December 15, 2010
October 1, 2010
How Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson applied for a job at The Vancouver Sun
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
Today he is remembered as a literary icon, whose classic works and impetuous personality firmly stamped his place into the hearts, minds and graphic T-shirts of a malleable generation.
With his seminal classics — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 and Hells Angels — he spawned “Gonzo journalism,” a subjective style of journalism that incorporates the author into the story. His fiery prose was fuelled as much by wit and vibrant description as it was by mescaline and Wild Turkey.
But in 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was still a struggling journalist, living in a tiny basement apartment in New York’s Greenwich Village, burdened by crippling debt.
On Oct. 1, 1958 — 52 years ago today — self-professed to be in a “frenzy of drink,” Thompson penned a letter of application to The Vancouver Sun. He had heard about the paper through an article in Time magazine — where he worked briefly as a copy boy for $50 US a week — that praised The Sun’s new editorial direction under Jack Scott.
Scott, whom Thompson had addressed his letter to, was a Sun columnist who was appointed editorial director in September 1958.
According to Time, the “tart-tongued” Scott “unleashed all of his formidable flair for spectacular stunts” in his new role, which included sending the football editor to Formosa (now Taiwan) to interview Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China, and the women’s page editor to Cuba to cover the aftermath of the revolution.
He was promptly demoted in March 1959, summing up his brief stint with, “It was a ball while it lasted,” according to Time.
Thompson’s letter is among hundreds — to friends, family, lovers, editors and debt collectors — published in The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 (Ballantine, 1997).
Here is Thompson's letter:
LINK
Know what the coolest thing about this was, though? Anita Thompson, Hunter's widow, posted it on her blog. Made my day.
Today he is remembered as a literary icon, whose classic works and impetuous personality firmly stamped his place into the hearts, minds and graphic T-shirts of a malleable generation.
With his seminal classics — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 and Hells Angels — he spawned “Gonzo journalism,” a subjective style of journalism that incorporates the author into the story. His fiery prose was fuelled as much by wit and vibrant description as it was by mescaline and Wild Turkey.
But in 1958, Hunter S. Thompson was still a struggling journalist, living in a tiny basement apartment in New York’s Greenwich Village, burdened by crippling debt.
On Oct. 1, 1958 — 52 years ago today — self-professed to be in a “frenzy of drink,” Thompson penned a letter of application to The Vancouver Sun. He had heard about the paper through an article in Time magazine — where he worked briefly as a copy boy for $50 US a week — that praised The Sun’s new editorial direction under Jack Scott.
Scott, whom Thompson had addressed his letter to, was a Sun columnist who was appointed editorial director in September 1958.
According to Time, the “tart-tongued” Scott “unleashed all of his formidable flair for spectacular stunts” in his new role, which included sending the football editor to Formosa (now Taiwan) to interview Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China, and the women’s page editor to Cuba to cover the aftermath of the revolution.
He was promptly demoted in March 1959, summing up his brief stint with, “It was a ball while it lasted,” according to Time.
Thompson’s letter is among hundreds — to friends, family, lovers, editors and debt collectors — published in The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 (Ballantine, 1997).
Here is Thompson's letter:
October 1, 1958
To Jack Scott, Vancouver Sun
57 Perry Street
New York City
Sir,
I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Time magazine did this week on The Sun. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I’d also like to offer my services.
Since I haven’t seen a copy of the “new” Sun yet, I’ll have to make this a tentative offer. I stepped into a dung-hole the last time I took a job with a paper I didn’t know anything about (see enclosed clippings) and I’m not quite ready to go charging up another blind alley. By the time you get this letter, I’ll have gotten hold of some of the recent issues of The Sun. Unless it looks totally worthless, I’ll let my offer stand.
