A terrorism expert says Canada is at risk for terrorist attacks and must restrict immigrants and refugees for its own protection

Andrea Sands:

"We have absolutely got to radically revamp our entire immigration and refugee system, including the numbers of people brought in," said Dave Harris, former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the director of the international terrorist intelligence program for Ottawa-based Insignis Strategic Research Inc.

It's an "untouchable" subject, said Harris. But there has been astounding growth in refugee numbers, "from 500 people in 1977 as refugee claimants to 2,900 this year," he said.

That's on top of roughly 230,000 immigrants annually, Harris said. "We don't really know where many of these people come from or what they're about, and that represents a real and present danger."

Part of the problem arises when new Canadians who don't speak the language become isolated and hence make easier targets for sophisticated agitators looking to recruit, Harris explained. Restricting immigrants and refugees to smaller groups would help give new Canadians more real exposure to their fellow citizens, he argued.

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