http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050814/1050648.asp
Tougher security measures OK with Canadians
By CAMPBELL CLARK
Toronto Globe and Mail
8/14/2005
OTTAWA - Canadians overwhelmingly support tough security measures as terrorist attacks abroad fuel a climate of fear at home, a new poll has found.
The Strategic Counsel poll conducted for the Globe and Mail and CTV found that 72 percent of Canadians support placing video cameras in all public places, and 81 percent favor "deporting or jailing anyone who publicly supports terrorist bombers."
And although an inquiry is currently examining whether information from Canadian authorities led to the United States deporting Canadian citizen Maher Arar to detention and torture in Syria, 62 percent of respondents believe Canada should give the U.S. "any information they request about Canadian citizens whom they suspect of being terrorists."
The federal government has raised the ire of Canada's Privacy Commissioner by moving toward a "no-fly" list of suspected terror threats and installing security cameras on transit systems, but the new survey suggests most Canadians do not fear that the balance between rights and security is being shifted too far.
Instead, there is an apprehension of danger: 62 percent believe a terror attack will occur in the country within the next few years, and only 25 percent believe Canada is very well or well prepared.
Pollster Allan Gregg, chairman of the Strategic Counsel, said that underlying concern about an attack probably left Canadians more willing to trade off rights for security, especially after four years of the so-called war on terror.
"It has caused kind of a quiet national anxiety that gnaws at part of the public consciousness," Gregg said.
But he suggested the national character has always been security-conscious.
"We have never had a very strong civil-libertarian tradition. The interests of stability and security has almost always trumped civil liberties in this country," he said.
Overwhelming support for deporting or jailing anyone who expresses support for terrorist bombers is a free-speech issue that leaves open the question of where Canadians would draw the line, Gregg noted.
In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair has floated the idea of laying treason charges against Muslim imams who praise suicide bombers - apparently leading a radical cleric who had expressed "understanding" of the bombers' motives, Sheik Omar Bakri, to leave the country.
Overall, about half of poll respondents - 51 percent - think Canada has struck the right balance between civil liberties and combatting terrorism.
But those who think the balance is wrong tend to believe there is "too much emphasis on protecting civil liberties."
Gregg said Canadians appear to be more concerned when it comes to measures that they believe are more likely to harm the innocent.
They are evenly split on whether they would allow suspected terrorists to be detained without trial, or whether the government should send agents to infiltrate the Muslim community.
A majority, 53 percent, are against "severely restricting the numbers of immigrants from Muslim countries."
"They do discriminate (between different types of measures)," Gregg said. "It's not like they're saying, "do whatever you have to do.' "
The Strategic Counsel poll is based on interviews with 1,000 Canadians conducted between Aug. 3 and 7. A sample of that size is considered to have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey period coincided with Transport Minister Jean Lapierre's announcement of a security review of transportation systems, including plans to expand the use of security cameras on urban transit systems and to create a no-fly list of people barred from boarding planes because of security concerns.
Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart attacked those initiatives, saying preparing a no-fly list could intrude on the privacy of many Canadians.
She has also opposed the broad use of video surveillance cameras, which are extensively used throughout London, and have been credited with aiding the investigation into the July subway bombings there.
Tougher security measures OK with Canadians
By CAMPBELL CLARK
Toronto Globe and Mail
8/14/2005
OTTAWA - Canadians overwhelmingly support tough security measures as terrorist attacks abroad fuel a climate of fear at home, a new poll has found.
The Strategic Counsel poll conducted for the Globe and Mail and CTV found that 72 percent of Canadians support placing video cameras in all public places, and 81 percent favor "deporting or jailing anyone who publicly supports terrorist bombers."
And although an inquiry is currently examining whether information from Canadian authorities led to the United States deporting Canadian citizen Maher Arar to detention and torture in Syria, 62 percent of respondents believe Canada should give the U.S. "any information they request about Canadian citizens whom they suspect of being terrorists."
The federal government has raised the ire of Canada's Privacy Commissioner by moving toward a "no-fly" list of suspected terror threats and installing security cameras on transit systems, but the new survey suggests most Canadians do not fear that the balance between rights and security is being shifted too far.
Instead, there is an apprehension of danger: 62 percent believe a terror attack will occur in the country within the next few years, and only 25 percent believe Canada is very well or well prepared.
Pollster Allan Gregg, chairman of the Strategic Counsel, said that underlying concern about an attack probably left Canadians more willing to trade off rights for security, especially after four years of the so-called war on terror.
"It has caused kind of a quiet national anxiety that gnaws at part of the public consciousness," Gregg said.
But he suggested the national character has always been security-conscious.
"We have never had a very strong civil-libertarian tradition. The interests of stability and security has almost always trumped civil liberties in this country," he said.
Overwhelming support for deporting or jailing anyone who expresses support for terrorist bombers is a free-speech issue that leaves open the question of where Canadians would draw the line, Gregg noted.
In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair has floated the idea of laying treason charges against Muslim imams who praise suicide bombers - apparently leading a radical cleric who had expressed "understanding" of the bombers' motives, Sheik Omar Bakri, to leave the country.
Overall, about half of poll respondents - 51 percent - think Canada has struck the right balance between civil liberties and combatting terrorism.
But those who think the balance is wrong tend to believe there is "too much emphasis on protecting civil liberties."
Gregg said Canadians appear to be more concerned when it comes to measures that they believe are more likely to harm the innocent.
They are evenly split on whether they would allow suspected terrorists to be detained without trial, or whether the government should send agents to infiltrate the Muslim community.
A majority, 53 percent, are against "severely restricting the numbers of immigrants from Muslim countries."
"They do discriminate (between different types of measures)," Gregg said. "It's not like they're saying, "do whatever you have to do.' "
The Strategic Counsel poll is based on interviews with 1,000 Canadians conducted between Aug. 3 and 7. A sample of that size is considered to have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey period coincided with Transport Minister Jean Lapierre's announcement of a security review of transportation systems, including plans to expand the use of security cameras on urban transit systems and to create a no-fly list of people barred from boarding planes because of security concerns.
Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart attacked those initiatives, saying preparing a no-fly list could intrude on the privacy of many Canadians.
She has also opposed the broad use of video surveillance cameras, which are extensively used throughout London, and have been credited with aiding the investigation into the July subway bombings there.