And don’t think that my arrogance is unintentional: it’s just that I’d rather offend you now than after I started working for you. I didn’t make myself clear to the last man I worked for until after I took the job. It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham. The man despised me, of course, and I had nothing but contempt for him and everything he stood for. If you asked him, he’d tell you that I’m “not very likable, (that I) hate people, (that I) just want to be left alone, and (that I) feel too superior to mingle with the average person.” (That’s a direct quote from a memo he sent to the publisher.) Nothing beats having good references.
Of course if you asked some of the other people I’ve worked for, you’d get a different set of answers. If you’re interested enough to answer this letter, I’ll be glad to furnish you with a list of references — including the lad I work for now.
The enclosed clippings should give you a rough idea of who I am. It’s a year old, however, and I’ve changed a bit since it was written. I’ve taken some writing courses from Columbia in my spare time, learned a hell of a lot about the newspaper business, and developed a healthy contempt for journalism as a profession. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you’re trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I’d like to work for you.
Most of my experience has been in sports writing, but I can write everything from warmongering propaganda to learned book reviews. I can work 25 hours a day if necessary, live on any reasonable salary, and don’t give a black damn for job security, office politics, or adverse public relations. I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of.
It’s a long way from here to British Columbia, but I think I’d enjoy the trip. If you think you can use me, drop me a line. If not, good luck anyway.
Sincerely,
Hunter S. Thompson
LINK
Know what the coolest thing about this was, though? Anita Thompson, Hunter's widow, posted it on her blog. Made my day.
June 30, 2010
Girl's father 'devastated' by slaying
Authorities didn't alert Calgary man of daughter's death
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
The last time James Shelswell saw his daughter Clare was two years ago in Vancouver.
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
KIRO TV
The last time James Shelswell saw his daughter Clare was two years ago in Vancouver.
Clare, Shelswell and his other daughter Suzanna, who was six at the time, had gone to the Vancouver Aquarium, followed by a trip to McDonald's.
“The kids were having a great time,” Shelswell, 48, told The Vancouver Sun from his Calgary home Tuesday night. “We saw all the fish and goofed around. Even the lady at McDonald’s commented, ‘Jeez, you’ve got good kids.’”
That visit was only the fifth in five years, Shelswell said, after his wife Sarah Wilson divorced him and moved to Abbotsford from Calgary with the girls, limiting his visits.
Clare was only four months old at the time.
“Every time I phoned, it was a big hassle to see them,” he said. “I just kept paying everything. It burns me; it just burns me. You’re paying all this money and you can’t see your kids. I should have hired a lawyer, but I’ve only got so much money.”
Clare died over the weekend while vacationing with family at Lake Cushman in Washington state, about 200 kilometres south of Vancouver.
Her stepfather, Peter James Wilson, 29, was arrested Sunday evening in Hoodsport, Wash., on the Olympic Peninsula after police arrived at a two-storey rented vacation cabin to discover the little girl's throat had been slashed.
According to a statement released by the Mason County Sheriff's Office, Wilson had told a detective he killed his stepdaughter with a knife he found on the kitchen counter after fighting with his wife about disciplining the children.
Shelswell said he found out about the grisly murder through his brother, who learned of it from media reports and called him from his home in Abbotsford at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“[Sarah Wilson] didn’t call me, the Americans didn’t call me. The last name of the kids is Shelswell. They could have called me; I am the father,” he said angrily.
Shelswell had only met his ex-wife's new husband a couple times and did not know about his bipolar disorder, or that he was on medication.
Shelswell said “death is too good” for Peter Wilson and hopes he “suffers for the next 20 years.”
“What goes around comes around, and I hope it comes around. He should be made to suffer. Somebody who does that to a five-year-old girl?”
He is “devastated” he was not able to protect Clare.
“You’re not supposed to outlive your kids,” he said, sobbing. “You’re supposed to be gone before them. That’s the way it should be, you know? You’re 80, they’re 40."
May 6, 2010
Ex-Vancouver cop granted bail
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
Former Vancouver police officer Peter Hodson was released on $65,000 bail with numerous conditions Wednesday as his parents watched quietly from the Main Street courtroom's gallery.
