Canadian National Security and Privacy

Canadian National Security and Privacy

This paper presents a detailed examination of issues surrounding borders and customs in Canada following the events of 9-11. The writer explores changes that have taken place and the impact of those changes on the privacy of Canadian citizens. The writer uses 12 sources including the constitution and the Charter of Rights to discuss the issue.

Following the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States, it became apparent to Canadian officials that the time had come to tighten national security measures. Canada has always prided itself n its easy going attitude and laid back atmosphere which was a sharp contrast when compared to the ideas and regulations in the U.S. When the terrorist attack in NYC happened the world took note and Canada decided the time had come to make some proactive changes aimed at providing protection to its residents. The measures that were taken divided the nation into two camps, those that supported the tightened security mandates and those that believed it infringed on the privacy guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights. While there have been no more terrorist attacks that close to home since the events of 9-11 Canadian officials believe tighter customs and border regulations are one of the most important tools to insuring that Canada doesn't become the next site of a 9-11 attack. A shift toward national security has been underway for the past five years, creating a perceived threat to the privacy of Canadians. For the national security measures to be effective it is important that they can be reconciled with the protections of privacy provided in the Constitution and the Charter of Rights.

CUSTOMS and BORDERS

Since the events of 9-11 the two most important areas of concern for Canadian officials have been customs and border issues. Because the terrorist who committed the attacks on the New York City World Towers used commercial airplanes to commit those attacks the Canadian officials along with the rest of the world has moves toward increasing air travel safety and border regulations to insure terrorists do not have access either by land or by air.

Some unprecedented security measures have been taken, and all air travelers are aware both of how these now affect their need for certain documents and of the extra time required for air travel (Lyon, 2006)."

For many years leading up to the attacks of 9-11 Canadians had not concerned themselves with airport security issues. With only a small handful of attempted hijackings over a three-decade period it did not present itself as an issue. Those who wanted to enter and leave the nation were free to do so by boarding one of the many airlines that flew into the hubs.

The events of 9-11 changed all of that with significant impact on the daily lives of those who now wish to cross the Canadian border by air and by land.

Canada is unique in its relationship to the United States and the shared desire to keep the borders safe as terrorists who can easily enter Canada can easily get across that border into the U.S.(Lyon, 2006).

With this in mind Canada has moved to tighten its borders in the interest not only of its own security but also in the interest of aiding its neighbor to the south with which it has always had a good relationship and continues to have major trade within the two nations.

While the tightening has proven to be useful by way of discouraging acts of terrorism it has created some dissention among the Canadian public about the butting up against the Charter of Rights issues that they feel are being violated.

The Anti-Terrorism Plan in Canada, developed in the wake of 9/11, was intended to keep the Canada-U.S. border secure and open to legitimate trade; increase front-end screening for refugee claimants; improve both detention and deportation processes; increase security staff hiring; and upgrade technology, integration, and training practices. (2) in fact, Canada had been pressing for a "smart border" agreement for some time, but 9/11 seemed to offer the vital opportunity. The "border" issues include both geographical border control sites and artificial ones such as airports (Lyon, 2006)."

Canadian officials have been working to maximized the efficiency of border crossings while increasing the security of those borders.

CHARTER ISSUES

While the importance of security on a national level cannot be ignored it is imperative that those measures do not collide with the rights to privacy set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights that is the companion to the Canadian Constitution. The Charter of Rights specifically addresses privacy issues in several areas.

In one article of the charter it states that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. Before the events of 9-11 this was usually meant to imply that unless one was doing something illegal and it could be proven to a magistrate that they were probably doing something illegal they had a right not to be searched just because they were being viewed suspiciously. It was something that has been tested in the Canadian judicial system many times and it has always been upheld as more important than any perceived threat by not upholding it may thwart.

When the events of 9-11 happened and the Canadian officials began to take measures to tighten the national security members of the Canadian public began to protest that some of those measures interfere with the basic right to protection from unreasonable search laid out by their constitution (Charter of Rights and Freedoms (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/index.html#circulation).

Today when traveling in a Canadian airport or attempting to cross the Canadian border into the U.S. Or back while trying to get home people are subjected to much more intrusive searches and detainments than ever before all in the name of national security.

Some people are detained and searched because of the way they look, because of the way they act or because they are chosen in a random computer target list.

Perhaps even more important under the legal rights section of the Charter of Rights and Freedom is article nine which states: "Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned (Charter of Rights and Freedoms (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/index.html#circulation)."

