BBC News, 5 April 2007 Lee Carter

The first person to be charged under Canada’s anti-terrorism act has lost his attempt to challenge the law over its constitutionality. Mohammed Momin Khawaja, a Canadian citizen, was arrested in March 2004 in a joint UK-Canadian operation and was accused of planning to attack the UK. He argued that the new law was unconstitutional following a ruling by a provincial judge. But the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear Mr Khawaja’s appeal.

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Globe and Mail, 31 March 2007 Bill Curry

OTTAWA — Radical natives are listed in the Canadian army’s counterinsurgency manual as a potential military opponent, lumping aboriginals in with the Tamil Tigers, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad. The military is putting the finishing touches on the manual, but a draft version of the document obtained by The Globe and Mail outlines a host of measures the military might use to fight insurgents at home and abroad. The measures include ambushes, deception and killing.

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Less than one in 20 held under anti-terror laws is charged By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent, The Independent

Less than 4 per cent of the people arrested under anti-terror laws since the September 11 attacks five years ago have been convicted of terrorist offences, it was disclosed yesterday. Following warnings from Muslim groups over the growing alienation of large sections of the community, the Government faced demands for an overhaul of anti-terrorist legislation.

Ministers also came under sustained fire in the House of Lords for their use of control orders against terrorist suspects, with peers warning that the policy could backfire by attracting support for extremism. Statistics released by the Home Office disclosed that 1,166 people were detained between 11 September 2001, and 31 December last year on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
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Reuters, 27 February 2007 David Ljunggren

Canada’s Parliament scrapped two contentious anti-terror measures on Tuesday, angering the minority Conservative government, which accuses opposition legislators of being soft on terror. The House of Commons voted 159-124 not to renew the provisions — which expire on March 1 — on the grounds that they had never been used.

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The United States consulate occupies three-and-half floors of a West Pender highrise. More than 60 employees work out of the downtown Vancouver office. They include 12 agents from various branches of U.S. law enforcement such as Homeland Security, the FBI, Secret Service, DEA and ATF.

by Mike Howell-staff writer,Vancouver Courier 

One by one, a handful of men in suits enter a boardroom on the 19th floor of the U.S. consulate in downtown Vancouver.  They gather with members of the RCMP and the Vancouver Police Department, who are in uniform. Not until the men introduce themselves does it become clear who they are.  “Gerry Downes, FBI, Mike Flanagan, Homeland Security, Scott Collins, Diplomatic Security…” And on it goes.

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