Hodson, wearing red prison attire, remained mostly expressionless as Provincial Court Judge Jeanne Watchuk listed the conditions of his release.
Hodson was fired as a police constable and arrested April 21 on several charges, including drug trafficking.
The bail conditions imposed Wednesday require Hodson to surrender his passport and remain in B.C.; return all police-issued belongings, including his badge, uniform and baton; abide by a curfew from midnight to 6 a.m.; have only one telephone, either a cellphone or a land line; and not consume alcohol outside of his White Rock home.
Hodson is also forbidden from entering a large area of the city that includes all of east Vancouver, except to attend court or work at his construction job.
Hodson's lawyer, Vincent Michaels, called the conditions "stringent," but not overly onerous. "My primary interest, of course, was getting my client out of jail as quickly as possible on terms he could live with and continue his life," said Michaels outside the court. He also urged the public not to jump to conclusions based on accusations. "We all remember many cases in the past where the evidence appeared to be overwhelming and the result at the end of the proceedings was something very different," Michaels said. "It's important to keep that in mind."
Michaels said his client -- who is "doing well" and is "in good spirits, all things considered" -- plans to plead not guilty.
Hodson, 31, was arrested after an exhaustive police investigation and charged with trafficking marijuana, break-and-enter with intent to commit extortion and two counts of breach of trust, one for selling drugs and the other for illegal use of a police database.
The former University of B.C. basketball player, who later helped create literacy projects in Africa, was a Vancouver police officer for less than five years, patrolling a district that includes the Downtown Eastside.
He allegedly committed the offences between Dec. 4 and April 20.
Oscar Lapitan, a 27-year-old from Surrey, was charged concurrently with Hodson for trafficking.
In 2008, Hodson was charged with driving while impaired off-duty and driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. He was pulled over after another off-duty officer saw a car weaving along the road and called 911. Those charges are still before the courts.
Flanked by media after the hearing, Hodson's parents said only that they love and support their son.
Hodson is expected back in court in June.
Link
RICHARD LAM, VANCOUVER SUN FILES
Former Vancouver police officer Peter Hodson was released on $65,000 bail with numerous conditions Wednesday as his parents watched quietly from the Main Street courtroom's gallery.
Hodson, wearing red prison attire, remained mostly expressionless as Provincial Court Judge Jeanne Watchuk listed the conditions of his release.
Hodson was fired as a police constable and arrested April 21 on several charges, including drug trafficking.
The bail conditions imposed Wednesday require Hodson to surrender his passport and remain in B.C.; return all police-issued belongings, including his badge, uniform and baton; abide by a curfew from midnight to 6 a.m.; have only one telephone, either a cellphone or a land line; and not consume alcohol outside of his White Rock home.
Hodson is also forbidden from entering a large area of the city that includes all of east Vancouver, except to attend court or work at his construction job.
Hodson's lawyer, Vincent Michaels, called the conditions "stringent," but not overly onerous. "My primary interest, of course, was getting my client out of jail as quickly as possible on terms he could live with and continue his life," said Michaels outside the court. He also urged the public not to jump to conclusions based on accusations. "We all remember many cases in the past where the evidence appeared to be overwhelming and the result at the end of the proceedings was something very different," Michaels said. "It's important to keep that in mind."
Michaels said his client -- who is "doing well" and is "in good spirits, all things considered" -- plans to plead not guilty.
Hodson, 31, was arrested after an exhaustive police investigation and charged with trafficking marijuana, break-and-enter with intent to commit extortion and two counts of breach of trust, one for selling drugs and the other for illegal use of a police database.
The former University of B.C. basketball player, who later helped create literacy projects in Africa, was a Vancouver police officer for less than five years, patrolling a district that includes the Downtown Eastside.
He allegedly committed the offences between Dec. 4 and April 20.
Oscar Lapitan, a 27-year-old from Surrey, was charged concurrently with Hodson for trafficking.
