CANADA TO SPEND $690 M ON NEW SECURITY POLICY TO PREVENT TERROR ATTACKS Sympatico.ca - NewsOttawa has announced a new national security policy aimed at improving passport control, port security, and intelligence gathering, as well as boosting Canada's ability to respond to national disasters and disease outbreaks.

The new initiatives will cost $690 million over the next five years, with the funds coming from the Security Reserve and administered by Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan.

The new policy is aimed at "protecting Canada and Canadians at home and abroad, ensuring Canada is not a base for threats to our allies and contributing to international security," McLellan said in a statement.

The announcement is seen as a goodwill gesture to the United States, just days before Prime Minister Paul Martin is due to head to Washington to meet U.S. President George Bush. Martin has been eager to reassure the Bush administration that Canada is taking domestic security as seriously as the United States.

Six key areas are addressed in the new policy: intelligence, emergency management, public health, transportation, border security, and international security.

With concerns that more needs to be done to better co-ordinate surveillance work of the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards, the bulk of the funds -- more than $308 million -- will go to maritime security.

As well, Canada will work with the U.S. to set up a unique continent-wide early warning system against cyber-attacks and beef up defences against an assault on key computer systems.

Other measures include:

enhancing intelligence capabilities
implementing a Passport Security Strategy, to include facial recognition biometric technology on all passports
the creation of the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre and Government Operations Centre to improve the sharing of threat information and better coordinate responses
Beyond the fight against terrorism, there are new procedures aimed at improving the country's emergency preparedness. Ottawa will strive to work more closely with the provincial and territorial governments in preparing to combat natural disasters and health crises, such as SARS.

To ensure that civil liberties are protected as the country strengthens its security systems, a new advisory body will be established, called the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security.

It will be composed of representatives of cultural groups and religious communities and will provide a forum for concerns about how security efforts may be affecting Canada's multicultural society.

"The National Security Policy protects our collective security interests in a way that reflects core Canadian values of tolerance, openness and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms," said McLellan.

Finance Minister Ralph Goodale briefed his American counterpart, Treasury Secretary John Snow, on the new plan while the two were attending Group of Seven meetings over the weekend. Snow said he liked the plan.

"It sounded to me very much like what we're doing with the Department of Homeland Security," Snow told reporters Sunday. "I applauded the developments."

On Monday, former U.S. counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke criticized Ottawa for not spending enough money on law enforcement and intelligence.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Ottawa has announced more than $8 billion in new spending to boost security and ensure the safety of the Canada-U.S. border.

Senator Colin Kenny, who chaired a Senate committee on national security, says he applauds the new policy but says it could still use more funds.

"It's not enough but it's a good start," Kenny told CTV Newsnet. "This is a work-in-progress. It's clear the the government is focusing on the issue, which is helpful. But it's apparent that the spending that's going to be required is significantly higher than we've spent so far."