AQOL Archive back to AQOL Archive   To what extent is Canada a target for international terrorists? Mercifully, we haven't found out yet, but attacks in Madrid and London illustrate the terrorism risk faced by major western countries. Similar acts this year in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Bali indicate that countries dependent on western tourism and business face similar risks. As we write this edition of News Board, our national newsmakers appear to alternate between sympathy for suspects held in custody without trial and fear that Canadian authorities haven't prepared adequately for the threat of a terrorist strike here in Canada. Comparing our major cities with those in Europe illustrates this point. London's Metropolitan Police found that evidence provided by public closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras was extremely useful in identifying the perpetrators of the London bombings and piecing together their routes from home to the sites of their terror strikes. While CCTV evidence did not eliminate terrorist acts, it linked the conspirators to the crimes and may help track down other co-conspirators. Most Canadian cities and public spaces have little public CCTV surveillance, compared with European cities. Last month, the U.K. announced that security measures similar to those at airports would be installed at main-line London railway stations.

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