NATO conference held in Ottawa

Approximately 300 delegates from 19 countries gathered in Ottawa earlier this week for the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The NATO meeting was scheduled for Ottawa prior to the Sept. 11 attacks. According to the head of Canada's delegation, Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish, the terrorist crisis prompted the delegates to shift focus to ``how democracies can protect themselves from terrorists.'' In a speech to the assembly on Tuesday, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien called the fight against terrorism the ``first great struggle'' of the 21 century. However, he cautioned, ``We must not allow ourselves to be trapped by the rhetoric or experiences of past wars to define our tactics or measure our success.'' NATO's secretary general, Lord George Robinson, called for members to modernize their militaries and noted that Canada was the third-largest contributor to the alliance. At the same time, peace groups assembled to express their own views, fearing that a military response to the terrorist attacks will continue a cycle of violence.

Canadian military prepares to move

As part of its contribution to the U.S.-led effort in the Middle East, Canada will send three frigates, a destroyer, a supply ship and Sea King helicopters from Halifax harbour with over 1,000 military personnel aboard. An additional frigate from the West Coast will also join the group, which represents about one-third of the Canadian fleet. Martin Shadwick, a military analyst at York University, said, ``The total of six ships is quite substantial. Even the larger European navies would regard that number as a large one.'' While no deployment orders have been given to the air force yet, it will supply three Hercules transport jets, an Airbus and two Aurora maritime patrol aircrafts. Finally, the government will deploy a component of its commando-style specialist force, known as Joint Task Force 2.

Fears of biological attack live on

An office building was closed down and six blocks sealed off in downtown Montreal Tuesday after an office worker received a suspicious letter from Florida. While it will take two to three days to fully analyze the envelope for living organisms, Dr. Paul Le Guerrier of the Montreal public-health department said, ``We believe the risk is practically non-existent.'' On Wednesday, a Toronto subway station was shut down after a suspicious package was found on a platform. Commented Health Minister Allan Rock, ``I think the biggest disease we have to face right now is fear.''