Ocean_surfer2000

As 60 Minutes first reported over a year ago, Canadian intelligence
admits the country has become a sanctuary, staging ground and
fund-raising base for hundreds of terrorists from all over the world.

They are drawn to Canada by its liberal immigration and refugee
policies, and they have transformed Canada into a potential launching
pad for attacks against the United States.Correspondent Steve Kroft
reports.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Canada has everything for the discriminating terrorist," says David
Harris, former chief of strategic planning at the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service - a hybrid of our CIA and FBI.

"It's a convenient place. It's a modern economy so that you can get
money, you can transfer money, channel it around the world."

In the past decade, Canada has opened its doors to more than two
million immigrants to keep its economy growing. They have settled into
diverse, ethnic neighborhoods of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver,
where Arabic and Farsi are now as likely to be spoken as English or
French.

Tens of thousands have come from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and North
Africa -and some have brought their radical politics with them.

"We've established through our intelligence services and other means
that we have 50 terrorist organizations now on our soil. And a good
number of these are world class. They range in scope from the IRA to
Hezbollah, Hamas … certainly al Qaeda," says Harris, who believes that
they are targeting the United States.

In January 2002, when Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that
U.S. authorities were actively searching for two al Qaeda operatives,
he acknowledged that both men had obtained Canadian citizenship.

Abderraouf Jdey and Fake Boussora were both born in Tunisia and have
been identified as would-be suicide bombers. Both are still at large,
carrying valid Canadian passports, and both of them lived here in
Montreal, which has become a strategic center for international
terrorists.

Law enforcement authorities in Canada and abroad believe at least 15
Islamic terrorists with connections to al Qaeda have operated here.
Many are French-speaking North Africans who feel right at home in
Montreal, the second-largest French speaking city in the world and
just an hour's drive from the U.S. border.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approximately 275,000 people drive from Canada to the United States
every day. Most are waved through with little more than a quick check
from immigration officials - and that's how both countries like it.
Tighter security might impede commerce and slow down the world's
largest international trading relationship.

"If you are in the business of destroying the Western world and the
United States and everything that they represent, you couldn't have a
better jumping off point, could you," says Harris.

And the border is wide open.

Hani Al-Sayegh, a prime suspect in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar
Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, was arrested
in Canada.

Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer used Canada as an entry point to the United
States in 1997, bringing with him plans to blow up New York City
subways. He's now serving a life sentence.

Nabil Al-Murabh, considered one of Osama bin Laden's key operatives in
North America, went back and forth across the Canadian-US border until
he was arrested just after Sept. 11 with a valid license to haul
hazardous materials.

All three were able to operate in Canada using the same method. They
arrived and claimed to be refugees seeking political asylum. Under
international law, a refugee is someone who has a well-founded fear of
being persecuted in his native land, but Canada's interpretation is
much more liberal.

Joe Bissett, a former executive director of the Canadian Immigration
Service, says Canada never turns anyone away. "We have the most
generous refugee system in the world," he says. "Much too generous."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In fact, according to Bissett, you just need to say, "I want to make a
refugee claim" in order to become a refugee in Canada.

And 44,000 people showed up in Canada in 2001 claiming to be refugees
- 15,000 just since Sept. 11.

"Out of those 15,000, 2,500 come from terrorist countries: Algeria,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Albania, Somalia, Iraq, Iran," says Bissett.
"Now these people, 2,500 of them, are in Canada. Most of them, we
don't know who the hell they are."

And there is good reason they don't know who they are. Val Diaconescu
worked as a senior immigration inspector at Montreal's Dorval Airport.

"While I was there, I can say 80 percent of the people coming to claim
refugee status didn't have any documents," he says.

Diaconescu says the refugees get out of their native countries using
phony documents, and then destroy them in transit. And what happens
when they get to Canada?

"The procedure is very simple. You have to fill the papers, pick up
the--the fingerprints and the picture, and let the person go," says
Diaconescu, who says the whole process takes almost two hours.

Canadian authorities acknowledge that just 5 percent of the refugees
coming into Canada are detained. The other 95 percent are released and
told to show up for an immigration hearing that will be held sometime
in the next year. Many, however, never bother to attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So how do you do a security check on somebody who doesn't have
documents? Bissett says it's not easily done.

According to Stephen Gallagher, a political science professor at
Montreal's Concordia University, the Ressam case is a textbook example
of how easy it is to exploit Canada's immigration system. He says
Ressam all but volunteered to immigration officials that he was a
terrorist.

"When he arrived at the airport, he told them that he was accused of
being an Islamic extremist, and that he had spent time in jail for -
for selling arms, and yet the -- he was released," says Gallagher.

Once in the country, Ressam began plotting attacks while he collected
welfare and awaited word on his refugee claim.