In 2008, Hodson was charged with driving while impaired off-duty and driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. He was pulled over after another off-duty officer saw a car weaving along the road and called 911. Those charges are still before the courts.
Flanked by media after the hearing, Hodson's parents said only that they love and support their son.
Hodson is expected back in court in June.
Link
April 20, 2010
Vancouver park board votes to ban smoking at playgrounds, beaches, trails
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
The decision, which drew a round of applause from a crowd of about 30, came after the board heard from more than a dozen registered speakers, including representatives from the Clean Air Coalition, the Canadian Cancer Society and Vancouver Coastal Health.
Many referred to statistics and studies from other cities with smoking bylaws, while some shared personal anecdotes of having to dodge clouds of cigarette smoke, or witnessing children pick up cigarette butts on the beach.
Sera Kirk, an asthma sufferer who has been hospitalized for cigarette smoke inhalation in the past, argued smokers don't have the right to encroach on her enjoyment of public spaces.
"I would just like to sit on a park bench without being bullied out of my seat every 20 minutes, which is what usually happens," Kirk said. "Even if I didn't have asthma, why am I not allowed to just go out and enjoy the fresh air? Nicotine addicts have other ways to get their hit; I only have one way to get air."
Stuart Kreisman, a doctor and endocrinologist with St. Paul's Hospital, said he often has to jog out of the path of cigarette smoke while on the seawall.
"Quite frankly, I'm tired of having multiple daily exposures of second-hand smoke while attempting to exercise in a place that's meant for healthful enjoyment," he said.
Commissioners Raj Hundal, Constance Barnes, Stuart Mackinnon, Ian Robertson and Loretta Woodcock, along with chair Aaron Jasper and vice-chair Sarah Blyth, all threw their support behind the ban based on both health and environmental issues.
"Everything that we've heard from all the professionals just points to the fact that this is the right thing to do," Jasper said. "To see just how dangerous it is to the health of adults, children, people who have respiratory challenges already - I think it would be irresponsible of us to not put public health first.
"I am very, very happy this motion passed," Hundal said. "We had cross-party support on this issue and I am confident that Vancouverites and visitors to Vancouver's parks and beaches will abide by this recommendation from staff."
Several other municipalities now have similar smoking bans, including Abbotsford/Chilliwack, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, West Vancouver, White Rock and Whistler.
In November 2008, White Rock outlawed smoking in all outdoor areas controlled by the city, including parks, playgrounds, trails, the beach, the promenade and the pier, with fines of $100 to $2,000 for transgressors.
Mackinnon expressed concern about enforcement, noting the city already lacks a sufficient number of officers to enforce existing bylaws.
"We have lots of bylaws in this city that aren't enforced," he said, citing littering and picking up after pets as examples. "Without enforcement, this bylaw doesn't have meaning."
Link
IAN SMITH, PNG
The Vancouver park board voted unanimously on Monday to ban smoking in public spaces that are under park board jurisdiction - such as beaches, parks and trails.
But smokers still have the summer to indulge their habit, as the ban does not take effect until Sept. 1.
The decision, which drew a round of applause from a crowd of about 30, came after the board heard from more than a dozen registered speakers, including representatives from the Clean Air Coalition, the Canadian Cancer Society and Vancouver Coastal Health.
Many referred to statistics and studies from other cities with smoking bylaws, while some shared personal anecdotes of having to dodge clouds of cigarette smoke, or witnessing children pick up cigarette butts on the beach.
Sera Kirk, an asthma sufferer who has been hospitalized for cigarette smoke inhalation in the past, argued smokers don't have the right to encroach on her enjoyment of public spaces.
"I would just like to sit on a park bench without being bullied out of my seat every 20 minutes, which is what usually happens," Kirk said. "Even if I didn't have asthma, why am I not allowed to just go out and enjoy the fresh air? Nicotine addicts have other ways to get their hit; I only have one way to get air."
Stuart Kreisman, a doctor and endocrinologist with St. Paul's Hospital, said he often has to jog out of the path of cigarette smoke while on the seawall.
