Canada's Post 9/11 "Homeland Security": An Exercise in multilevel governance, private sector involvement and civic engagement

Ursula Lehmkuhl, John-F.-Kennedy-Institut für Nordamerikastudien, FU Berlin

English summary

Zusammenfassung

Der Beitrag basiert auf einem in der Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien publizierten Aufsatz. Er diskutiert die kanadischen Anti-Terror-Gesetze und die dadurch ausgelöste Restrukturierung des kanadischen Sicherheitsapparats. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt wird auf die kanadische Politik der "homeland security" gelegt. Inwieweit ist es Kanada angesichts des enormen wirtschaftlichen und politischen Drucks von Seiten der USA und der sich nach dem 11. September 2001 weiter verdichtenden "komplexen Interdependenzbeziehungen" mit dem sŸdlichen Nachbarn gelungen, das eigene Wertesystem zu verteidigen und spezifisch "kanadische" Wege in der Sicherheitspolitik zu gehen? Diese Frage wird anhand der institutionellen Veränderungen im kanadischen Polizeiapparat (Stichwort: integrated policing), der Rolle und Funktion von zivilgesellschaftlichen Akteuren (Stichwort: Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security) und der Etablierung transnationaler "public private security partnerships" erörtert.

Résume

Le présent article discute la loi antiterroriste canadienne qui fait partie de plusieurs textes législatifs qui restructuraient les institutions de sécurité au Canada ds le 11 Septembre, 2001. L'article analyse particulirement des politiques nationales en matire de gestion des urgences et de sécurite nationale. Est-ce que le gouvernement du Canada était capable de protéger les valeurs canadiennes vis-à-vis les pressions économiques et politiques des Etats-Unis? En considérant des divers activités aimant à intégrer la société civile et particulirement les communautés ethnoculturelles du Canada dans le discours sur la sécurité canadienne, comme par exemple la Table ronde transculturelle sur la sécurité, l'article examine des nombreux et divers mesures politiques pour assurer et protéger une société ouverte face à des menaces de sécurité nouveaux gérer par le terrorisme international.

 

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks the Chrétien Government set up Canada's first anti-terrorism legislation defining what terrorism is, creating new terrorist offences and allowing restrictions on the reporting of legal proceedings. Canada implemented an Anti-Terrorism Plan with five objectives: 1. to prevent terrorists from getting into Canada; 2. to protect Canadians from terrorist acts; 3. to legislate tools to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists; 4. to keep the Canada-U.S. border secure and open to legitimate trade; and 5. to work with the international community to bring terrorists to justice.

As part of the reorganization of the Canadian security apparatus on December 12, 2003, the new Prime Minister, Paul Martin, created the "Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness", the Canadian version of the American Department of Homeland Security. In addition the Martin Government worked on a National Security Strategy Paper, the first-ever comprehensive statement of National Security Policy, which was released on April 27, 2004. The strategy paper, entitled "Securing an Open Society" articulates core national security interests and proposes a framework for addressing threats to Canadians in a way that fully reflects and supports key Canadian values. It is based on a threat assessment that encompasses personal security, national security and international security and reflects a multi-level governance approach integrating the individual, the national and the international level.

The strategy paper recognized that addressing complex threats and emergencies not only requires a coordinated approach with provinces, territories, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international partners, but that it also relies on the inclusion of the private sector and civil society actors. Hence, in addition to the legal and institutional reforms allowing integrated policing and enhancing interoperability going even beyond the Canadian border, Canada's security policy is also based on the active participation of Canadian citizens.

The paper analyses three core institutions of citizens' participation: the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security, the Advisory Council on National Security and the stakeholder exercises geared toward representatives from critical infrastructures of the Great Lakes/North East Region.

These institutions and policies of private sector involvement and civic engagement distinguish Canadian efforts in the context of "homeland security" from American ones. Especially the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security reflects key Canadian values going well beyond the normative framework set by democracy, human rights, respect for the rule of law, and pluralism by adding openness, diversity, and respect for civil liberties. The Canadian approach of civic engagement offers one possible political answer to the new transnational threat environment and it remains to be seen whether other countries with large ethno-cultural communities will emulate this Canadian approach to national security in the age of international terrorism.