Raising funds for terrorist purposes to be a crime now

As stated by Justice Minister Anne McLellan on September 18, 2001, it will become a criminal offence to raise funds in Canada for terrorist groups.

It has long been known that many groups in Canada are engaged in exactly this type of fund raising for causes that are considered to be terrorist in nature. The legal procedures proposed will further enhance legislation already before Parliament by removing “charitable status” from varied organizations thought to be involved in raising money for terrorism.

The measures McLellan is proposing go beyond legislation already before Parliament that would strip charitable status from groups that are believed to be raising money for terrorism.  In fact this past week, Justice Minister McLellan tabled an omnibus bill, C-16, in the House of Commons that will provide sweeping powers to law enforcement agencies to enhance their ability to obtain and analyze information pertinent to suspected terrorist activities.

Bill C-16 will obviously be walking a fine line between individual and civil rights and the need for security on behalf of Canada as whole. Frankly, it becomes obvious that the security issues will take a more pronounced role than in the past.

Bill C-11, the government’s new bill on immigration, is said to provide for minor changes to the way security issues are presently dealt with, but there is talk that the new bill may not make it through the Senate approval process as the Senate is demanding major changes or a total re-writing of the bill to further enhance security measures.

Bill C-11 does indeed provide for an increase in “initial” security screening of refugees and undocumented arrivals in Canada, in addition to restricting appeals for those facing deportation. In addition, measures to detain persons, such as those described above, exist even under current legislation where persons so described can be detained for “reasonable grounds to believe the person may be a danger to the public”, and/or “unlikely to appear for a hearing if released on their own recognizance”.

Detractors of Bills C-11, and C-16, obviously are denouncing the effect these bills may have on freedom of association and political participation in Canada but one would believe most residents of Canada, in a post September 11 world, are willing to give up some of these protections in an effort to maintain our general lifestyle and be secure in the knowledge the likelihood of being attacked in a similar fashion once again has been greatly reduced.

Common Policies for Canada – U.S.A. Borders?

Since the unprecedented and savage attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, a key question for the Canadian government and Canadian people has been “what, if any, was our role in possibly providing terrorists the means to operate, co-ordinate and plan any portion of the attacks carried out against New York City”?

Labour – Canada in Desperate Need

High tech has long garnered all of the attention when it comes to recruiting foreign skilled labour. This is no different than most western economies that also have sought out the best and brightest in the technology fields. Where Canada differs from some of these other western economies is it’s acute shortage of skilled construction and trade labour.

In addition, to our tradespersons deficit, Canada continues to face a strong need for senior engineers, systems analysts and other varied positions in the highly skilled technology sector.

The fact is that a skilled worker applying to emigrate to Canada may take two years or more to be processed and issued an immigrant visa for Canada is serious impediment to sourcing skilled labour badly needed by Canadian industry. The fact is that Canadian governments, past and present, have amplified this problem and continuously failed to recognize the acute nature of this problem. As a result, Canada is now forced to look to foreign economies to supply the desperately needed skilled labour. Though India is acknowledged as the world’s premier source of technology workers, Canada will look to any corner of the globe to find the personnel needed.

Framing carpenters and bricklayers are very high on Canada’s “most desired” list. Construction companies are praising a federal government proposal to fast-track thousands of temporary workers into Canada to alleviate these shortages, but many are lamenting the fact Canadian governments seem to lack the initiative to put into place domestic training programs to attack the problem from within Canada’s borders.  Factors working against a homegrown solution include an ageing workforce and the poignant issue of traditional trades failing to attract young people. Most high school graduates, encouraged by their parents, think only of professional careers in such fields as medicine, law or becoming a dot-com millionaire.

A possible solution dictates that Canadian governments, and associations that represent the construction industry, must spend time and money to promote the concept that a career in the trades is a lucrative and Honourable alternative to a professional career. In addition, inter-provincial barriers to the free movement of tradespersons must be addressed. This action, taken in conjunction with a concerted effort to source qualified tradespersons from abroad, may be the only approach to begin to rectify the severe shortage of skilled labour Canada presently faces, both in the construction and high tech sectors.

'Citizenship and Immigration Canada' 
Responds to Natural Disasters

'Citizenship and Immigration Canada' (CIC) is committed to a humane, flexible response when natural disasters abroad affect the relatives of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. The Department has developed a response plan that includes several measures that can be used depending on the nature of the disaster. CIC staff have sufficient discretion to respond in a humane manner without needing to resort to special legal authorities". What this means is that the staff members at CIC charged with responsibility in these programs have the authority to make quick decisions regarding who may be allowed a temporary visit to Canada or whom may even be eligible for permanent residence in Canada, based on humanitarian and compassionate circumstances.

In response to persons affected by overseas disasters who are in Canada as visitors, workers and students (those persons in Canada on a temporary basis) at the time of the disaster, the Central Processing Centre (CPC) in Vegreville will evaluate, on a case-by-case basis, persons wishing to extend their status as visitors in Canada. If the disaster cuts off their access to funds, international students may be granted work permits. Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor immediate family members residing in a disaster area may do so by obtaining the necessary forms from the Call Centre or the CIC Web site. The Case Processing Centre (CPC) in Mississauga will provide priority processing for these sponsorship applications. If CPC Mississauga approves the sponsorship, an application kit will be sent to the sponsor in Canada to forward to the relative abroad. Persons subject to removal orders - departure orders, exclusion orders and/or deportation orders - to an affected area may be deferred for up to three months or may be removed to an unaffected area of the country. This is all subject to the actual conditions in the affected area and how quickly the area performs the necessary steps to offer it's residents a safe, satisfactory mode of living.