ABSTRACT
Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the American government ordered the quasi-closure of its borders. This precautionary measure almost brought to a halt the C$1.9 billion worth of daily trade between the United States and Canada. These two events led the Canadian government to take a series of security initiatives. The first was the setting up of an Ad Hoc Committee on Public Security and Anti-Terrorism chaired by John Manley, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The committee was charged with examining ‘all policies, legislation, regulations and programs across the Government to strengthen all aspects of Canada’s approach to fighting terrorism and ensuring public security’ (DFAIT n.d.). In mid October, the government unveiled an action plan on Canadian security, which led to the adoption, in short succession, of a number of policies. By the end of the year, the Canadian government had signed the Smart Border Agreement with the US, designed to increase security at the border while assuring the smooth flow of people. It had introduced the Anti-Terrorism and the Public Safety Acts, both designed to strengthen the capacity of the federal government to react to security threats. Finally, it had also made a direct military contribution to the US-led campaign against the terrorism-supporting regime of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The government then proceeded to modify the immigration and refugee legislation to curb its reported abuse by many claimants, and set up a number of new institutional bodies devoted to security, the most important of which was the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEP), created in December 2003. Finally, in April 2004, the government released its first ever paper on national security and announced a ‘comprehensive international policy review’ aimed at enabling Canada to reclaim its ‘place and influence in the world’ (Pratt 2004).