"You have to realize it takes so long to get through the whole process
that it's a good means of living in Canada for an extended period
without--without actually being deported," says Gallagher. "Once
you're here, you're here."

And getting full benefits. In fact, Gallagher says that Canada is the
only country where, when you arrive, you can work, and in addition,
you can collect welfare and health benefits. You can also enroll your
children in school.

Ressam not only spent six years in Canada, he even left to travel to
Afghanistan and back to attend a six-month terrorist training course.
He never bothered to show up for his immigration hearing and was
arrested several times for a string of robberies.

In the end, it was an astute U.S. Customs agent in Port Angeles,
Washington, who caught Ressam with a car full of explosives. He is now
in federal prison.

But according to former Canadian Immigration Chief Joe Bissett, that
makes him an exception to the general rule.

"It's like - one of our commentators has said - The Eagles' song
‘Hotel California.' Anybody can check in but nobody leaves," says
Bissett.

"They don't leave. And we've had some cases that have been in the
court for years and years, and some of them are convicted terrorists."

Bissett says his government doesn't seem to have learned some obvious
lessons from Sept. 11. Canada still has no travel restrictions on
visitors from Saudi Arabia, which has been a hotbed of al Qaeda
activity. In fact, Saudi citizens traveling to Canada don't even need
a visa. They can just get on an airplane and fly to Canada.

"Get on an airplane if they've got a passport. They come into Canada
and get off the aircraft. There's no pre-checking of them," says
Bissett.

"If they were concerned about security, they would have slapped a visa
on Saudi Arabian visitors immediately after September the 11th."

Observer

Canada has become sucker for phony refugee and illegal immigrant from the
rest of the world. Anybody can claim refugee status at any border crossing
or airport. Then released to the community with work permit and welfare
check for the whole family. The Canadian refugee acceptance rate is better
than the United states. Therefore phony refugee would rather comes Canada,
claim refugee status and obtain social benefit with our tax dollars right
away.

There is no security check against these people who destroyed their
identication paper or passport. Without proper enforcement from federal
authority these phony refugee and illegal immigrant doesn't show up for
immigration/refugee hearing. They disappeared from their given phony address
into their local community. The number of these phony refugee and illegal
immigrant is everybody guess. Thousands, ten of thousands, hundred of
thousands? This phony refugee and illegal immigrant issue is becoming a
national disaster and threaten to the welfare of all Canadian. I hope that
incoming new liberal government would close these loop holes or vote for the
party that would.