"Quite frankly, I'm tired of having multiple daily exposures of second-hand smoke while attempting to exercise in a place that's meant for healthful enjoyment," he said.
Commissioners Raj Hundal, Constance Barnes, Stuart Mackinnon, Ian Robertson and Loretta Woodcock, along with chair Aaron Jasper and vice-chair Sarah Blyth, all threw their support behind the ban based on both health and environmental issues.
"Everything that we've heard from all the professionals just points to the fact that this is the right thing to do," Jasper said. "To see just how dangerous it is to the health of adults, children, people who have respiratory challenges already - I think it would be irresponsible of us to not put public health first.
"I am very, very happy this motion passed," Hundal said. "We had cross-party support on this issue and I am confident that Vancouverites and visitors to Vancouver's parks and beaches will abide by this recommendation from staff."
Several other municipalities now have similar smoking bans, including Abbotsford/Chilliwack, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, West Vancouver, White Rock and Whistler.
In November 2008, White Rock outlawed smoking in all outdoor areas controlled by the city, including parks, playgrounds, trails, the beach, the promenade and the pier, with fines of $100 to $2,000 for transgressors.
Mackinnon expressed concern about enforcement, noting the city already lacks a sufficient number of officers to enforce existing bylaws.
"We have lots of bylaws in this city that aren't enforced," he said, citing littering and picking up after pets as examples. "Without enforcement, this bylaw doesn't have meaning."
Link
March 27, 2010
BC Place to get entertainment complex
110,000-square-foot, 24-hour casino to supplant Richmond's River Rock as province's largest
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
The B.C. government confirmed all the rumours Friday, announcing a $450-million entertainment complex will be attached to BC Place Stadium, anchored by a 110,000-square-foot, 24-hour casino.
Premier Gordon Campbell made the announcement at a news conference inside the stadium, flanked by Housing Minister Rich Coleman, Tourism Minister Kevin Krueger, BC Pavilion Corporation chairman David Podmore and representatives of Las Vegas-based casino operator Paragon Development Ltd.
PavCo is the Crown corporation that operates BC Place, while Paragon owns the Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations.
"This project will spark significant economic activity," said Campbell, noting that it will create about 8,500 direct and indirect jobs during construction and operations.
"When you take this in concert with the renovation of BC Place, the new retractable roof, this is about $1 billion in construction, economic opportunity and development that will be created in the heart of the east part of downtown Vancouver," he said.
Paragon's $6-million annual lease will help defray the cost of the stadium's $458-million retractable roof, construction on which begins in April, Campbell said.
PavCo confirmed it has signed a 70-year lease with Paragon for the two acres of land immediately west of BC Place.
The casino will have about 1,500 slot machines and 150 tables, and is expected to generate $130 million in annual gambling revenue.
Also on the property will be two internationally branded hotels, one price-conscious and the other of a luxury brand, Paragon president Scott Menke said.
The main building's 25,000-square-foot rooftop will connect the two hotels and provide meeting spaces, a pool area and a "nighttime destination for partying, entertainment and everything else that goes along with it."
The hotels will have five restaurants between them, ranging from "organic homegrown" to "chef signature," Menke said.
The Edgewater Casino will close when the new facility opens, essentially expanding into the new stadium-side location, pending a rezoning application to the city.
Coun. Raymond Louie said many factors will have to be addressed, including an outstanding agreement dating back to when Edgewater opened in 2005.
"Edgewater was to support Planet Bingo in finding a permanent location and stabilizing its revenue stream," Louie said, referring to the charitable Bingo operation on Main Street. "It's important to support all those charities that get their revenue from Planet Bingo."
Planet Bingo contributes to nearly 100 charities, according to its website, including the Canadian Red Cross, the Downtown Eastside Women's Shelter and the Vancouver Rape Relief Society.
Louie said he hopes the larger casino will lead to larger contributions to legacy funding.
