Christmas Good-bye from the House: Hansard Dec 13, 04--Canadian Security depends on luck

Hansard Dec 13, 04--Canadian Security depends on luck

Of course, security is tighter than a drum here. How many security personnel have been actually hired (above the retirement rate) with that $7.7 billion (over 5 years)? Scroll down to see if that question is answered. There is lots of hot air, but little action so far.

With so many demands on the RCMP--from white collar crime, to terrorists, to organized crime--the government still fails to provide them with the necessary resources. Why? Who benefits when it takes years to do an investigation because of lack of experienced manpower?

Perhaps you should read this very carefully and come to your own conclusions about who benefits.

Air Transportation Security

Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): [. . . . ] Mr. Speaker, there is no role more fundamental for government than the protection of its citizens. That protection includes, but extends beyond, their physical safety. It encompasses the security of our economy and society at large. . . . [Government Orders (1535) ]

Please note that I have not set the following in block quotes to indicate that it is from Hansard.

Mr. Rick Casson (Lethbridge, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the lack of diligence by the government has, in the words of the Auditor General, created a serious threat to security at our airports.

Let us look at the facts. As early as last March the Auditor General warned that airport employees could have ties to organized crime. Then airport shields and badges went missing. Now 73 cases of suspicious clearances given to airport workers are deemed serious enough to be forwarded to the RCMP.

Why has the minister allowed this dangerous combination of security breaches to occur?

(1420)

[Translation]

Hon. Jean Lapierre (Minister of Transport, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member ought to see this in a positive light, since the Auditor General was speaking of some 4,000 or 5,000 potential cases.

Now that 123,000 files have been rechecked, however, the reality is that there are 73 cases. These are not people with criminal records but people with possible ties.

The RCMP is looking into this information and they will advise us if there is any problem. The passes of these people will then be immediately withdrawn. There is not, therefore, any security problem at this time.
[English]

Mr. Rick Casson (Lethbridge, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the minister's officials themselves indicated the focus of their investigation would be centred on the possibility of airport workers having ties to organized crime.

With the RCMP now investigating 73 cases, could the minister tell us what parameters the department used when it decided to call in the RCMP? Could he also tell us in what positions the workers involved in these security breaches were working, where they were employed and are they now off the job site?

[Translation]

Hon. Jean Lapierre (Minister of Transport, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, concerning these 73 cases out of 120,000, yes we are talking of possible ties. Not one tie has yet been demonstrated however, Not one of these people has a criminal record that would imperil this country. The RCMP is therefore looking into these 73 cases at this time.

If anything comes up that casts doubt on national security, the RCMP will advise us accordingly, and we will immediately recall the pass of the employee concerned.

Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, we will believe it when we see it.

Let us talk about the independent Ethics Commissioner on the immigration minister's file. He has contracted out the investigation to a well known Liberal legal firm that employs a former Liberal cabinet minister. It is the same law firm that the Prime Minister used for his own corporate interests. How convenient: a Liberal law firm investigating a Liberal cabinet minister. Does the Prime Minister not think Canadians have had enough of Liberals investigating themselves?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon. member is not calling into question either the integrity or the credentials of Mr. Shapiro, the independent Ethics Commissioner. [. . . . ]

[Did she answer the question asked? Of course not! She "misunderstood" -- conveniently -- or she is getting overtired from having to answer for the Prime Minister so often.]

Mr. Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister gave special treatment to campaign workers and received campaign cash from others whom she helped into the country, with ministerial permits. Her actions have hurt the reputation of our country and our immigration system.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Before he goes on his next vacation, will he do the right thing and fire the minister of immigration?

(1430)

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): [. . . ] unsubstantiated allegations. [. . . . ] the Ethics Commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament. [. . . . ]

Mr. Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright, CPC): [. . . . ] She has had people campaigning for her on the public dime. Her assistant visited strip clubs to do business. She gave preferential treatment to campaign workers. She defended the stripper program, after saying these strippers were victims of abuse. This is an embarrassment.

When will the Prime Minister, hopefully before his next vacation, do the right thing and fire the minister of immigration?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): [. . . . ] unsubstantiated accusations[. . . . ]

The Ethics Commissioner [. . . . ] an independent officer of this House. [. . . . ]

Mr. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister has proven she is not competent to hold office. She let a campaign worker jump the queue ahead of 700,000 other applicants. She accepted a $5,000 illegal donation from a member of her riding executive who also obtained eight special ministerial permits. Her office used thug tactics to dissuade MPs from further questioning any of these matters, by threatening to withhold special ministerial permits for real cases.

When will the Prime Minister do the right thing and fire the minister?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): [. . . . ] have the guts to make those allegations outside this House, free from parliamentary immunity.

Mr. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC):[. . . . ] Rumours are flying around Ottawa about who will be the next immigration minister. The member for Beaches—East York and the member for Parkdale—High Park both have been rumoured to be the next minister of immigration.

The immigration department is directionless, as the current minister spends all her time in damage control. Liberal caucus unity is in disarray, as members openly campaign for the job.

