Canada is Not Soft on Security, Ambassador McKenna Assures New York Audience |
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(Canadian Press)
Canada's new ambassador to
the United States took his public relations pitch to New York on Tuesday, assuring an audience that Ottawa is not soft on security issues.
Frank McKenna used his latest U.S. forum to debunk what he
called "some of the big myths" about Canada.
"We as Canadians would really like you as Americans to know us better," he told a luncheon sponsored by the Canadian Association of
New York and the Canadian Consulate General. "We work very hard at the relationship because we value it tremendously."
McKenna criticized American perceptions of lax border security and
noted that Newt Gingrich, a leading U.S. conservative, had recently apologized for saying terrorists involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks entered the United States from Canada.
The former
Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives said last month he "deeply regrets" repeating on a TV talk show what has become "a widespread inaccuracy" about Canada and promised
to help correct it.
Later Tuesday, in a brief appearance on Fox News Channel, McKenna parried questions about a year-old intelligence report on the potential for terrorists entering Canada.
"It's old news," said McKenna. "What's happening on the ground should give you a lot of confidence."
"I've become very satisfied that both the U.S. and Canada are taking this
issue of security and terrorism so seriously and expending so much money that we're doing the best job that it's possible to do."
McKenna also shot down suggestions it's easy for terrorists to
slip into Canada by claiming political asylum. "We have people working for us in foreign ports all over the world screening people before they get on planes," he said. "We've had over 40,000
people stopped before they could even get on planes."
In his speech earlier, McKenna took aim at impressions that Canada is "a bit soft on immigration."
He pointed out that
Canada has passed its own antiterrorism laws - the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Public Safety Act. Canada accepts 40 per cent of refugee applicants, while the United States accepts 36 per cent. And while the
Americans have close to 12 million undocumented immigrants, Canada has about 60,000, he explained.
Canada and the United States have the largest security and trading relationship in the world,
McKenna said.
Asked about a U.S. proposal to require passports of all Canadians entering the United States, McKenna said, "That will not happen."
"It will not happen because it
does not make sense for Canada. And it will not happen because it does not make sense for the United States," given that half a million people cross the U.S.-Canadian border daily.
While
passport checks may be off the negotiating table, McKenna wouldn't elaborate on whether biometric checks or secure driver's licences might be used instead, saying he favoured a "minimalist
approach."
McKenna also touched on the controversial topic of globalization, an issue that has been viewed with some trepidation on both sides of the border.
"I realize that
Americans, not dissimilarly to Canadians, have an apprehension about globalization and free trade," he said. "There are always a lot of myths around and not many people extol the virtues of freer
trade."
"I believe that it has resulted in a sentiment of protectionism, which is all too prevalent in this country. We've seen it in the introduction of the Byrd Amendment, a particularly
egregious assault on free-trade principles."
The audience asked why Prime Minister Paul Martin had not yet visited New York City.
"I think his interest (in the U.S.) is
legitimate," McKenna said, pointing out that Canada now has a cabinet committee on U.S.-Canada relations, along with a U.S.-Canadian group inside the Privy Council Office.
"I think
Americans would benefit from seeing our prime minister. He's not only a gifted politician but a great business leader, and he really speaks the direct language that Americans understand."
Beverly Behan, a Canadian businesswoman who attended the luncheon, said she appreciates the ambassador's candid and enthusiastic style.
"I think there's a rebuilding that needs to be done in the
relationship between Canada and the United States," said Behan, a Winnipeg native who has lived in New York City for five years. "His approach is just right."
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McKenna Survives Trip to Fox's Den
(Tim Harper - Toronto Star)
In an encounter more game show than great debate, Frank McKenna fended off Fox News allegations yesterday that
Canada is soft on security and welcoming to terrorists.
The show was The Big Story with John Gibson, but the new Canadian ambassador, his on-air time squeezed by reports on a double murder and a
police shooting, took on the host as if he were on Final Jeopardy.
"Mr. Ambassador, the big question: Are Islamic radicals inside Canada a threat to both your side of the border and ours?"
asked Gibson, a well-known critic of Canada -- or Canada-baiter, depending on one's point of view.
Hard on the heels of that question, Gibson asked McKenna: "Explain to me something -- I hear
there are a certain number of Americans who were mad that President Bush was re-elected. They want to move to Canada."
It takes them a long time to get in, he added.
"But you get
the impression that if you get off the plane from Afghanistan and say, 'I'm here claiming political asylum,' you're welcome to Canada," Gibson asserted.
McKenna, who has vowed to more
aggressively counter misinformation about Canada in this country, offered a rapid-fire denial of the asylum question and took the opportunity about Islamic radicals to take on the biggest urban myth in this
country -- that some of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists entered the U.S. from Canada.
It was such an inaccuracy, uttered by former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich and unchallenged by his
interlocutors on Fox, that led McKenna to demand and receive an apology from the Georgia politician April 20.
After Gibson spoke over his words when he tried to answer, McKenna decided to take on the
role of interviewer and interviewee.
"Is there the potential for terrorism coming from Canada? Yes," he said. "Is there the potential for terrorism from the United States going into
Canada? Of course, yes.
"Were any of the Sept. 11 terrorists from Canada? The answer is no.
"Do we care about protecting the border? The answer is, emphatically, both countries care
a great deal about protecting the border and I think are doing a very good job of it."
McKenna said Canadians respect the re-election of George W. Bush and he said Canadian authorities overseas
have already stopped 40,000 people from boarding planes destined for Canada, so the Afghanistan asylum charge is "categorically not true."
The Fox interview wrapped up McKenna's day in New
York, his second "outreach" day outside Washington, whereby he is taking his message to major centres.
At a luncheon speech, he tried to counter perceptions that Canada is "a bit soft
on immigration." He said Canada has passed its own antiterrorism laws -- the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Public Safety Act.
McKenna said Canada accepts 40 per cent of its refugee applicants,
while the United States accepts 36 per cent. And while there are close to 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Canada has about 60,000, he said.
At the end of their brief encounter, Gibson
was a relative pussycat with the Canadian envoy.
(Ed. Note: Read
the entire article to get a more completely
repellent whiff of this blowhard's vile slander about Canada. It's quite a treat. Oh, and if you're inclined to do so, you can provide John Gibson with feedback by e-mailing him here.)
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