"Currently, Edgewater provides us with about $250,000 a year in inner-city funding. I expect that if there's an expansion from its current state into a new facility at BC Place Stadium, they would also contribute more greatly to the community," he said.
Coun. Geoff Meggs reiterated his warning that a heated public debate will likely ensue.
"In my experience, debate about casino development is always controversial," Meggs said, although he acknowledged he has received no complaints about the Edgewater Casino.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2011 and be completed in mid-2013.
Neighbourhood residents had mixed reactions.
"It's going to get really busy around here," Paul Gill said. "There are going to be a lot of people running around, possibly drunk people or whatnot."
Angela Stevenson called the project idea "gross," adding she will likely move out of the downtown core when it materializes.
"The things I love about downtown are that it's close to the water and Stanley Park," Stevenson said. "I love being outside, being close to the water and hiking. I really find casinos depressing and sad."
Andrea Toyad, who recently moved into the area, was open to the idea.
"It will increase the price of my property and this area won't be as dead," Toyad said. "At night, this place gets a bit more dead than it does on Robson Street."
BC Place is home to the BC Lions, regularly hosts Grey Cup games and, starting next year, will welcome Vancouver's Major League Soccer franchise.
Link
January 15, 2010
Surrey family searching desperately for relatives in Haiti
BY ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUN
Garry and Ruth Auguste and their two children scour the Internet for information about survivors in Haiti.
LES BAZSO, VANCOUVER SUN
Surrey resident Garry Auguste has countless friends and family in his native Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- none of whom he has been able to contact following Tuesday's devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake.
Calling their cellphones and land lines resulted only in dead air and busy signals.
Calling the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's emergency operations centre also proven fruitless, as it only deals with finding Canadians abroad.
"I've been calling since an hour after the earthquake and none of [the telephone numbers] are working," said a sombre sounding Auguste Thursday. "The fear and the hopelessness are increasing as the days are passing."
A website created by the Red Cross could provide new hope, however.
The International Committee of the Red Cross launched the Haiti subcategory of its Family Links website ( icrc.org/familylinks)Wednesday, providing people with a place to register the names of missing relatives or confirm that they are safe.
People can enter the name, parents' names, sex, date, place of birth and place of residence of the person they are trying to find.
They can also enter their own information, including name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
Within 24 hours of launching the Haiti subcategory, more than 6,000 people were registered as being sought by relatives or confirmed as safe, said Alice Lam, spokeswoman for the Canadian Red Cross.
With 187 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world, the website is one of the most comprehensive ways to collect and match information about people displaced by the quake.
"The ICRC has also deployed specialists into Haiti to assist the Haitian Red Cross with this process so that people can make contact with their loved ones as soon as possible," Lam said.
The site also has subcategories for people looking to connect with missing relatives after conflicts in Nepal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kosovo and Somalia.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies increased its preliminary emergency appeal to $10 million US on Thursday, up from $2 million Wednesday.
"We expect this to increase as our field assessment teams are on the ground and they will provide more information on the immediate and longer-term needs," said Lam.
Premier Gordon Campbell announced Thursday the province will provide $500,000 to the Red Cross for immediate medical and emergency support.
"We will also coordinate with the federal government to explore the possibility of helping Haitians rebuild their homes, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure," Campbell said in a statement.
Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell will work with the federal government to provide wood products for rebuilding and construction expertise, as B.C. did after the 2008 Sichuan, China earthquake.
The Canadian government Wednesday pledged $5 million to provide emergency shelter, medical services, food, water and other various relief items.
On Thursday Ottawa announced it would match all individual donations to registered Canadian charitable organizations to support humanitarian and early recovery assistance, up to a total of $50 million.
"Canadian citizens have shown time and again their generosity with countries in urgent need, and our government is prepared to match their contributions dollar for dollar," said Beverley Oda, minister of international cooperation.
All donations must be made before Feb. 12.
