Editor's Comment: The Liberal Government's handling of our national security has been anything but confidence inspiring. Not only did Liberal Cabinet Ministers attend a fund raiser for the terrorist Hezbullah organization, but the Auditor General's report earlier this year brought to light a serious lapse in security procedures for which our government is accountable, and upon which the security of the nation and of all Canadians depends.

The ideological preoccupation of liberals with human rights issues propagated by the radical fringes of society, has caused their natural disposition be to averse to issues requiring strong leadership and firm resolve to provide safety for all of Canada's citizens. The liberals are a questionable team whose commitment to national security at best is half-hearted as they prefer the role of siding with those forces clamouring for minority rights over national security concerns.

Internationally they prefer oppressive regimes over the people's democratic rights in such places as China, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

In times such as these with major threats to national security emanating from international terrorism, minority rights although important to safeguard in a reasonable principled manner, cannot be allowed to overrule national security interests. The liberal Martin team is simply not cut out to be charged with the responsibility of protecting Canada's national security interests.

OTTAWA (CP) - After being forced by the auditor general to defend unpalatable Liberal spending, Prime Minister Paul Martin will now have to prove he is capable of defending Canadians from a terrorist atrocity.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser painted a sobering portrait Tuesday of Canadian security lapses in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. About 25,000 passports each year are lost or stolen and never appear on border watch lists, and 4,500 airport employees with "possible criminal associations" have access to restricted areas, Fraser said.

It was another kick in the shins to a bruised Liberal government limping toward a mystery election date. (June 28th)

Martin defended his government, which took over in December, saying he is taking the proper measures to keep Canada safe.

"One of the very first things the new government did upon taking office was, in fact, to consolidate all of the activities required for national security," Martin told the House of Commons.

"I'm delighted to say that we've created a new post of minister of public safety and national security and we have put it under the deputy prime minister who is an outstanding member of the cabinet."

Still, the security lapses uncovered by Fraser are sure to dominate headlines at home and attention abroad.

"The government as a whole failed to adequately assess intelligence lessons learned from critical incidents such as Sept. 11 and systematically follow up on needed improvements," Fraser wrote in the most stinging line of her report.

The prime minister now faces higher stakes than ever as he plots his response, with more riding on his shoulders than a simple sponsorship scam where the potential damage was limited to taxpayer anger and a battered Liberal party.

This time Canada's international reputation is at stake and its citizens' sense of security could be shaken.

"Canada's performance in managing national security in the past two-and-a-half years is consistent with that of our international peers," she wrote in a key passage.

"Other countries, including the United States, have examined similar areas and have reported findings comparable with those of our audit."

Canada has been widely portrayed in the United States as a soft and welcoming haven for terrorists.

The government has also taken steps to address many of the concerns expressed in the report, most notably by creating one integrated Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Department headed by Anne McLellan.

The minister last week also announced additional measures to create a government-wide communications system in anticipation of the embarrassing accounts in Fraser's report about gaps in intelligence-sharing.

There was the time a federal agency failed to circulate a terror alert from a foreign ally.

And in another case the government's top-secret messaging system sent a response to the wrong address, and the sending agency waited a month to follow up and check whether the message had ever been received.

"Fortunately, (that) alert turned out to be a false alarm," Fraser wrote in her typically dry prose.