Air India inquiry to examine terror financing

Ottawa: Canada may need a central agency to co-ordinate investigations of terrorism financing, the Air India inquiry was told Thursday.
Richard Quance, a lawyer representing a group of overseas Air India victims, suggested that more could be done to deal with tens of millions identified as leaving Canada each year to finance terrorism.
He cited a Vancouver Sun story last week that revealed Canada has not prosecuted a single terrorist financing case nor has the Canada Revenue Agency issued a single security certificate against a charity despite getting the power to do so six years ago.
Quance said his clients want to make sure someone in government is accountable for dealing with the problem so that Canada is not dealing with another tragedy like the 1985 Air India bombing. Air India Flight 182 exploded in June 23, 1985, killing all 329 aboard.
Quance addressed Commissioner John Major as the inquiry moved into its next phase — exploring the issue of terrorist financing and whether legislative changes are needed to combat the problem.
Major told Quance he expects the families to make recommendations in the area after hearing about 10 days of evidence from experts in Canada and around the world.
“It is not enough to simply criticize,” Major said.
Inquiry lawyer Roger Bilodeau said this part of the inquiry is the first ever look at the issue of terrorism financing in Canada and how various agencies are attempting to tackle it.
Specialists within the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada are all expected to testify.
27/09/07 Kim Bolan/CanWest News Service/Canada.com

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Categories: Air India - International Sep 2007, Foreign Sep 2007, Safety Sep 2007