OTTAWA (CP) - Canadians are so ill-prepared to deal with home-grown terrorism that they risk becoming the next victims, warns the chairman of the Senate committee on national security and defence. Not nearly enough government money or public support are backing Canada's efforts to track and catch domestic extremists who are rapidly converting followers willing to die for their cause, Colin Kenny said in an interview from London.

It's only a matter of time - and not much time - before Canada becomes a victim, said the Liberal senator.

"Our intelligence communities have been warning us for some time that this is a certainty - not if, but when and how and where," said Kenny.

He was sent to London by the Senate to learn from the July 7 bombings that killed at least 54 people and hurt more than 700 others.

"Do Canadians need to have something like this happen in Canada before they're prepared to encourage their government to take additional steps to try and avoid these things. . .or to mitigate the seriousness of it?"

Yet many Canadians seem to think the country is immune from attack, Kenny said.

"Are we the only country in the Western world that has this magic bubble over us that will protect us from this?"

Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan stressed again Sunday that Canadians must be "prepared psychologically" for a terrorist attack.

"There's no reason to believe that we should not be prepared for every eventuality here at home," she said in a television interview.

"We need to be constantly checking our systems, doing exercises and rehearsing."

Still, McLellan said that doesn't mean she'll soon be hitting up taxpayers for another big hike in security funding.

Ottawa has spent $9 billion on new and enhanced protective measures since 2001, she said.

Kenny says it's not enough. He's also alarmed by the changing face of terrorism.

Investigators say four young Britons detonated backpacks on a bus and three subway trains in the London attacks.

That revealed a new kind of terrorist - not an outside agent but a local person who, despite deep roots in the community, becomes quickly radicalized.

Until mere weeks ago in Canada, authorities assumed that domestic terrorists would likely be slowly raised and indoctrinated over a long period, the senator said.

That assumption now seems outdated.

"What we learned this week was that the people who have only been indoctrinated very recently chose to commit suicide," said Kenny.

"It gives you some sense of the magnitude and order of their commitment," he added.

"It's a very scary situation."

Widespread public surveillance cameras helped British investigators quickly identify the London bombers.

McLellan says her colleague, Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, will soon be talking to mass transit officials about the potential for similar measures.

"We need every practical tool we can marshal to help ensure the collective security of Canadians."

Kenny says federal officials are well aware of the risk of a terror attack.

Internal memos obtained by The Canadian Press have shown that <FORM class=yqin action=http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search method=post>    </FORM>Prime Minister Paul Martin was briefed twice in spring 2004 on suspicious incidents that led security officials to fear the Toronto subway might be attacked.

The documents, drafted by national security advisers, are the latest indication federal officials believe Islamic extremists could assault a mass-transit network in Canada.

But Canadians themselves aren't convinced that they may be targets.

A February poll conducted for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada showed most respondents thought they were much more likely to be victims of a natural disaster than a terror attack on Canadian soil.

But this new type of home-grown terrorist adds a new twist that's tough to track and requires more specialized agents, said Kenny.

And since it can take a decade to fully train an intelligence agent, even an immediate injection of funds won't necessarily bear fruit for a long time.

"We're going to have a gap in Canada for a period of time but that's certainly not a reason to invest in the intelligence community."

Kenny wouldn't say how much money is needed or how many new agents are required: "You can't put a number on it in an easy way."

But it must be a priority in Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's next budget.

"The first obligation of the state is to protect its people and you can't just invest occasionally."