In an orchestrated circus of events, the Harper government tabled new legislation on January 30 to fight what it calls terrorism.[1] Bill C-51, called the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015 for short, is an Act to enact the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act and the Secure Air Travel Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts. Its main feature is that it sanctions black ops against the peoples of Canada and other countries which is in fact tantamount to state terrorism. In the name of improving the security of Canadians by punishing the “promotion of terrorism” and stopping it before it passes from words to deeds, the government is making the violation of fundamental rights and security of Canadians legal which is in contempt of the very conception of Rule of Law.Speaking in Richmond Hill to a mob comprised of heads of police forces, security agencies as well as supporters assembled for the occasion, Prime Minister Stephen Harper led with a preamble that largely repeated word-for-word his speech to a Conservative Party crowd on January 25. What he calls “Jihadist terrorism” is a threat to Canada whose forces aim to kill Canadians “for no other reason than we are Canadian,” he said. They hate our freedom and cannot tolerate anyone who is different from them, he said.
Responding to a question on the measures to criminalize the “promotion of terrorism,” Harper said that it does not matter what age a person is, “whether they’re in a basement or a Mosque, if you advocate or promote terrorism it is… it will be, a serious offence. We do not tolerate this. Anyone who engages in this activity will face the full force of the law in the future…” He ominously warned of more measures to come saying, “Terrorists themselves will adjust to the legislation and find other ways of evolving.”
The same day Bill C-51 was introduced, Bill C-44, Protection of Canada from Terrorists Act had its third reading in Parliament, which continued even while MPs were diverted into a government briefing and press conference on Bill C-51. Bill C-44 was introduced in December following the October events in which one member of the armed forces was killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and another in Ottawa. It expands the powers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to violate the rule of law and the sovereignty and laws of other nations by spying on Canadians through the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance, keeping secret its sources and stripping Canadians of citizenship. The provisions in Bill C-44 are justified as adjusting the laws to correspond to “existing CSIS practices.”
Now, changes in Bill C-51 alter the official mandate of CSIS. Up to this point its mandate was to collect information, analyze and report. Bill C-51 adds to the duties and functions of CSIS the mandate to “take measures, within or outside Canada” against that which is broadly defined as “a threat to the security of Canada.” In the new legislation as in Bill C-44, CSIS is explicitly authorized to violate the laws of foreign states and now, as long as a warrant is obtained, violate the constitution of Canada and any Canadian law as well.
This illegality can take place for purposes so broad as “to enter any place or open or obtain access to any thing; to search for, remove or return, or examine, take extracts from or make copies of or record in any other manner the information, record, document or thing; or to install, maintain or remove any thing.” A lot is said about the provision that this has to be warranted by a judge. Given the provisions in this and other anti-terror legislation that, for reasons of national security, the information on the basis of which judges are to make decisions is kept secret, and the scope of the laws which mandate judges to issue warrants in the first place, this provision provides no solace at all.
Bill C-51 also establishes the free flow of information between government departments and agencies including the RCMP, CSIS, and the Communications Security Establishment. CSIS was created in the first place to calm the mass public outrage over RCMP barn-burnings in Quebec and much, much worse. It is therefore unacceptable that this bill proposes to integrate the resources of the RCMP into CSIS and vice versa, to spy on Canadians in their home territory and engage in black ops — all indications of state terrorism in the name of opposing terrorism.
As limited as the debate in Parliament on Bill C-44 has been, comments by Members of Parliament on January 30 pointed out the lack of any clear connection between the legislation and terrorist attacks in Canada and their causes. Sanctioning black ops against Canadians does not enhance the security of Canada or Canadians. Arbitrary powers create fear amongst the people who are increasingly disempowered and left at the mercy of illegal activities and police agencies over which they exercise no control. Even opinion against this can be interpreted in an arbitrary manner with verdicts rendered outside the public’s purview.
Any discussion which seeks to validate such things under the hoax of the need to strike a balance between rights and security should be seriously questioned. Our Security Lies in the Fight for the Rights of All, not in trampling rights underfoot in the name that this enhances security.
Exceptional war time measures such as the suspension of civil rights must be seen to be required to thwart the plans of an enemy. Should enemies be declared by a government, which is seen to have self-serving reasons for its claims, and it sanctions black-ops to provide proof of such claims, the situation becomes dangerous indeed.
TML Weekly is of the opinion that the new laws the Harper government is passing in the name of enhancing security warrant serious attention. It is all working people across the country, along with their sons and daughters, who will fall victim to the arbitrary decisions and conduct of governments over which they exercise no control.
Note
1. Information on the legislation was provided at three concurrent events: at a media “lock-up” in which reporters angrily protested that they were not provided with a copy of the bill, hosted by Public Safety Canada and the Department of Justice at the Lester B. Pearson building from 11 am to 12:30 pm, at which point a media embargo was lifted; at an announcement at 12:30 pm by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Richmond Hill Ontario where he was accompanied by Minister of Justice and Attorney General Peter MacKay and Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney as well as chiefs of police and security agents; and Members of Parliament were briefed on the new law during time allocated for Question Period from 11:30 to 12:30 pm.
Click here for the full text: Bill C-51, Anti-Terrorism Act 2015
Source: Editorial of TML Weekly Information Project, January 31, 2015
For further information on Bill C-51, Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015
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