The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

^ Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, January 23 2002 - 11 . ^ Untying CSlS's Hands: One Finger at a Time? (continued from page 2) they hit your doorstep.. If there is one commodity that Canada could be pulling its weight on in terms of contributing contributing to North American defence, it is intelligence. We Canadians are never going to have a mighty army, even if we get our armed forces into respectable shape again. So intelligence is where we could shine. We are not going to shine with an increase to CSIS funding that amounts to catching up with not much at all. The announced budgetary increase will turn an agency that has been starved into an agency that is undernourished. undernourished. In a rare expenditure of words, Elcock has been firm in committee appearances that CSIS has the right, under the CSIS Act, to place agents on foreign soil. Sure CSIS has that right. But what does it matter? What good is a right if the agency doesn't have the wherewithal? The bulk of CSIS work overseas deals with background checks on immigrants applying to come to Canada. But even if performing performing that task satisfactorily satisfactorily were enough (which it isn't), CSIS doesn't have the personnel. The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), in its 2000-2001 Report on CSIS released last October, showed CSIS provided 125,928 background checks on potential immigrants and refugees to Canada, and reviewed 161,895 citizenship applications. CSIS has been overwhelmed just doing this job. The agency took an aver- * age of two years to report back to Citizenship and Immigration Canada on cases that raised security concerns. And vetting would-be Canadian citizens is definitely not enough. "Persons of inter- • est" don't normally go through regular immigration channels. They often show up without any papers, demanding demanding to be treated as political refugees. Most political refugees are legitimate and end up proving their case. But some, whose backgrounds àre unknown to us, are released, pending applications and appeals, and disappear. We need to have a better idea, in advance; who the dangerous ones are. Ideally, we need a better shot at nabbing then before they get on a plane. But we certainly certainly need to be able to pick them out and identify them if they make their way to Canadian soil. We need a legitimate spy capacity. CSIS has nothing like the resources needed to infiltrate "other" cultures, either at home, or abroad. For too long our police forces and security agencies have been reflections of the mainstream - what used to be a vast white majority in this country, which is 1 no longer so vast. This country rightly welcomes welcomes people of all races, creeds, and cultural backgrounds. backgrounds. But our police and security agencies must be able to move discreetly within every culture, and right now they can't. The time has come to start building the language capacity, capacity, and the cultural capacity, of CSIS, the RCMP, and other bulwarks of the security of all Canadians. A revamped CSIS needs vastly enhanced domestic domestic and foreign capabilities if Canada is not going to continue continue to be a security sieve. Even if the government gets started now, this is going to take considerable time. It will also cost real money. It takes at least a quarter of a million dollars a year to 'keep a trained agent overseas in countries where |he cost of IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN THE TIMES 983-530 NEWCASTLE FUNERAL HOME Family owned and operated by Carl Good, Funeral Director, and Joyce Kufta 386 Mill St. S., Newcastle 987-3964 H www.newcastlefimcralhome.com "Caring for our Community " ggj living is low, and a lot more where the cost of living is high. These aren't big bucks in terms of the value of what the government has a mandate to protect - a country and its people - but they were apparently apparently too big to muscle their way into the December budget. budget. We Canadians are counting on luck, rather than intelligence, intelligence, to solve a crisis. That is the way of the ostrich. Senator Kenny is Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence. Cost of getting hitched hiked It is going to cost Clarington residents an additional additional $25 to tie the knot after February 1st. Committee of Council approved a recommendation from the Clerk's Department for a 25% 'increase in Marriage License fees. The License fee which had been $75 for a number of - years, will -now be increased to si go. The Clerk's report states that presently Clarington and the Township of Brock are the only places within the Region of Durham charging $75 for a Marriage License. On average, about 250 Marriage Licenses a year are sold in the Municipality. Hedied (continued from page 2) a Canadian soldier. Given the divergence of views between DND and MND, what will be on the plaque on the first coffin shipped home from Afghansitan? He died before he got the right uniform? He died in a politically correct uniform but nobody cared what he wore? When a government turns the serious business of war into farce, we are in trouble as a nation. John Sheltus 1-450-248-7319 592 Dutch St Bedford Quebec RECYCLE üil i Great rates & Bonus Shares 6 month closed 1 year closed 3 years closed 5 years closed S . rates subject to change without notice 3.90% 3.90% 4.95% 5.95% DUCA Financial Services Oshawa Branch: ' Bowmanville Branch: E-mail: •15 Charles Street ' 200 King Street East duca.lnfo@duca.com Tel. (905)728-4658 • Tel. (905)623 : 6343 Website; Manager: Mr. Paul Muller Manager: Mr. Tom Broadfoot www.duca.com ♦♦♦♦GOLF CLUB ♦♦♦♦ Corner of Taunton Rd. E. & Bethesda Rd,, Bowmanville* (905) 263-2293 Our Biggest Ba-Openiag Sais Bear Open Every Fri., Sat. & Sm, from 10ant to 3 pm Golf Club II Piece Sets All Makes Steel Shafts - Reg. $449 and up, NOW $199.55 Graphite Shafts - Reg. $595 and up, NOW $279.95 Junior 5 piece Set $59.95 Bag Boy Cart - Reg. $! 18.95, NOW $69.95 All Cart Bags - Reg. $179.95 to $219.95, NOW $99.95 Cabrettia Leather Gloves - Reg. $17.9^, NOW 3 for $25.00 Cold Weather,Gloves - Reg. $28.95, AW $19.95, Regular Gloves - Reg. $12.95, N0W3 for* $18.00 Wè are not just a Pro Shop. Items for EVERYONE Limited Number of JUNIOR MEMBERSHIPS Full 7 Day $300 +GST Good for play gfter 12 noon from April 15,til Sept. 30/02 Limited Number of SËNIOR I HUSBAND/WIFE MEMBERSHIPS Rain Suits 7 Reg. $179.95, NOW$107.95 Rain Suits -Reg.$139.95, NOW$83.95 Golf Shoes Proline - Reg. $i 18.95, NOW $39.95 ' , : . Golf Shoes Proline Leather - Reg. $134.95, NOW $49.95 , Golf Shirts - Reg,$41.95 tô $79.95, NOW 3 for $65.00 ' Jackets - Reg. $69.95 to $129.95, NOW %4\.95 Sweats Pants/Sweat SJiirts - Reg. $44.95 - $84.95, NOW,3 for $75.00 Rain Parçts/Wind Shirts - Reg. $44.95 - $84.95, NOW 3 for $75.00 ■ Shorts/Vests/Sweaters - Reg. $44.95 -$84.95, NOW 3 for $75.00 Putters/Wedges - Reg. $49.95 to $84.95, NOW $29.95 .