Asian Criminal and Terrorist Activity in Canada/intro

by Library of Congress – Federal Research Division

For the past three years, information has revealed a proliferation of Asian organized crime groups in Canada. Since September 11, 2001, the Canadian government has paid increasing attention to terrorist organizations and has initiated several changes in government policy to tighten border security and combat terrorism. The success of these new policies is yet to be fully evaluated. Several factors continue to support the development of these criminal and terrorist groups’ use of Canada as either a transit point or base from which to conduct their activities in the United States.

In April 2003, the U.S. State Department published its annual Patterns of Global Terrorism report. Although Canada receives an overall positive rating, certain aspects of Canadian policy were found to be counterproductive to U.S. security. The porosity of the Canadian border is worrisome. In addition, some U.S. law enforcement officers have expressed worry that Canadian privacy laws designed to protect Canadian citizens and landed immigrants from governmental intrusions and insufficient funding for the law enforcement community inhibit “a fuller and more timely exchange of information and response to requests for assistance” from their U.S. counterparts.^[1]

Original footnotes

1. United States Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2002 (Washington: 2003).<http://www.state.gov>