The Ministry of the Solicitor General is responsible for protecting Canadians and helping to maintain Canada as a peaceful and safe society. — Opening address on the Solicitor General of Canada’s website. DOMINATING the headlines across the country in the past few days was the arrest of . alleged Algerian terror- ist Ahmed Ressam. ~ Unfortunately, his arrest in Port Angeles, Washington, . by. U.S. Customs officers ec he arrived on a ferry trip- from Victoria, simply serves _ to underline why the U.S. >) :government doesn’t trust this * country and why our govern- . -ment’s inaction has provided another international black eye et -:, When he was arrested, his car was carrying over 45 kilo- grams of bomb-making mate- nals, dezonators and liquid nitroglycerin, material appar- ntly only available on the black market.” The ‘arrest and explosives seizure has fueled fears in the US, of 42K terrorist attacks, ecially considering the |... Ressam was staying with at. the 2400. Motel on a Kingsway in Vancouver seems puters and assorted other high-priced stuff. According to the Montreal police, in whose city he was convicted in February of 1998, Ressam was part of an Algerian crime ring. Without confirming the information, law enforcement Again, why was he still here? _ . Irony being what it is, the arrest of Ressam and the shameful information of his life in Canada and our failure to deal with him occurred in '. the same week as the solicitor - general tabled the govern- ment’s response to the annual report of the Special Senate Committee cn Security and Intelligence. _ In the report to the -House, Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay said, - “The government is now “reviewing immigration and refugee policies with the aim + .0f making them more embassy bomoings in T: ia and . » Tesponsive to Canada’s needs and strengthening the means to enforce the government's policy direction.” ; ... He then goes on to item-_ ize what he says ‘the govern- ment has done to this end ‘and concludes the portion with this piece of unadulter- ated BS: “These initiatives - will further curb the ability of ‘terrorist and terrorist sup- ters to use Canada asa =~ ‘been a pre-supposes we are currently doing anything effective to curb that ability. The committee’s report was given to MacAulay in June, six months before Ressain's arrest. Its 32 recommendations include such gems as: “The committee recommends that the government of Canada continue to use all legitimate means to influence the United States’ policy and actions to ensure a common approach and te further the two countries’ cooperation and support for each other in the fight against terrorism.” This is all a bad joke real- ly. The government's response to the committee report was tabled last Thursday, two days after the artest of Ressam. In a press release issued by MacAulay on Dec. 16, the solicitor general said, “Our security is something we can’t take for granted. It depends on a strong security-intelli- gence capability, law enforce- ment readiness, and on inter- national cooperation. This government is committed to moving on a number of ° issues identified by the com- mittee.” The press release contin- " ued with the following piece of literary largesse: “Mr. MacAulay said that the spe- cial Senate committee had praised the government for the positive change in the level of preparedness and professionalism in the security and intelligence community. “In the report, Senator Kelly noted that, ‘There has sitive change in the level of preparedness and professionalism in the security - and intelligence community. Issues and concerns identified by previous committees have been, in the main, addressed.” : Hard to believe that who- "ever wrote that gets paid y."’ around $80,000 of your ” Mainland ttde over 28 ‘years. Free Estimate call SEB SSeS, ry. I Pet pan Pow Low: Buscas. Wednesday, December 22, 1999 - North Shore News - 7 rism a disgrace hard-carned dollars. It’s nice to know that “issues and concerns have been, in the main, addressed.” Let's have a quick peck back at just a snippet of the claptrap being force-fed by a succession of solicitors gener- al of this Liberal government. April 11, 1994: “The pri- mary threat to Canada is international terrorism and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has been re-orienting its activities accordingly as the threat from traditional espi- onage declines, Solicitor General Herb Gray told the Commons today in delivering the annual statement on national security.” Glad they recognized the problem way back then. I also found this little gem from the hapless Andy Scott, MacAulay’s predecessor: “Canada is developing a - range of tough measures against terrorists, Solicitor General Andy Scott today told the House of Commons in a statement on national security.” That was on April 30, 1998, rwo months after Ressam was convicted in ’ Montreal and after CSIS, the RCMP and Canadian ' mmigration had positively linked him to international terrorism. Yer somehow, he was still here conducting his nefarious activities until laste week when - he was arrested by American law enforcement. It remains to be seen how many more Ressams are cur- . rently operating in our coun- . § try because of the ineffective---. J ‘fl * Window Coverings if ii’s news, then it’s in the News. ness and incompetence of the federal government. Unfortunately, the infor- mation will probably come to us as a result of the FBI investigation and not our own government. What a disgrace! — lknight@direct.ca Pas, Ol, Lube & Filter Mi wureny: 21 pt. Safety check, 15 minutes - FAST! Includes up to § litres of 10w30 Quakerstate _ 1362 Marine Drive 980-9115 | [[ Nor Sat 8:000m-6:00pm, Sun. G:00emnE:0CAm Expires Des. 29/89 “ONE OF A [KIND Crrisrmas GirTs” * 444 West 3rdi Street, +. North tae ever 988-9215 | | Give your home that luxurious f touch for the holidays | Dimples Fashions A & Home Decor N° Luxurious Bedding f° Girls’ Party Dresses Gals TOPS See our gallery of dreams on the internet i