

Currently released so far... 12478 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sapporo
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
AU
ASEC
AE
AF
AORC
AEMR
AMGT
ABUD
AFFAIRS
APER
AS
AMED
AY
AG
AR
AJ
AL
AID
AM
AODE
ABLD
AMG
AFIN
ATRN
AGAO
AFU
AN
AA
ALOW
APECO
ADM
ARF
ASEAN
APEC
AMBASSADOR
AO
ASUP
AZ
AADP
ACOA
ANET
AMCHAMS
ACABQ
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
APCS
AGMT
AINF
AIT
AORL
ACS
AFSI
AFSN
ACBAQ
AFGHANISTAN
ADANA
ADPM
AX
ADCO
AECL
AMEX
ACAO
ASCH
AORG
AGR
AROC
ASIG
AND
ARM
AQ
ATFN
AC
AUC
ASEX
AER
AVERY
AGRICULTURE
BL
BR
BO
BA
BD
BM
BK
BG
BU
BB
BH
BTIO
BY
BEXP
BP
BE
BRUSSELS
BF
BIDEN
BT
BX
BC
BILAT
BN
BBSR
BTIU
BWC
BMGT
CA
CASC
CVIS
CM
CH
CO
CU
CD
CWC
CI
CS
CY
CMGT
CF
CG
CR
CB
CV
CW
CE
CBW
CT
CPAS
COUNTERTERRORISM
CJAN
CODEL
CIDA
CDG
CDC
CIA
CTR
CNARC
CSW
CN
CONS
CLINTON
COE
CROS
CARICOM
CONDOLEEZZA
COUNTER
CL
COM
CICTE
CIS
CFED
COUNTRY
CJUS
CBSA
CEUDA
CLMT
CAC
COPUOS
CIC
CBE
CHR
CTM
CVR
CITEL
CLEARANCE
CACS
CAN
CITT
CARSON
CACM
CDB
CAPC
CKGR
CBC
EC
EG
EPET
ECON
ETRD
EFIN
EIND
EMIN
ENRG
EAID
EAGR
EUN
ETTC
EAIR
ENIV
ES
EU
EINV
ELAB
ECIN
EFIS
ELTN
EWWT
ECPS
ECONOMIC
ENGR
EN
EINT
EPA
ELN
ESA
EZ
ER
ET
EFTA
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EUMEM
ETRA
EXTERNAL
EI
EUR
EK
ERNG
ENGY
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ENERG
EINVEFIN
ENVR
ECA
ELECTIONS
ETC
EUREM
ENNP
EFINECONCS
EURN
ECINECONCS
EEPET
EXIM
ERD
ENVI
ETRC
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ETRO
EDU
ETRN
EAIG
ECONCS
ECONOMICS
EAP
ECONOMY
EINN
EIAR
EXBS
ECUN
EINDETRD
EREL
EUC
ESENV
ECONEFIN
ECIP
EFIM
EAIDS
ETRDECONWTOCS
EUNCH
EINVETC
IZ
IT
IR
IS
IN
IC
IAEA
IO
ICAO
IWC
ID
IV
ISRAEL
IAHRC
IQ
ICTR
IMF
IRS
IDP
IGAD
ICRC
ICTY
IMO
IL
INRA
INRO
ICJ
ITU
IBRD
INMARSAT
IIP
ITALY
IEFIN
IACI
ILO
INTELSAT
ILC
ITRA
IDA
INRB
IRC
INTERPOL
IA
IPR
IRAQI
ISRAELI
INTERNAL
ISLAMISTS
INDO
ITPHUM
ITPGOV
ITALIAN
IBET
INR
IEA
IZPREL
IRAJ
ITF
IF
KDEM
KU
KPAL
KNNP
KCRM
KZ
KN
KS
KJUS
KTFN
KSCA
KV
KISL
KPAO
KPKO
KIRF
KTIA
KIPR
KFLO
KFRD
KTIP
KAWC
KSUM
KCOM
KAID
KE
KTDB
KMDR
KOMC
KWBG
KDRG
KVPR
KTEX
KGIC
KWMN
KSCI
KCOR
KACT
KDDG
KHLS
KSAF
KFLU
KSEO
KMRS
KSPR
KOLY
KSEP
KVIR
KGHG
KIRC
KUNR
KIFR
KCIP
KMCA
KMPI
KBCT
KHSA
KICC
KIDE
KCRS
KMFO
KRVC
KRGY
KR
KAWK
KG
KFIN
KHIV
KBIO
KOCI
KBTR
KNEI
KPOA
KCFE
KPLS
KSTC
KHDP
KPRP
KCRCM
KLIG
KCFC
KTER
KREC
KTBT
KPRV
KSTH
KRIM
KRAD
KWAC
KWMM
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KOMS
KX
KMIG
KRCM
KVRP
KBTS
KPAONZ
KNUC
KNAR
KPWR
KNPP
KDEMAF
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KERG
KGIT
KPAI
KTLA
KFSC
KCSY
KSAC
KTRD
KID
KOM
KMOC
KJUST
KGCC
KREL
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFTFN
KO
KNSD
KHUM
KSEC
KCMR
KCHG
KICA
KPIN
KESS
KDEV
KCGC
KWWMN
KPAK
KWNM
KWMNCS
KRFD
MOPS
MCAP
MPOS
MARR
MO
MNUC
MX
MASS
MG
MY
MU
ML
MR
MILITARY
MTCRE
MT
MEPP
MA
MDC
MP
MAR
MASSMNUC
MARAD
MAPP
MZ
MD
MI
MEETINGS
MK
MCC
MEPN
MRCRE
MAS
MIL
MASC
MC
MV
MTCR
MIK
MUCN
MEDIA
MERCOSUR
MW
MOPPS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MTRE
MEPI
MQADHAFI
MAPS
NO
NATO
NL
NP
NZ
NSF
NI
NH
NG
NAFTA
NU
NASA
NR
NATOPREL
NSSP
NSG
NA
NT
NW
NK
NPT
NPA
NATIONAL
NPG
NSFO
NS
NSC
NE
NGO
NDP
NIPP
NRR
NEW
NZUS
NC
NAR
NV
NORAD
OTRA
OPCW
OVIP
OAS
OREP
OPIC
OIIP
OPRC
ODIP
OEXC
OPDC
OSCE
OIC
OSCI
OECD
OFDP
OFDA
OMIG
OPAD
OFFICIALS
OVP
OIE
OHUM
OCS
OBSP
OTR
OSAC
ON
OCII
OES