Link
January 7, 2010
Vancouver International Airport to get full-body scanners
Security workers will be able to see through travellers' clothes
BY ANDREA WOO AND DARAH HANSEN, VANCOUVER SUN
The new technology will primarily target U.S.-bound travellers at first, said Transport Minister John Baird. These passengers must either undergo a scan or submit to a physical patdown, while passengers on domestic and international flights will continue to be randomly selected for the same type of secondary screening done now.
However, suspicious domestic or international travellers could be required to pass through the scanning machine, said Baird.
The announcement has drawn a range of criticism, from security experts who say the scanners are ineffective to civil liberties groups who call them a violation of privacy.
About a dozen of the new scanners are expected to arrive within the next week and the rest by the spring. Patrick Charette, a Transport Canada spokesman, said the scanners will be used in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
A total of 44 scanners are designated for Canada at a cost of $11 million.
Baird made the announcement Tuesday in Ottawa, citing the botched Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound flight as an incentive to ramp up security.
He believes most people will accept the new screening measures.
"I think for many Canadians, the idea of going through an electronic machine is far more comfortable and less invasive ... than an invasive physical patdown," he said at a news conference.
The Vancouver Sun reported Monday that the Vancouver Airport Authority will beef up security plans throughout January, leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
March 1, the day after the closing ceremonies, is expected to be YVR's busiest day in history, with 39,000 people and 77,000 pieces of luggage leaving the airport.
Ehrenholz said the scanners will help simplify the security process and reduce the number of airport employees needed to perform physical pat-downs.
Doug McMakin, an engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., helped invent and develop the body-scanning technology. He said it's an efficient and effective way to detect plastics, bandages and other substances that now go unnoticed.
"The scanners illuminate with very low-power millimetre waves, which penetrate through clothing and hair," said McMakin. "[The waves] reflect off any object that would be under the clothing and it reflects off the body as well."
He added that, unlike X-rays and radiation, the body scanners' signals are very low-power, similar to radio waves from a cellphone or satellite television.
"With millimetre waves, you don't break the DNA bonds in your body, so there's no harm."
Critics of the scanners' effectiveness include Andre Gerolymatos, a Simon Fraser University professor and expert on terrorism.
Gerolymatos suggested the body scanner is a cheap political tool to help appease public fears, but does not offer any real protection to passengers.
"Are we going to have body inspections next?" he asked. "I guarantee you, someone will go through [a body scanner] with an explosive inside a condom and inserted inside their cavity."
The introduction of the scanners is also raising concerns about modesty and human dignity, particularly among Muslims, many of whom feel unfairly targeted by the new security measures.
"This is totally unacceptable to us," said Aziz Khaki, president of the Muslim Canadian Federation in Vancouver.
Khaki said the machines represent "the greatest humiliation to Muslims, especially to our women."
But, he added, all Canadians should be concerned.
By forcing someone to be viewed naked by strangers, "you are literally degrading that person," he said.
Maya Yazigi, a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of B.C., agreed the body scanners raise serious questions around privacy and civil rights.
But, she added, it's how the machines are going to be used that may prove the bigger issue.
If all Canadians, and not just Muslim Canadians, are made subject to the scanners, "there may be less of a feeling of discrimination," she said.
"It has more to do with the expectations of Canadians that we are going to be treated equally under the law."
Deployment of the new scanning equipment was requested by the U.S., but Canada is still talking with Washington to clarify what, if any, additional security measures might be required.
Canada has not decided whether it will follow the U.S. lead and require all air travellers from 14 countries deemed to be "state sponsors of terrorism" to undergo additional screening, a Transport Canada spokesman said.
The office of the federal privacy commissioner said it is satisfied the scans won't invade personal privacy since the images will be viewed by an officer in another area who would not be able to identify the passenger.
The scanners were tested during a six-month pilot project last year at the airport in Kelowna, and 95 per cent of passengers surveyed said they would prefer a scan over a physical search.
Link
BY ANDREA WOO AND DARAH HANSEN, VANCOUVER SUN
Travellers at Vancouver International Airport could find themselves subject to full-body scans that see through clothing as early as next week.
