Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal government began treating terrorism seriously yesterday with legislation drafted urgently after the Sept. 11 terrorist outrages. Anne McLellan, the Minister of Justice, told the House of Commons: "Parliament must act to combat terrorism while continuing to respect and promote the values reflected in ... the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." This reiteration of standard Liberal reassurances, however, does not conceal the fact that Mr. Chrétien's government is taking a new course and appears to be determined to stop terrorists using Canada as a haven. Vic Toews, the Canadian Alliance justice critic, responded by saying the Liberals, "having woken up ..., realize the very grave situation" facing the nation. What remains to be seen is whether the government can uproot well established terrorist groups operating in Canada which, because of previous federal inaction, have had the opportunity to build extensive networks and front operations.

Much is to be commended in yesterday's legal onslaught against terrorism. Mr. Chrétien's government has laid out clear objectives. The first is to keep terrorists out of Canada, and thus protect Canadians from acts of terror; the second is to give security agencies the means to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists; the third is to ensure the Canada-U.S. border is not held hostage by terrorists. The government's goals are what they should be, and the means they have chosen to achieve them suggest a commitment that Liberals have shied away from in the past.

Police and intelligence agencies in Canada will have more freedom to use electronic surveillance against terrorist groups; there will be better protection for critical evidence that, if revealed in a courtroom, could jeopardize investigations; the National Defence Act will be clarified, expanding the mandate of the secretive Communications Security Establishment to intercept foreign communications and thus collect intelligence on foreign terrorist organizations as well as domestic ones; and individuals with information on terrorist activities will be required to appear before a judge to provide evidence. Each of these steps will go some way toward shoring up our intelligence capabilities. Other measures, such as amending the Criminal Code to create a "preventative arrest" power for police and outlawing conspiring to commit a terrorist act, will help stop terrorists before they can strike.

Key to the ultimate success of the government's omnibus anti-terror campaign is the definition of terrorism it will enshrine in the Criminal Code. Terrorism, says Mr. Chrétien's government, is an action that takes place either within or outside Canada that "is taken or threatened for political, religious or ideological purposes and threatens the public or national security by killing, seriously harming or endangering a person, causing substantial property damage that is likely to seriously harm people or by interfering with or disrupting an essential service or program." The government, using this definition, will designate groups engaging in such activities as "terrorist organizations."

This would seem to cast a wide net and include, as it should, such terrorist groups as the Tamil Tigers and the Irish Republican Army as well as al-Qaeda cells and other terrorist groups based in the Middle East. The government wants to outlaw "knowingly" raising money, "either directly or indirectly, in order to carry out terrorist crimes." It also is targeting those who "knowingly participate in, contribute to or facilitate the activities of a terrorist group." The devil, as so often, is in the details of the law's application. How, for example, will the government draw up the list of terrorist organizations, and who will be on it? The Liberals have a poor record of accepting the information and judgment of their own intelligence service. They will have to continue to demonstrate the political will that appears evident in their new legislation if the omnibus bill tabled yesterday -- fine though it is on paper -- is to have a practical impact on all terrorist groups active in Canada and make the country more secure.