Canada urged to launch security action plan
Public education needed, ex-police chief claims
Mohammed Adam
National Post; CanWest News Service
(Printed: Edmonton Journal; Wednesday, July 13, 2005)
TORONTO - Ontario's commissioner of emergency management called for an organized public awareness campaign to waken Canadians out of a sense of security around the threat of terrorism.
Speaking at an international conference on disaster management Tuesday, Julian Fantino said with terrorists increasingly targeting people, not structures, counter-terrorism agencies must adopt techniques that have been successful in fighting crime.
For example, ads such as those used to educate viewers about the risks of drinking and driving could work to convince Canadians that the risk of terrorism at home is distinct, if not significant, the former Toronto police chief said.
Despite counter-terrorism measures which have kept Canada safe so far, there is still a gap in the overall strategy, Fantino said.
"The gap is, we don't have the public adequately informed about the kinds of things they should be looking for, what should be reported and the mechanism by which those things are reported," Fantino said after addressing a conference on disaster management.
Fantino and other security experts at the conference also said that a potential attack in Canada will likely be on people at a mall or mass transit station, not symbols such as Parliament Hill or the CN Tower.
"The terrorists have patience and persistence, and you will get hit at some point in time. But it will not be an attack on the CN Tower or something like that. It is going to be an attack on people, on innocents, not combatants," said Ty Fairman, a former FBI counterterrorism agent.
In the wake of last week's deadly attack on London commuters, Canadian officials are scrambling to find ways to protect this country's vulnerable mass transit system. But there is no plan and the advice from politicians is no better than a call for vigilance.
Indeed, in Ottawa on Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan said every Canadian has a responsibility to help protect transit infrastructure from terrorist attacks. McLellan said that doesn't mean "we're all out there like little spies," but that people who see suspicious packages shouldn't take them for granted and walk away.
"Talk to the conductor, talk to the transit officer in the car and say, 'look, I don't know whether this is someone's lunch or whether it's something else, but it's been sitting under this seat and nobody seems to claim it,' " she said. "We all have a responsibility to do those things."
Fantino said governments and security agencies have to be practical about fighting terrorism and the way to do it is to involve Canadians the way citizens are involved in fighting crime.
"We've done a great job with crime prevention, traffic safety, the whole notion of drinking and driving. We need to get the public onside. We have to apply some of the same techniques and strategies," said Fantino.
He said campaigns on crime prevention and drinking and driving have succeeded because people see the danger and are willing to help reduce it. But the problem with the war on terror is that Canadians haven't bought into it and don't believe the threat is real, he said.
"You have to first get the public to appreciate the vulnerability. You have to get people to believe that they are vulnerable," he said.