The airport is expected to receive one or two of the controversial full-body imaging scanners in the next 10 days, said Don Ehrenholz, vice-president of operations and engineering at YVR.
The new technology will primarily target U.S.-bound travellers at first, said Transport Minister John Baird. These passengers must either undergo a scan or submit to a physical patdown, while passengers on domestic and international flights will continue to be randomly selected for the same type of secondary screening done now.
However, suspicious domestic or international travellers could be required to pass through the scanning machine, said Baird.
The announcement has drawn a range of criticism, from security experts who say the scanners are ineffective to civil liberties groups who call them a violation of privacy.
About a dozen of the new scanners are expected to arrive within the next week and the rest by the spring. Patrick Charette, a Transport Canada spokesman, said the scanners will be used in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
A total of 44 scanners are designated for Canada at a cost of $11 million.
Baird made the announcement Tuesday in Ottawa, citing the botched Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound flight as an incentive to ramp up security.
He believes most people will accept the new screening measures.
"I think for many Canadians, the idea of going through an electronic machine is far more comfortable and less invasive ... than an invasive physical patdown," he said at a news conference.
The Vancouver Sun reported Monday that the Vancouver Airport Authority will beef up security plans throughout January, leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
March 1, the day after the closing ceremonies, is expected to be YVR's busiest day in history, with 39,000 people and 77,000 pieces of luggage leaving the airport.
Ehrenholz said the scanners will help simplify the security process and reduce the number of airport employees needed to perform physical pat-downs.
Doug McMakin, an engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., helped invent and develop the body-scanning technology. He said it's an efficient and effective way to detect plastics, bandages and other substances that now go unnoticed.
"The scanners illuminate with very low-power millimetre waves, which penetrate through clothing and hair," said McMakin. "[The waves] reflect off any object that would be under the clothing and it reflects off the body as well."
He added that, unlike X-rays and radiation, the body scanners' signals are very low-power, similar to radio waves from a cellphone or satellite television.
"With millimetre waves, you don't break the DNA bonds in your body, so there's no harm."
Critics of the scanners' effectiveness include Andre Gerolymatos, a Simon Fraser University professor and expert on terrorism.
Gerolymatos suggested the body scanner is a cheap political tool to help appease public fears, but does not offer any real protection to passengers.
"Are we going to have body inspections next?" he asked. "I guarantee you, someone will go through [a body scanner] with an explosive inside a condom and inserted inside their cavity."
The introduction of the scanners is also raising concerns about modesty and human dignity, particularly among Muslims, many of whom feel unfairly targeted by the new security measures.
"This is totally unacceptable to us," said Aziz Khaki, president of the Muslim Canadian Federation in Vancouver.
Khaki said the machines represent "the greatest humiliation to Muslims, especially to our women."
But, he added, all Canadians should be concerned.
By forcing someone to be viewed naked by strangers, "you are literally degrading that person," he said.
Maya Yazigi, a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of B.C., agreed the body scanners raise serious questions around privacy and civil rights.
But, she added, it's how the machines are going to be used that may prove the bigger issue.
If all Canadians, and not just Muslim Canadians, are made subject to the scanners, "there may be less of a feeling of discrimination," she said.
"It has more to do with the expectations of Canadians that we are going to be treated equally under the law."
Deployment of the new scanning equipment was requested by the U.S., but Canada is still talking with Washington to clarify what, if any, additional security measures might be required.
Canada has not decided whether it will follow the U.S. lead and require all air travellers from 14 countries deemed to be "state sponsors of terrorism" to undergo additional screening, a Transport Canada spokesman said.
The office of the federal privacy commissioner said it is satisfied the scans won't invade personal privacy since the images will be viewed by an officer in another area who would not be able to identify the passenger.
The scanners were tested during a six-month pilot project last year at the airport in Kelowna, and 95 per cent of passengers surveyed said they would prefer a scan over a physical search.
Link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
