The phrase, "don't worry, be happy", in a Canadian context is most associated with former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He was the guy who after 9/11, announced that there were no terrorists in Canada and it didn't seem to matter that this was almost two years after failed refugee claimant, ahmed Ressam, got caught trying to enter the U.S. in order to blow up Los angeles International airport. Chrétien went on his merry way after the attacks, paying scant attention not only to terrorism but to the families of the 24 victims who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
Jean Chrétien is gone now and for that matter, so is the Liberal government. But the attitude that terrorism is really nothing to worry about is unfortunately alive and well in the land of tolerance and diversity.
Writing in the National Post, Martin Collacott, a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute and a former Canadian ambassador, wrote about how Canadians view security threats. Collacott quoted Liberal Senator Colin Kenny who said of the aftermath of the arrest of 17 people on terrorism charges in Toronto, "the essence of responses from the top was that the fact that arrests were made should reassure Canadians that everything is under control — so calm down. The public needs the truth. The truth is that it is probably going to take a decade to get up to speed on monitoring and countering the potential threats at our airports and sea ports, along our borders, and in the neighbourhoods likely to incubate terrorist threats."
Despite the fact that CSIS says there are several threats out there, the attitude of the politicians and the media is one of, well we made some arrests, let's forget it; we're safe for the moment so let's move on. and move on they did. Seemingly within minutes of the arrest of the Toronto 17, the elites moved onto what they perceived to be the real crisis — the feared Muslim backlash from the rest of Canada which implied that the rest of the country was racist and poised to attack Muslims. although a mosque was vandalized, this great backlash never really materialized. The damage done to the mosque seemed to invoke more of a crisis than the alleged plot to blow up the Toronto Stock Exchange and CSIS's Toronto offices.
We see the same reaction from political leaders and the media when the issue turns to violent crime. although it is rarely talked about, the fact that violent gun crime is a big problem in Toronto's Jamaican community is ignored in much the same way terrorist threats are. When major gang busts are made, as one was a few weeks ago, the message is sent that since a large number of arrests have been made, the problem is being solved and we need not address violent crime any further. and whenever a high profile case comes up, such as the murder of Jane Creba last Boxing Day, the subject matter of debate and discussion is quickly moved to one of young black males who are not involved with guns and who are succeeding in society. again, the attitude seems to be that we are all racists and need to be told that not all young black men are gang members.
The shift to Muslims as victims and blacks as law abiding citizens and achievers creates the impression that if we look at the positive we no longer have to worry about the negative. as nice and "happy" as it is to hear about moderate Muslims and successful young black males, it does absolutely nothing to protect society from the threat of terrorism or the scourge of violent gun crime that is currently plaguing Toronto and other major Canadian cities. Senator Kenny was right — Canadians don't need calming down or made to feel good — we need to know the truth. and we need solutions to threats to our society.
Canada will eventually be hit by a terrorist attack; as CSIS and other security experts keep pointing out, it's not a matter of "if" but "when". and when it happens the Jack Laytons of the country will express shock and disbelief as they did when the 17 men and boys were arrested. But until that happens, don't worry — be happy.
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