 |
Chronicle Journal on Facebook
| Week in Review |
| Yesterday |
| 2 days ago |
| 3 days ago |
| 4 days ago |
| 5 days ago |
| Games! | |
 Canadian Crossword |
|
| PlayFour! |
|
| Word Roundup |
|
|
|
|
| Local | National | World | Technology | Travel | Health | Oddities | Careers | Classifieds | Obituaries | Letters to the Editor | Editorials |
| More Links | tbayjobline | TbayWeddings | Play Games! | New! eVents Calendar | Advertise with Us | Contact Us |
|---|
| Other Links | Movie Times | Airport | Bus Schedule | Road Conditions | Library | Weather |
|---|
TORONTO - Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan says Canada has significant limitations in its ability to share information about potential terrorist suspects with other countries. Van Loan made the comment in an interview with The Associated Press when asked if Canada has ever shared information about potential terror suspects with Yemen, a largely lawless country that is now a key stronghold for al-Qaida. Yemen’s government says the United States should have shared its warnings about the Nigerian suspect in the botched Christmas Day airline attack on a plane bound from Amsterdam to Detroit. Yemeni Information Minister Hassan al-Lozy said Washington never shared its suspicions about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was flagged on a watchlist as a possible terrorist. Abdulmutallab, 23, told U.S. officials after his arrest he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen, a law enforcement official has said. Van Loan says the issue is a sensitive one in Canada following public inquiries that found that Canadian officials contributed to the torture of Canadians in Syria and Egypt by sharing information - including unfounded accounts of extremist links - with foreign agencies. A 2006 inquiry ruled the U.S. likely sent a Canadian engineer to Syria to be tortured days after he was picked up at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on a false tip from Canada that he had ties to Islamic extremists. Syria has denied Maher Arar was tortured. Ottawa agreed to pay him almost $10 million after acknowledging it had passed bad information to U.S. authorities. Van Loan said the cases have placed significant limitations on Canada’s ability to share information with partner countries. "Undoubtedly this is a constraint that makes managing security and situations like this more challenging," Van Loan said. Van Loan said the most effective al-Qaida operation in the world today is largely centred in Yemen right now. He said Canadians have gone to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past for terrorist training and that Canada has increasing concerns about Yemen. "We know that in the past Canadians have gone to Pakistan, to Afghanistan and to places in that part of the world for terrorist training and we do continue to watch them," Van Loan said. Top of Page |
|
|
September 2, 2010, 8:22 am |