When will the Prime Minister put an end to this uncertainty, put some order and discipline back into his own caucus, and appoint a new minister of immigration?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, the hon. member should spend a lot less time on the cocktail circuit and a whole lot more time working on behalf of his constituents and discharging his responsibilities as a member of Parliament. [The minister may be tired or perhaps extremely exercised over Question Period]

* * *

Border Crossings

Mr. Claude Bachand (Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, while the U.S. government has announced massive investments to enhance the Champlain border crossing, in the State of New York, the Canadian government has been neglecting the Lacolle border crossing, to the point of seriously compromising the free movement of goods.

How does the government explain investing $300 million in the Windsor border crossing, in Ontario, while allowing the situation in Lacolle to deteriorate? Is this another instance of double standard?

[English]

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.):[. . . ] investing in border security and border crossings all over the country.

The Canada Border Services Agency makes an assessment on an ongoing basis [. . . ]

* * *

Securities Industry

Ms. Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg North, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it is getting harder and harder to keep track of broken Liberal promises. We only have to look at the Minister of Finance today on the Nortel file. Today more promises on a national security commission, 11 years of dilly-dallying, meanwhile pensioners and investors are losing millions.

Why does corporate cronyism run so deep in the Liberal ranks that it allows corporate corruption to trump human compassion and any sign of decency by the government? When will the government stand up and protect the hard-earned dollars of Canadian pensioners?

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Finance, Lib.): [. . . . ] amendments to the law, working with accountants and auditors in terms of the functioning of that profession, working on stronger corporate governance. . . mentioned the need for the idea of a national securities regulator. [. . . . ed. emphasis]

* * *

Scroll down to Government Orders -- Canada Border Services Agency Act. This is lengthy.

Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): [. . . . The] the optics and the very high sounding language and references to multifaceted, integrated approach, streamlining and harmonizing are not really supported by the resources to carry out the task. (1550-1555)

[. . . . ] The difficulty has been that we have seen this ongoing trend of announcements and re-announcements and efforts to garner as much public attention and support without actually doing it, without actually taking the important productive steps of implementing rather than talking about these particular initiatives. [1600-1605]

[. . . . ] Mr. Loyola Hearn (St. John's South—Mount Pearl, CPC): [. . . . ] Coast Guard [. . . . ] ports police [. . . . ] How, in light of the cuts that we have seen to the Coast Guard in particular, can we talk about beefing up security when the very agencies that have and have had to do a tremendous amount of the on-the-ground, on-the-ocean work are being decimated by budget cuts with one already disappearing? How, in light of that, can we have an agency that will be effective? [1555-1560] [. . . . ]

Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): [. . . . ] I am going to refer first to the issue of the number of border guards or agents who are working alone at some of the ports of entry. Canada has 147 land and 13 marine border crossings. Some 103 of them are designated as work alone sites and are found mostly in remote parts of the country.

Seventy per cent of the work sites have technical difficulties with respect to communications tools. What I am talking about is the ability to access something as simple as the CPIC system. This causes real problems in terms of accessing important information as to who may have outstanding warrants, who may be seen as a security risk, information about individuals that is relevant to their crossing, such as whether they have a criminal record. I am told that much of that system is either inaccessible or is not up to date. . . . (1605)

I understand as well that in some of the remote locations it would take over an hour for the RCMP to actually respond. . . .

Students are being used currently to replace rather than supplement border agents. . . .

In some cases there are less indeterminate full time officers than there were before the planes hit the towers in New York on 9/11.

Last July in Sydney, Nova Scotia, one of the Prime Minister's ships, and I point this out only for illustration, the Sheila Anne, was found to have more than $1 million worth of cocaine in a grate attached to the bottom of the ship. Customs officers indicate that they found this as a fluke and Susan Horne, the president of the Customs Excise Union in Nova Scotia said:

The security is not good... there are not enough officers in Sydney to search a vessel.

I also understand they had to hire a private diver to inspect this particular ship. The disbanding of the ports police as referred to by my colleague from St. John's again highlights the lack of security often found at ports in this country.

We also know that individuals have been identified who have criminal records who are particularly vulnerable to being co-opted or are simply told not to show up at a certain point on the port at a certain point in time when goods are being brought in. Not to sound alarmist, but I have often maintained that the clearest danger, the present danger to this country is not through the air and is not across land; it is on the water.

Anything from child pornography, to trafficking in individuals, or a nuclear bomb can come into this country undetected. We currently inspect less that 3% of the containers coming into the major ports.

. . . . The decimation of our Coast Guard . . . . Equipment and interoperability of equipment is another issue

[. . . . It] is an issue of putting the people in place, not simply talking about the benefits, not simply talking about the new equipment but putting actual personnel in place.

There are terrorist watch lists at border controls, yet if we have those lists and cannot access them, they do no good.

[. . . . ] We need to look at the broader picture of having a North American security perimeter. If we protect the perimeter, then the border becomes less of a threat. . . .

[There is more from Mr. Loyola Hearn (St. John's South—Mount Pearl, CPC): but time is a problem. Do link and check for yourself. He has been against the gun registry.]
(1625)

Yes, we can have a much more secure country. Yes, this bill can help, provided we look after the necessities of putting on the ground the equipment, the personnel and particularly the funding that it takes to do just that.