The detainment and questioning of those who are crossing borders either by air or by land constitutes a direct violation of this article according to those who protest the new national security measures.

Some of the detractors of the national security measures being undertaken by Canada believe that the Canadian public is being made to suffer the consequence of the United States being attacked. While they sympathize with the plight of the Americans and they are aghast that such a terrorist attack was executed they do not believe the Canadian government should place restrictions of its constituents that fly directly in the face of the rights being provided by the nation's constitution.

In addition to the freedoms against search and detainment that detractors of new national security measures believe are being violated others speak ot the freedoms that they are supposed to enjoy when it comes to association and beliefs.

While one would be hard pressed to locate a Canadian resident who would openly state they believe in terrorist attacks and that they support the idea behind the groups that did it though they would never take part themselves the right to feel that way is supposed to be guaranteed by the Canadian constitution (Charter of Rights and Freedoms (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/index.html#circulation).As long as the person in question is not an active participant or hasn't made moves toward assisting in such attacks they are supposed to be able to voice their beliefs and opinions. In addition they are supposed to be able to associate with anyone they wish to associate with and not fear reprisal by the government.

The new national security measures are targeting anyone who does not comply with anti-terrorist thought.

This is understandable as terrorist attacks go against everything considered humane and no civilized person would support such actions but speaking from a strictly rights based approach some of the new national security measures in Canada in the quest to secure the borders come very close to infringing on the rights promised by the constitution.

Border security impacts more than the individual right to privacy. In addition there are many economic considerations to the mix (Canada, 2002). Canada and the United States have always enjoyed a large amount of business trade back and forth across the border that divides the two nations. Following the events of 9-11 Canada began to examine the border and customs traditions that it had always used and found that there were loopholes and weaknesses that needed immediate attention if nations security was to be strengthened.

Canadian and U.S. officials are squaring off over how to improve border security without putting the brakes on $1.3 billion in trade each day, a battle complicated by disagreements within the Bush administration, government sources tell United Press International (Canada, 2002)."

One of the largest issues between the two nations is the issue of truck passage. In the past trucks carrying goods or cargo had enjoyed a cursory glance as they crossed into the other nation however, after the World Trade Towers came down border agents on both sides of the border began to investigate trucks with much more scrutiny than ever before.

Historic allies, Canada and the United States agreed following 9-11 to a plan for a "secure and smart border" both U.S. And Canadian officials said would protect against terrorist attacks while facilitating this vital stream of trade. Seventy percent of the trade with Canada is truck-borne, with a truck crossing the border every three seconds in a stream of 200,000 vehicles each day (Canada, 2002).

The essence of that agreement was that the United States and Canada would devise ways to identify regular, unthreatening traffic in people and cargo and separate it from unknown or questionable goods and individuals (Canada, 2002). The idea was backed by Ridge and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister John Manley (Canada, 2002)."

However the agreement was not completed as the discussions broke down between the nations about the methods and intensity with which borders should be secured.

One expert took issue with the idea of truckers leaving Canada and entering the states (Canada, 2002).

There are at least a certain number of al Qaida terrorists in Canada," he said. "One of them could get a job at one of these (Canadian manufacturing) plants and then you may have nuclear material inserted in that truck (Canada, 2002)."

This public statement raised the ire of Canadian citizens already feeling the pinch of national security based in some part on the fact that they lived next door to America.

Talks were resumed and agreements were reached but not before Canadians let their feelings be known about the American attitude.

When the fallout of 9-11 was over with Canadian officials scrambled to immediately tighten customs and border security to protect the residents of its nation.

In doing this the temporary plans put in place created a bottleneck at airports and package pickups nationwide while people were stopped and questioned (Quinn, 2005).

Customs has always been an issue with international travelers as they work to get their product or items from one destination to another. Following the attacks of 9-11 customs tightened its regulations to the point that large companies found themselves unable to move the products and supplies as quickly as they need to get it done.

We have seen more [security] initiatives by both governments in the past four years than in the previous ten years," says Candace Sider, director of customs and trade development for PBB Global Logistics Inc., a third-party logistics (3PL) company in Fort Erie, Ont (Quinn, 2005)."

Since the increased customs security measures were put into place shipments spend an estimated 25% more time at the border being checked than they did before the events of 9-11(Quinn, 2005).

A trucker now knows that he or she will spend an additional hour at the Canadian border whether going in or out of Canada. That hour equals 100 kilometers in driving time which costs the company money.