Officials fight to reassure U.S. on asylum policies

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TORONTO -- Canadian authorities are struggling to convince U.S. officials and lawmakers that Canadian immigration and asylum policies are not establishing a breeding ground for terrorists on their side of the longest undefended border in the world.

Criticism and suspicion that began after the September 11 attacks reached a crescendo after the arrests of 17 terror suspects, prompting the government to send a "myth-busting" mission to Washington.

The team of security specialists met with chairmen of Senate and House committees last week to offer assurances about Canadian security measures -- and to address misunderstandings such as the long-standing belief that some of the September 11 hijackers entered the United States from Canada.

But after the early June arrests of 17 Canadian Muslims on charges of planning to bomb landmarks, take politicians hostage and behead the prime minister, Canadians are taking a second look at multicultural policies that have long been a source of national pride.

Beginning with the government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s, Canada has portrayed itself not as an American-style "melting pot" but as a "mosaic" in which immigrants could maintain their cultural characteristics.

The Toronto area, home to almost half of Canada's immigrants and many of the suspects in the southern Ontario terrorist plot, is sprinkled with ethnic neighborhoods in which Italian, Portuguese or Hindi is spoken and street signs are written in Chinese characters or Greek letters.

Eastern beats, aromatic spices and elegant saris dominate Little India in Toronto's east end, where gold jewelry seems to glitter on every corner.

A streetcar ride away, fresh fish, dried mushrooms and bok choy are sold on the sidewalks of any of several Chinatowns. And the west end's Italian neighborhoods are a sea of green, white and red flags whenever Italy plays in a World Cup soccer match.

Rabbinical courts are permitted to rule on matters of religious jurisdiction in Jewish communities, and Canadian Muslims tried unsuccessfully two years ago to establish similar Shariah courts to settle some family and civil issues.

But even Mr. Trudeau complained before his death in 2000 that the intended celebration of a new Canadian's integration into society instead had become a celebration of that person's former homeland, said Martin Collacott, an immigration analyst at the Fraser Institute, a think tank in Vancouver.