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U.S. Plans to Arm Great Lakes Coast Guard

Posted on: Friday, 29 September 2006, 21:00 CDT

Canadian officials on the Great Lakes are worried about a plan to arm U.S. Coast Guard vessels and allow live-fire training exercises, a report says.

Mike Bradley, the mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, told the Windsor Star there has been no threat of Canadian invasion of the United States since the War of 1812 ended, and there has never been a hint that the Great Lakes might be used by terrorists. Bradley also finds the Coast Guard's use of the term safety zone for a live-fire area ironic.

They'll have dozens of safety zones where guns will be fired on a regular basis across the waters of the Great Lakes, Bradley said. They're using terrorism as an excuse.

Joe Comartin, who represents the Windsor area in Parliament, said the United States can arm its Coast Guard as it wishes -- but does not have the right to discharge those weapons on lakes it shares with Canada.

Comartin and Bradley worry about the risk to recreational boaters and commercial shipping and the environmental effect, the report said. Lead is already a problem in the lakes.

Source: United Press International

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