PGOV
PREL
PHUM
PTER
PINS
PINR
PREF
PK
PROP
PA
PARM
PBTS
PMAR
PM
PGIV
PE
PRAM
PHUH
PHSA
PL
PNAT
PO
PLN
PAO
PSA
PHUMPGOV
PF
PEL
PBIO
POLITICS
PHUMBA
PAS
POL
PREO
PAHO
PMIL
POGOV
POV
PAK
PNR
PRL
PG
PREFA
PSI
PINL
PU
PARMS
PRGOV
PALESTINIAN
PAIGH
POLITICAL
PARTIES
POSTS
PROG
PORG
PTBS
PUNE
POLICY
PDOV
PCI
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PBT
PP
PS
PY
PTERE
PGOF
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PPA
PINT
PRELP
PSEPC
PGOVE
PINF
PNG
PGOC
PFOR
PCUL
POLINT
PGGV
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PGOVLO
PHUS
PDEM
PECON
PROV
PHUMPREL
RS
RU
RELATIONS
RW
RO
RM
RP
ROOD
RICE
RUPREL
RSO
RCMP
REACTION
REPORT
REGION
RIGHTS
RF
RFE
RSP
RIGHTSPOLMIL
ROBERT
SU
SCUL
SNAR
SOCI
SF
SA
SHUM
SENV
SP
SR
SY
SANC
SC
SMIG
SZ
SARS
SW
SEVN
SO
SEN
SL
SNARCS
SNARN
SI
SG
SN
SH
SYR
SAARC
SPCE
SHI
SCRS
SENVKGHG
SYRIA
SWE
STEINBERG
SIPRS
ST
SNARIZ
SSA
SK
SPCVIS
SOFA
SIPDIS
SAN
TC
TI
TBIO
TH
TSPL
TRGY
TSPA
TPHY
TU
TW
TS
TAGS
TK
TX
TNGD
TZ
TF
TL
TV
TN
TD
TIP
TR
TP
TO
TT
TFIN
THPY
TERRORISM
TINT
TRSY
TURKEY
TBID
US
UK
UNGA
UP
UZ
UNMIK
USTR
UNO
UNSC
UN
UNESCO
UNAUS
UNHRC
UY
UG
UNHCR
UNCND
USOAS
USEU
UNICEF
UNEP
UV
UNPUOS
UNCSD
USUN
UNCHR
UNDC
USNC
UE
UNDP
UNC
USPS
USAID
UNVIE
UAE
UNFICYP
UNODC
UNCHS
UNIDROIT
UNDESCO
UNCHC
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 08OTTAWA1578, CANADA: 2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08OTTAWA1578.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
08OTTAWA1578 | 2008-12-22 21:36 | 2011-04-28 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Ottawa |
VZCZCXRO2834
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #1578/01 3572136
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 222136Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8896
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 0014
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 001578
SIPDIS
S/CT FOR R.SHORE AND NCTC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PREL ASEC CA
SUBJECT: CANADA: 2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM
REF: STATE 120019
¶1. (U) During 2008 Canada secured its first convictions under
the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act. In September, a Toronto court
convicted a 20-year-old man, whose identity is protected by
the Criminal Youth Justice Act, for conspiring in a group
plot to bomb several Canadian targets, including Parliament
Hill, Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters, and nuclear
power plants. The individual faces as many as 10 years in
prison, but the court had not set a sentencing date at
year,s end. The man was among 18 arrests in 2006 in
connection to the alleged conspiracy. The government dropped
charges against seven alleged co-conspirators, but ten of the
accused awaited trial at year,s end. The remaining
individuals face charges including participation in alleged
terrorist training and terrorist financing. In a separate
trial in October, a Canadian judge convicted Momin Khawaja of
five charges of financing and facilitating terrorism and two
criminal code offenses related to building a remote-control
device that could trigger bombs. Police arrested Khawaja in
2004, accusing him of conspiring with a British al-Qaida (AQ)
cell in a thwarted London bomb plot in that same year.
