New Anti Terror Laws Coming After Attack On Charlie Hebdo
Stephen Harper announced that an “international Jihadist Movement Has Declared War On The World”, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack in France. He also stated that new anti terrorism legislation would be introduced shortly after the House of Commons winter break.
The Canadian government responded to the fall attacks in Ottawa and Quebec, in the same fashion. Intoducing Bill C-44. You can read the full version of Bill C-44 HERE.
Critics of Bill C-44 cite concerns such as:
“Our government is already in the midst of giving spies more power through the passage of Bill C-13 (better known as the Cyberbullying Bill), which makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to surveil Canadians and allows Internet Service Providers to voluntarily turn your information over to the government without consequence, and without notifying you. The bill is so broad that even Carol Todd – mother of Amanda Todd, whose heartbreaking death helped inspire C-13 – has spoken out against its surveillance provisions.
And now, following last week’s attacks, the government wants to expand its spying powers even further through C-44. The bill has a lot of problems, but I want to concentrate on just one. C-44 would cut judicial oversight out of the admission of information from confidential informants at trial, automatically preserving the anonymity of those informants. In other words, Canadians would lose the right to confront their accusers in court; in essence, it’s the loss of our right to due process.
But of course these bills have been justified using the exact same reasoning that authoritarian governments around the world use to curtail civil liberties: security from “terrorism.” This term has an incredibly loose definition that invokes fear in the public and makes it easier for governments to push forward what would otherwise be indefensible rights violations.”
Continue Reading at: cjfe.org
A second concern is that the bill will allow CSIS to conduct activities within and outside Canada, whether or not these activities comply with the laws of any foreign jurisdiction.
These anti terrorism bills, are being added on top of the already exsisting anti terror laws.
Bill S-7, the Combating Terrorism Act, was passed in 2012. This law allows preventative detainment for up to 72 hours. Meaning that if an officer believes that a person is about to commit an offense. The officer can detain them without charge. Then courts can impose conditions on that person for up to one year (ie: restriction of communication, travel, etc.)
Security certificates are also being used as anti terror tools.
Security certificates allow indefinite detainment and deportation of any person who is deemed to be a security threat to the nation. When applied the accused faces secret trials, with any evidence being used against them as secret and not available to them or their legal team.
There is currently 5 people being held on security certificates in Canada, including Mohamed Harkat. Who’s security certificate was recently upheld by the supreme court. Mr. Harkat is banned from using any electronics, but I was able to interview his wife about the situtation. Watch the video below to find out the weak evidence being used against the man and the detainment/conditions that he has been forced to endure.
These laws appear to be outright attacks on the personal freedoms of Canadians. All to prevent terrorist attacks by people who also allegedly hate our personal freedoms.
Are these laws that curtail our freedoms more and more, worth attempting to provide security from a threat so serious? So serious that the Canadian people are more likely to die from a bee sting or be killed by a police officer.
The Canadian government is using every possible terrorist attack in the world to continue passing these types of laws. The only question left to ponder is how far will they go and how far are the people going to allow this all to continue?