"ocean_surfer2000" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > As 60 Minutes first reported over a year ago, Canadian intelligence
    > admits the country has become a sanctuary, staging ground and
    > fund-raising base for hundreds of terrorists from all over the world.
    > They are drawn to Canada by its liberal immigration and refugee
    > policies, and they have transformed Canada into a potential launching
    > pad for attacks against the United States.Correspondent Steve Kroft
    > reports.
    > --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
    > "Canada has everything for the discriminating terrorist," says David
    > Harris, former chief of strategic planning at the Canadian Security
    > Intelligence Service - a hybrid of our CIA and FBI.
    > "It's a convenient place. It's a modern economy so that you can get
    > money, you can transfer money, channel it around the world."
    > In the past decade, Canada has opened its doors to more than two
    > million immigrants to keep its economy growing. They have settled into
    > diverse, ethnic neighborhoods of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver,
    > where Arabic and Farsi are now as likely to be spoken as English or
    > French.
    > Tens of thousands have come from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and North
    > Africa -and some have brought their radical politics with them.
    > "We've established through our intelligence services and other means
    > that we have 50 terrorist organizations now on our soil. And a good
    > number of these are world class. They range in scope from the IRA to
    > Hezbollah, Hamas . certainly al Qaeda," says Harris, who believes that
    > they are targeting the United States.
    > In January 2002, when Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that
    > U.S. authorities were actively searching for two al Qaeda operatives,
    > he acknowledged that both men had obtained Canadian citizenship.
    > Abderraouf Jdey and Fake Boussora were both born in Tunisia and have
    > been identified as would-be suicide bombers. Both are still at large,
    > carrying valid Canadian passports, and both of them lived here in
    > Montreal, which has become a strategic center for international
    > terrorists.
    > Law enforcement authorities in Canada and abroad believe at least 15
    > Islamic terrorists with connections to al Qaeda have operated here.
    > Many are French-speaking North Africans who feel right at home in
    > Montreal, the second-largest French speaking city in the world and
    > just an hour's drive from the U.S. border.
    > --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
    > Approximately 275,000 people drive from Canada to the United States
    > every day. Most are waved through with little more than a quick check
    > from immigration officials - and that's how both countries like it.
    > Tighter security might impede commerce and slow down the world's
    > largest international trading relationship.
    > "If you are in the business of destroying the Western world and the
    > United States and everything that they represent, you couldn't have a
    > better jumping off point, could you," says Harris.
    > And the border is wide open.
    > Hani Al-Sayegh, a prime suspect in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar
    > Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans, was arrested
    > in Canada.
    > Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer used Canada as an entry point to the United
    > States in 1997, bringing with him plans to blow up New York City
    > subways. He's now serving a life sentence.
    > Nabil Al-Murabh, considered one of Osama bin Laden's key operatives in
    > North America, went back and forth across the Canadian-US border until
    > he was arrested just after Sept. 11 with a valid license to haul
    > hazardous materials.
    > All three were able to operate in Canada using the same method. They
    > arrived and claimed to be refugees seeking political asylum. Under
    > international law, a refugee is someone who has a well-founded fear of
    > being persecuted in his native land, but Canada's interpretation is
    > much more liberal.
    > Joe Bissett, a former executive director of the Canadian Immigration
    > Service, says Canada never turns anyone away. "We have the most
    > generous refugee system in the world," he says. "Much too generous."
    > --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
    > In fact, according to Bissett, you just need to say, "I want to make a
    > refugee claim" in order to become a refugee in Canada.
    > And 44,000 people showed up in Canada in 2001 claiming to be refugees
    > - 15,000 just since Sept. 11.
    > "Out of those 15,000, 2,500 come from terrorist countries: Algeria,
    > Pakistan, Afghanistan, Albania, Somalia, Iraq, Iran," says Bissett.
    > "Now these people, 2,500 of them, are in Canada. Most of them, we
    > don't know who the hell they are."
    > And there is good reason they don't know who they are. Val Diaconescu
    > worked as a senior immigration inspector at Montreal's Dorval Airport.
    > "While I was there, I can say 80 percent of the people coming to claim
    > refugee status didn't have any documents," he says.
    > Diaconescu says the refugees get out of their native countries using
    > phony documents, and then destroy them in transit. And what happens
    > when they get to Canada?
    > "The procedure is very simple. You have to fill the papers, pick up
    > the--the fingerprints and the picture, and let the person go," says
    > Diaconescu, who says the whole process takes almost two hours.
    > Canadian authorities acknowledge that just 5 percent of the refugees
    > coming into Canada are detained. The other 95 percent are released and
    > told to show up for an immigration hearing that will be held sometime
    > in the next year. Many, however, never bother to attend.
    > --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
    > So how do you do a security check on somebody who doesn't have
    > documents? Bissett says it's not easily done.
    > According to Stephen Gallagher, a political science professor at
    > Montreal's Concordia University, the Ressam case is a textbook example
    > of how easy it is to exploit Canada's immigration system. He says
    > Ressam all but volunteered to immigration officials that he was a
    > terrorist.
    > "When he arrived at the airport, he told them that he was accused of
    > being an Islamic extremist, and that he had spent time in jail for -
    > for selling arms, and yet the -- he was released," says Gallagher.
    > Once in the country, Ressam began plotting attacks while he collected
    > welfare and awaited word on his refugee claim.
    > "You have to realize it takes so long to get through the whole process
    > that it's a good means of living in Canada for an extended period
    > without--without actually being deported," says Gallagher. "Once
    > you're here, you're here."
    > And getting full benefits. In fact, Gallagher says that Canada is the
    > only country where, when you arrive, you can work, and in addition,
    > you can collect welfare and health benefits. You can also enroll your
    > children in school.
    > Ressam not only spent six years in Canada, he even left to travel to
    > Afghanistan and back to attend a six-month terrorist training course.
    > He never bothered to show up for his immigration hearing and was
    > arrested several times for a string of robberies.
    > In the end, it was an astute U.S. Customs agent in Port Angeles,
    > Washington, who caught Ressam with a car full of explosives. He is now
    > in federal prison.
    > But according to former Canadian Immigration Chief Joe Bissett, that
    > makes him an exception to the general rule.
    > "It's like - one of our commentators has said - The Eagles' song
    > 'Hotel California.' Anybody can check in but nobody leaves," says
    > Bissett.
    > "They don't leave. And we've had some cases that have been in the
    > court for years and years, and some of them are convicted terrorists."
    > Bissett says his government doesn't seem to have learned some obvious
    > lessons from Sept. 11. Canada still has no travel restrictions on
    > visitors from Saudi Arabia, which has been a hotbed of al Qaeda
    > activity. In fact, Saudi citizens traveling to Canada don't even need
    > a visa. They can just get on an airplane and fly to Canada.
    > "Get on an airplane if they've got a passport. They come into Canada
    > and get off the aircraft. There's no pre-checking of them," says
    > Bissett.
    > "If they were concerned about security, they would have slapped a visa
    > on Saudi Arabian visitors immediately after September the 11th."