Khawaja faces a maximum of two life terms, plus a consecutive
58 years at his sentencing on February 12, 2009. In both
cases, the judges upheld the constitutionality of Section 38
of the Canada Evidence Act, which allows Canada to protect
sensitive foreign government information from public
disclosure.
¶2. (U) Police in Quebec arrested Said Namouh in September in
connection with the arrest in Austria of three members of the
Global Islamic Media Front, an AQ-linked propaganda and
recruitment organization. Police charged Namouh with
plotting a terrorist attack against an unspecified foreign
country but found no direct threat to Canada. Namouh remains
in custody pending a January 31, 2009 bail hearing. Working
in cooperation with French authorities, in November Canadian
police arrested an Ottawa university instructor in connection
with the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue, which killed four
people. In June and October in separate immigration cases,
the Canadian Border Services Agency deported two alleged
&Basque Homeland and Freedom8 (ETA) terrorists back to
Spain to face criminal charges following a request from the
Spanish government.
¶3. (U) Two important pieces of legislation that the
government introduced to Parliament in October 2007 met
different fates during 2008. One bill to amend the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to allow for continued
application of &security certificates,8 which have been in
use for several decades as a way to detain, pending
deportation, foreign nationals deemed to be a security
threat. The bill provided for a group of cleared &special
advocates8 to challenge the evidence on behalf of the
accused and for an initial judicial review of detainees in
the first 48 hours of arrest and at six month intervals.
Parliament passed this bill, which entered into force on
February 14, ahead of a February 23 deadline that the
Canadian Supreme Court had imposed after ruling that the
government's use of secret evidence in certificate
proceedings and detention reviews was unconstitutional. Five
individuals are currently subject to security certificates.
The government dropped one individual's certificate. The
government has released four of the certificate holders from
detention subject to conditions on their movement; one
individual under a certificate remains in custody. Legal
Qindividual under a certificate remains in custody. Legal
challenges to the security certificate regime are on-going.
¶4. (U) The second bill was part of a mandatory review of the
2001 Anti-Terrorism Act. Two provisions of the Act )
investigative hearings permitting police to apply for an
order requiring a witness to appear before a judge and answer
questions, and preventive arrest, whereby police may bring an
individual before a judge in the early stages of terrorist
activity to disrupt a potential terrorist attack ) had
sunset clauses and lapsed in February. Although the Senate
had passed this bill, the Commons had not when Prime Minister
Stephen Harper dissolved Parliament to hold a October 14
national election. The government has not made a public
commitment to reintroduce the bill in the new Parliament, and
the ruling Conservative Party did not include this
legislation in its election campaign platform. The
Conservative election platform did, however, pledge to pass
legislation allowing Canadians victims of terrorism to sue
state sponsors of terrorism for monetary damages.
¶5. (U) Under the statutory definition in Section 22 of the
United States, Canada does not provide safe haven to any
terrorist organization.
¶6. (U) On December 12, Canada and the United States renewed
OTTAWA 00001578 002 OF 003
the bilateral agreement on emergency management cooperation,
updating a 1986 accord. It establishes the basis for mutual
assistance in sending supplies, equipment, emergency
personnel, and expert support in response to natural and
man-made incidents, including those related to terrorism. It
provides for integrated responses and relief efforts during
cross-border incidents. It delineates a comprehensive and
harmonized approach to emergency management and establishes a
framework for a joint response to emergent threats.
¶7. (U) United States-Canadian counterterrorism cooperation
took place in a number of established fora, including the
terrorism sub-group of the Cross Border Crime Forum, the
Shared Border Accord Coordinating Committee, and the
Bilateral Consultative Group (BCG). The BCG, which met in
January, brings together U.S. and Canadian counterterrorism
officials from over a dozen agencies on an annual basis to
coordinate policies on terrorism, to share information, and
to engage in joint counterterrorism training. Under the
auspices of the BCG, the United States and Canada broadened
cooperation on a joint Counterterrorism Defense Plan,
including a table top exercise in May.
