Ambassadors Roundtable Series- Canada Event Summary

As part of the Ambassador Roundtable Series on International Collaboration to Combat Terrorism and Insurgencies, The Homeland Security Policy Institute and the International Center for Terrorism Studies co-hosted Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson and Dr. James Young, Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Public Safety, on November 1, 2007.

The security of Canada and the United States, sharing the world’s largest trading relationship and longest unmilitarized border, are inextricably linked. Their shared economic prosperity, said Ambassador Wilson, is at risk if security policy focuses on stopping threats at hardened borders rather than preventive cooperation. Against transnational threats, he said, “to succeed you best not go at it alone.” Security cooperation between Canada and the US, from intelligence sharing to the thorough integration at NORAD, has a long and successful history. It is this cooperation that must be furthered and enhanced.

In particular, Ambassador Wilson highlighted the success of Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETs), which pool resources and personnel from both countries’ police and intelligence, immigration, and border security agencies. IBETs, he said, ensure that resources are focused on stopping threats before they even reach the border. Frank Cilluffo, Director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute, agreed, saying “the time for our security personnel to exchange business cards is before, not during, an emergency.”

Following the Ambassador’s remarks, Dr. Young spoke about Canada’s approach to public safety. He emphasized the need to overcome what Mr. Cilluffo calls the continued – and dangerous – bifurcation of national security and homeland security. Responses to threats – whether terrorism, natural disasters, or infectious diseases like SARS – must be fully integrated. The response to SARS, for example, would be identical whether it were a natural disease or an act of bioterrorism. As such, planning for emergencies must be comprehensive, not compartmentalized. Dr. Young also emphasized that these threats know no boundaries. SARS, which originated in China, the Northeast Blackout of 2003, which started in Ohio, and 9/11 all affected Canadians. Through effective cooperation, Canada and the US have a unique chance to manage threats together, benefiting both populations.

One of the key lessons learned from the SARS outbreak was the need for active, coordinated planning on the part of government. All components and levels of government should study and plan for emergencies so that when one does occur, all resources can be engaged at once. Security personnel must, said Dr. Young, “learn to think differently – horizontally and vertically at the same time,” bringing all tools to bear. He did admit that obstacles remained: for example, hospitals have been difficult to coordinate as they are not a part of provincial or municipal government. To remedy this, a Canadian Centers for Disease Control is being established to integrate hospitals more fully into response planning.

Like Ambassador Wilson, Dr. Young warned that improperly designed or implemented security policies could do more harm than good. When the first case of SARS was discovered in Toronto, a travel advisory cost the city billions of dollars in tourism and manufacturing revenue but did nothing to stop the disease’s spread. The advisory was, he said, an example of bad science hastily applied with little thought to unintended consequences. Responses need to be planned and tested before, not during, an emergency. Over-reactions to threats, he noted, can often generate greater costs than the threats themselves.

Avoiding such over-reactions requires an educated public. One of the most effective – and simplest – responses to SARS, said Dr. Young, was hand washing. But implementing such a response requires public cooperation – and that only comes from greater education and transparency. The better people understand a request, he said, the more likely they are to comply, rather than panic. Public education, he emphasized, must happen now, before threats materialize. Though a slow process, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other security agencies have been working to develop relationships with Canada’s diverse communities. This is to ensure that information flows in both directions – the public receiving the preparedness information it needs, the government receiving the sort of effective intelligence that only comes from successful community policing.

The Ambassador Roundtable Series is designed to provide Ambassadors to the United States and their key diplomatic staff with a forum to discuss current and future counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts on a regional or country-specific basis. In an effort to draw upon various insights and experiences, the Ambassadors Roundtable Series builds upon and institutionalizes efforts over the past two years to engage in a dialogue with members of the international community, policy makers, and practitioners.

For further inquries, please email hspi@gwu.edu with the subject 'Ambassadors Roundtable Series Inquiries.'