Georgina · East Gwillimbury · King  .
 
Bradford West Gwillimbury · Innisfil  .

"Merry Christmas", I said cheerily.  But I knew immediately that the purpose of the call wasn't to extend seasonal greetings.  You see, Jane Lute is the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama Administration - and the point person on their Counter-terrorism efforts. 

"Sorry to interrupt you on Christmas Day like this.  But we've had an incident on a plane flying into Detroit," she told me.

Immediately I saw the seriousness of the situation.  As history has demonstrated, the terrorists like to unleash multiple events simultaneously, or in sequence.  The Christmas period would allow for maximum shock.  And at that moment, 128 flights into the USA were overflying Canada.

Lute and I have developed a close relationship - as the direct call demonstrated.  Usually, officials in the governments talk to each other, and the messages filter "up through the system" to Ministers. The high level, country-to-country dialogue is usually well-planned and scripted.  Not so in this case.

Lute had a tremendous amount of information, all accurate it turned out, at an early stage.  Apparently the bad guy was talking.  In addition to the clear danger of further acts, the new technology used was a concern.  Lute advised me of the stepped-up security measures the US would institute.

I immediately set about activating our system to respond to the situation.  It was an interesting experience, as such steps are usually initiated by the officials, who collect the information and then seek the approval of the Minister to act.  In this case, it was the Minister, trying to kick everyone into action from above.  It was interesting.  No doubt, for example, the Government Operations Centre people (who handle emergency and disaster co-ordination across Government) were surprised to receive a call directly from the Minister, giving them the information they usually collect and provide to the Minister.

Many Christmas Dinner preparations were interrupted by phone calls from me that put people to work that evening.

As the evening went on, it became clear that simultaneous attacks were unlikely to occur.   However, in view of other stepped up terrorist attacks and bombings in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and based on past experience, the possibility of follow-on events through the New Year was a real risk.

I conferred with John Baird, Canada’s Transport Minister through the evening, and offered my advice that he should mirror the temporary stepped-up aviation security measures being undertaken by the Obama Administration.   But Baird needed no persuading.  He was already firm in his view that the potential immediate risk was high, and the public deserved the fullest possible protection. 

The resulting inconvenience was well-known.  But at Public Safety we took steps to relieve the pressure, deploying RCMP and Border Services Officers to assist with the intensive air traveller screening.

In addition to most of my Christmas Day, much of the rest of the Christmas period was spent by me on these security issues.  The work continues, of course.

But it was a reminder that the job of Public Safety Minister never stops.  In 2008, my Christmas Eve dinner was interrupted by a visit from our spy service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on an urgent National Security Concern.  This past Christmas again, the bad guys showed that you can't take a holiday in the job of Public Safety Minister.

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