¶8. (U) In Afghanistan, Canada's presence has grown to a
2,750-person battle group that is taking the fight to the
Taliban insurgency in Kandahar province as part of the
International Security Assistance Force's Regional Command
South. It also continues to provide a Provincial
Reconstruction Team for stabilization and development
efforts. Canada is leading a major initiative to improve
cross border coordination between Afghan and Pakistani
authorities, including police and military, and to enhance
the capacities of the units that work to secure the border
from insurgent and terrorist crossings. As of December,
Canada had lost 103 soldiers, one diplomat, and two aid
workers killed in Afghanistan. It has suffered the highest
proportion of casualties to troops deployed for any NATO
member in country. During the October national election
campaign, Prime Minister Harper re-affirmed that Canada's
combat role in Afghanistan will end in 2011.
¶9. (U) Canada helped other countries address terrorism and
terrorism financing with its Counterterrorism Capacity
Building Program, a $12 million a year program to provide
training, advice, and technical assistance to counterpart
agencies. Through this program, Canada provided assistance to
several countries in the Caribbean to draft new
counterterrorism legislation, intelligence training for
border officials on the Afghan-Pakistani border, and
financial intelligence training to officials in India.
Through its Cross Cultural Roundtable and Muslim Outreach
program, Canada has actively engaged its citizens in a
dialogue on a broad range of national security issues,
including terrorism. The Muslim Communities Working Group in
the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
continued its efforts abroad to enhance Canada's
relationships with the countries of the Muslim world,
focusing on the promotion of democratic governance,
pluralism, and human rights. Canada currently has two
projects under the Organization of American States, (OAS)
Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism: a capacity
building program on document security; and, fraud prevention
in El Salvador for all the countries of Central America, the
Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Canada sponsors projects on
combating identity theft as part of the OAS, Hemispheric
Security Group, port security in Jamaica, and hemisphere-wide
QSecurity Group, port security in Jamaica, and hemisphere-wide
cyber-security.
¶10. (U) In December, Canada renewed formal counterterrorism
research and development (R&D) activities with the United
States by extending a 1995 Memorandum of Understanding. The
agreement between Canada's Department of Public Safety and
the U.S. Department of Defense allows the countries to pursue
joint technical requirements for combating terrorism across a
spectrum of activities, including chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear countermeasures, physical security
and blast mitigation, explosives detection, and
countermeasures for improvised explosive devices. Canada
also pursues science and technology goals with the U.S.
through the Public Security Technical Program, which began in
¶2003.
¶11. (U) During 2008, Canada significantly expanded and
refined its Chemical, Biological, Radiological-Nuclear, and
Explosives (CBRNE) Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI).
The CRTI integrates people and knowledge from the Canadian
scientific, technology, law enforcement, national security,
public health, policy, and first responder communities to
pursue innovative approaches to counterterrorism through
CBRNE science and technology. The broad program is based on
OTTAWA 00001578 003 OF 003
an annual risk assessment and priority setting process and
covers areas including CBRNE detection and identification,
criminal and national security investigation capabilities,
emergency casualty treatment for CBRNE events, food safety,
public confidence, and socio-behavioral issues.
¶12. (U) In February, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
released a Mutual Evaluation on Anti-Money Laundering and
Combating the Financing of Terrorist Finance (AML/CFT) in
Canada. According to the report, Canada has strengthened its
overall AML/CFT regime since its last evaluation in 1997, but
Canada's regime was generally insufficient to meet FATF
recommendations. Following the FATF report, Canada in June
amended the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and
Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) to bring Canada more in
line with international standards, including the FATF,s.
The PCMLTFA amendments introduced a risk-based approach as a
key element of the compliance regime, allowing reporting
entities to asses their own vulnerabilities, identify high
risk areas, and allocate resources appropriately. The new
legislation also required new client identification and
record keeping for real estate agents and brokers, and
established a national registry of money service businesses
to bring transparency to the sector and ensure legal
compliance. In December, the government gave Canada's
financial intelligence unit the power to issue administrative
monetary fines in addition to assessing criminal penalties.
¶13. (U) In March, Canada charged an alleged Tamil Tiger
fund-raiser under the country's laws against raising money
for terrorists. Ontario resident Prapaharan Thambithurai
stands accused of raising money for the World Tamil Movement.
His trial is pending, and he remains free on bail. Canada
added the group to its list of designated terrorist
organizations in April 2006. In November, the Minister of
Public Safety announced that Canada had completed the
mandatory two year review of listed terrorist entities, and
decided that the forty-one entities previously on the list
should remain on the list.
¶14. (U) Embassy point of contact is political officer Kurt
van der Walde, telephone: 613-688-5242 or email:
vanderwalde(at)state.gov.
Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada
BREESE