Tom Blackwell

National Post

TORONTO - A book published in the United States that argues Canada is an ideal launching pad for international terrorists has been turned back at the border by Canadian authorities, says the volume's author, an Ottawa-based public-sector official.

The publisher twice tried to send the writer boxes containing 20 copies of Waging War from Canada -- Why Canada is the perfect base for organizing, supporting and conducting international insurgency.

One crate disappeared, while the other was stopped at the border and returned to the publisher, Loompanics Unlimited, with a Canada Customs and Revenue Agency sticker that said in part: "Do not deliver in Canada."

The author later received a couple of copies by overnight courier.

Meanwhile, the book is enjoying U.S. sales "in the average to high range," said Gia Cosinas, a spokesman for the Port Townsend, Wash.-based company.

She admitted the timing of the title's release, just two days after the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings, was "almost eerie," and suspects the shipments were intercepted by an over-zealous official influenced by the terrorist attacks.

"I can see where Canada would not like to have that information widely known anywhere, because the author talks about some of the lax immigration laws in Canada," said Ms. Cosinas.

A Canada Customs official said it was unclear why shipments of the book, written under the pseudonym Mike Pearson, had been prevented from entering Canada.

If the agency has objections to written material coming into the country, it notifies the publishers immediately, said spokesman Michel Proulx. There is no record in the agency's national registry of the book having been stopped, although it could have been intercepted by a local official, he said.

It is also possible Canada Post, which has access to Customs stickers, may have taken action independently, said Mr. Proulx.

Drawing on public sources ranging from congressional hearings to National Post articles and think-tank reports, Waging War from Canada is a blunt critique of the conditions that it says make this country a haven for terrorists. Its targets include immigration laws, intelligence agencies and politicians. There are chapters about raising money for the cause, information warfare, potential terror targets and how to navigate the Canadian legal system.