of arrivals and sorting them out, it
is a very intensive people business. To
more effectively cope with these realities, it is reasonable to do two things. Properly resource the agencies whose
practitioners at the line level have been begging for relief. Give the needed trained personnel and also
harden the entry points to reduce the swamping of our system.
One of the flaws in Canadian politics is the traditional
difficulty in just mentioning immigration, refugees, border controls and so on.
The censorship practised by the finger
pointers and name callers against my party hurts the whole country. Nevertheless, I will not relent but I will say
that in our party we firmly believe that the government must give account for
the way security programs are met.
September 11, 2001, will be remembered forever. The attack upon the United States changes how
we think of the world. Civilization has
been attacked and freedom everywhere has been hurt. Our prayers will continue with the victims and
their families.
I end my remarks by saying that we in the Official Opposition
of the Canadian Parliament offer our Prime Minister assistance to do what we
can, for this week's tragedy is of international scope. I have expressed our concern and support to
the U.S. embassy, and we send our condolences to the American people. I am also mindful that there are Canadians and
other nationalities who perished in the attack. While our hearts are broken in this time of
grief, I will do my duty to serve to protect what is good and fulfil my part to
preserve peace and order.
Technology and the machines of war can neither detect nor
eradicate the hatred in the heart of a radical. Anyone willing to commit suicide as a martyr
for their evil idea, is potentially more dangerous than the most sophisticated
weaponry.
We have looked into the face of evil. It is an idea clothed in pride. It will be overcome by revelation clothed in
love. Our only long-term hope for peace
and an end to fanaticism, are changed hearts through faith in the redemptive
love of God.
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