5th Global Conference
Session Three: Security, Rights and Sovereignty in the Shadow of a Hegemon: Canada and Hemispheric Security
Chair: Elizabeth Moore
The Canada-United States Border and Hemispheric Security: From Cold War to War on Terror
Robert Teigrob
Department of History,
Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The notion that Canada constitutes the “weak link” in the North American security apparatus, and a potential avenue of infiltration for those intending to harm the United States, is nothing new. For those fighting the previous open-ended global conflict against an unorthodox enemy, Canada’s allegedly unsophisticated national security apparatus, its relative inexperience in counter-subversion, and its reputation as a more tolerant society could provoke alarm. At no time was this more apparent than at the height of the so-called “Gouzenko Affair,” when a Soviet cipher clerk stationed in Ottawa defected to Canada with evidence of a Soviet spy ring operating in Canada. This 1946 incident, the first in what would become a series of East-West spy scandals following World War II, elicited a series of responses that anticipated the basic contours of debates over the security of the Canada-US border that mark today’s “War on Terror:” national security services sought, and received, increased budgets and authority, and passed damning and in many cases erroneous information about potential insurgents across national boundaries without the approval or knowledge of their own governments; Canada’s security agency, the RCMP, was ridiculed as amateurish by the FBI, which took command of the prosecution of the case at several key junctures (leading many Canadians to protest their nation’s loss of autonomy); governments invoked a series of highly illiberal measures aimed at controlling the insurgency; media organizations seized upon the most sensational aspects of the story, going so far as to claim that the identified spies were outriders for an imminent Soviet invasion of the continent; and ethnic minorities associated with “the enemy” faced increased de jure and de facto proscriptions. This paper provides a comparison of these aspects of border security, national sovereignty, and media representation, showing the links and discontinuities between 1946 and 2001.
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Canada’s War on terror since 2001: Security or Human Rights? A Difficult Balance
Olivier
Courteaux
Department of History,
Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
In the wake of the attacks against the United States in 2001, in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005, fighting terrorism efficiently without sacrificing individual freedoms remains at the centre of political debate among the Western democracies. In the United States, the “war on terror” orchestrated by the Bush Administration led to a wide range of measures aimed at curtailing individual freedoms (the Patriot Act, the Homeland Security). With the American intervention in Afghanistan and in Iraq, the fight was intensified beyond the boundaries of the United States (Guantanamo Bay, torture, secret prisons, etc.)
Canada, often considered by its southern neighbour as a weak link in the global fight against terror, adopted tough new anti-terrorism measures, the most important being the Anti-Terrorism Act in December 2001. Canada’s close ties with the United States have presented the country with very specific challenges. By advocating tougher anti-terrorist laws at home and abroad, as well as a better international cooperation against terrorism, has Canada been merely following the American model, or has it managed to maintain a balance between “war on terror” and the maintaining of basic individual freedoms?
This paper proposes to study Canada’s stance and actions against terrorism since 2001 within the North American context: it is possible for Canada to reconcile its core values – the affirmation of the dignity of the human person and the advancement of human rights – with the growing American pressure to fight terrorism?
On Guard for Thee? The Realities and Dilemmas of Canada’s Border Security and Immigration System
Arne Kislenko
Department of History,
Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
There is little doubt that immigration offers much to Canada. The country was built by successive generations of immigrants, who became a unique and important part of our historical legacy. Today, immigrants continue to help drive the Canadian economy and to enrich the cultural diversity that Canada represents in the world of nations. Less known, and far more difficult to discuss, are the negative effects of immigration. In addition to the often contentious debate about Canadian multiculturalism, immigration can welcome social, political, and economic discord. In recent years Canada’s immigration policies have come under increasing scrutiny. Growing public awareness about the effects of immigration, and revelations about the apparently lax controls in place at the borders have generated great concern and adversely affected Canada’s relationship with the United States.
This paper will address the connection between immigration and patterns of terrorist activity, criminal organisations, and other nefarious enterprises in Canada. It will focus on the application and enforcement of immigration laws and policies, as well the various means employed by the department to combat illegal migration to this country. The paper will draw largely, but not exclusively, from my personal experience as a Senior Immigration Officer at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport over twelve years between 1989 and 2001. In this capacity, I was directly involved with enforcement and national security intelligence operations, as well as the development and interpretation of Canada’s immigration laws and regulations. This paper will also draw from official sources, as well as from more objective, academic sources. Although contentious, these issues and concerns must be addressed by academics, politicians, and the general public with reason and sensitivity. Such matters are of growing importance in light of the current “war on terror” and questions about the security of Canada’s borders. Moreover, immigration today, as always, forms the very fabric of Canada’s multicultural diversity. Neglecting such key dimensions of the immigration system is a grave mistake.