Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present to parliament the solicitor general's annual statement on national security.
Public safety is the mission of my ministry and it has been a priority of the government since we took office. The Prime Minister has said that safe streets are one of the things that define the health of a nation.
In the Speech from the Throne the government said it would continue to work to fight criminal activity which is becoming more global in scope, including money laundering, terrorism and the smuggling of people, drugs and guns.
Today I will focus on the government's response to the report of the Special Senate Committee on Security and Intelligence. The special committee, chaired by Senator Kelly, conducted a review of our security and intelligence sector and released its final report earlier this year. We studied the report and recommendations and prepared a response which I will be tabling today.
I was pleased to see the strong support of the government's progress on security and intelligence matters, but the committee quite rightly pointed out that Canada like other democracies needs to stay alert to emerging threats and to take appropriate action.
Our security is something that we cannot take for granted. It depends on a strong security intelligence capability, law enforcement readiness and international co-operation. Our national law and security agencies have effective mechanisms in place to meet their intelligence requirements.
On the international front Canada has been working hard with like-minded nations with the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in a co-operative effort to share intelligence and deny terrorists the support and sanctuary they need for their operations.
The committee noted the close co-operation between Canada and the U.S. to ensure our special border relationship remains up to the task of detecting terrorists and organized criminals who move between our countries.
The cross-border crime forum has helped both countries improve security and law enforcement along our borders. For example, I announced last April an extra $15 million a year to post 100 more RCMP officers at three of our largest international airports. While Canada has been relatively free from terrorists attacks, in today's world we must be watchful and prepared.
The committee also praised the government's work on the national counterterrorism plan developed in co-operation with other jurisdictions. It is the key crisis management plan for responding to terrorist incidents, setting lines of communication and policy direction to guide first responders, senior government officials and ministers.
The committee was pleased with steps taken to develop the operational readiness program but noted the requirement to do more in this area. We are looking at strengthening the program to ensure a national level of readiness. Through workshops, seminars and exercises to strengthen our counterterrorism response capacity, these activities aim to raise awareness and interagency co-operation on the threat of terrorists or criminal use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons in Canada.
The threat of such use is considered low, but all jurisdictions in Canada should still have a capacity to respond to the consequences of the uses of these weapons. That is why the government will lead consultations with other jurisdictions on a national strategy to strengthen Canada's capacity to respond to potential terrorist incidents.
Emerging technologies also present challenges to our efforts to ensure public safety and security. New technologies such as wireless telephones, Internet and cryptography are being used in both traditional and new types of criminal and terrorist activities. The government is dealing with this issue. Protecting Canada's critical infrastructure is a vital issue, and we are addressing it.
The government is committed to working to develop the best possible options to ensure public safety and security, but in addition to being safe Canadians need to feel that their security agencies are working well.
Canada has arguably the best and most effective review and accountability framework in the world in the security intelligence sector. The Security Intelligence Review Committee, an arm's length review body, issues an annual report on CSIS operations that is tabled in parliament. The inspector general of CSIS provides an additional level of security and ministers are directly responsible to parliament.
The committee noted that the public and parliamentary awareness of the activities of our security intelligence agencies is essential in a democracy.
SIRC's annual reports, this annual statement and the committee reports from the other place demonstrate important efforts to raise the knowledge and close involvement of parliament in the reviewing the security intelligence sector.
As we enter the new millennium, Canadians need to know that their government is protecting them and their national interests. I am pleased to note that the special committee recognized the significant progress made to improve our counterterrorism readiness and threat assessment capability. The chair and members of the committee should be congratulated on their hard work and on a report that highlights a number of important national security issues.
In closing, our security intelligence and police forces face many new challenges as we enter the new millennium. CSIS, the RCMP and other federal agencies are working around the clock to preserve public safety. I can assure the House that the government will continue to support them.