Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : NNBM - SI Branch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Clappy who wrote (5804)	9/17/2001 12:01:27 PM
From: abuelita	Respond to of 104155

'Canada at war': Manley 'Shoulder to shoulder': Says government will stand with U.S. even if our soldiers die in battle By Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief National Post, with files from Jane Taber and Global News -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTTAWA - Canada will "unambiguously" join U.S. military action in striking back at terrorism, even if Canadian lives are lost, John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday. "Canada is at war against terrorism," he said in an interview concerning the government's response to Tuesday's attacks. "The world changed in some very real ways as a result of those events and that is going to force us to look at all aspects of what we do." Mr. Manley pledged Canada will "stand shoulder to shoulder" with the United States when it goes into battle against the perpetrators -- even if Canadian military personnel are put at risk. "If they have things that they require [from the military], they should simply let us know," Mr. Manley said. "Let's remember we have already lost Canadian lives so I don't think anyone hesitates in saying our response is not just in support of the United States, but we have Canadians victims of this attack." Asked if Canada is prepared to lose lives, Mr. Manley said: "We are victims of the attack. We are part of it so that is the end of that discussion." He said Canada will also undertake a major review of its immigration and security policies to avoid a U.S. clampdown at the border. Washington has long criticized Canada as a haven for international terrorists, citing lax immigration and refugee policies and inadequate security laws. The United States and NATO have also chided Canada for inadequate military spending. In a separate interview with television's Global Sunday, Mr. Manley emphasized again that this country's immigration and security laws will be re-examined in light of U.S. concerns about the ease with which international terrorists have entered Canada to raise money and mount attacks against the United States and other nations. The U.S. Congress and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have warned that virtually every known terrorist organization in the world is exploiting Canada's ethnic communities, posing a serious security threat. Failure to take concrete action to reassess Canadian policies could cause irreparable harm to the economy and the free flow of commerce across the border, Mr. Manley acknowledged. "We will have to make every effort to satisfy the United States as to the level of our border security. We have simply too much at stake economically in our ability to access the United States market -- over $1.3-billion U.S. dollars per day in trade -- we can't have them build a wall around the United States and us be on the outside of it. I think that is very clear so I think we need to satisfy them." Mr. Manley also indicated Ottawa is prepared to heed concerns by the United States and NATO allies over Canada's defence spending, which is about 1.15 % of gross domestic product, half the NATO alliance average of 2.13 %. "As we assess the world that we live in, we may well find that we're going to have to increase the amounts that we allocate to national defence as well as to our security force, as well as the RCMP and CSIS," Mr. Manley said. Mr. Manley said Canadians will have to accept some limits to their freedoms as Canada and its allies put in place new measures to combat terrorism. "Undoubtedly I think there is going to be a shift in that balance to some degree in favour of the duty to protect and away from individual liberty," he said. "It must never go too far or we take away the very essence of a free and democratic society but clearly we are going to have to look at every aspect of our security environment to see what adjustments need to be made in light of last Tuesday to assure Canadians that they live in a safe place." Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, is expected to elaborate on Canada's response to terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in a special parliamentary debate today. The debate will be the first order of business when the House of Commons returns from its summer recess. In his speech today, Mr. Chrétien will call "us back to our Canadian values," say insiders. He will ask Canadians not to lash out against ethnic communities. "It is not who we are as Canadians," he is to say in his speech. He will ask Canadians to rely on their "wisdom and patience" in these trying times. Joe Clark, the Conservative Leader, yesterday berated the Prime Minister for a "faint-hearted" response in the immediate aftermath of the attack, saying he should have come out strongly in support of Washington. "I support military participation. I believe we have to take a very good look at our immigration laws. I think we have to take a very close look at airport security on the ground and in the air," Mr. Clark said. Stockwell Day, the Canadian Alliance Leader, has also criticized the Prime Minister for not taking a tougher stand and unequivocally promising military aid to the United States.