By a Staff Writer
Toronto
A security expert says Canada needs to go beyond screening for terrorists landing on our shores and consider the religious beliefs of some prospective immigrants.
Scott Newark says Canada should be concerned about "Islamist" immigrants.
Newark served as executive officer of the Canadian Police Association and also worked as a security and policy advisor to both the Ontario and federal Ministers of Public Safety.
"We need to think hard about what I would call 'Islamism', the political Islam that has absolutely no interest whatsoever in integration, that is intolerant and unyielding and absolutely committed to eradicating Western values," he said in an interview.
Newark says if Canada did a better job screening prospective immigrants, Omar Khadr might not be household name.
Canada knew of Omar Khadr's father's fundraising activities for al-Qaida, for example, and of his father's taking his children to spend time with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, Newark says. "But we ignored that," he said. "And that is contrary to what's in our own national security interest."
Newark, unsurprisingly, is a fan of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who has made significant changes to the immigration system to keep more undesirables out. "We're bringing in biometric visas on January 2nd and information sharing with the U.S. so that we can screen out the people who represent a security threat," Kenney recently told reporters.