Editor:
Bill C-51, Harper’s Anti-Terrorism Act, is a seriously flawed and potentially dangerous bill. Canadian legal experts and Amnesty International have pointed out it puts Canadians’ Charter Rights at grave risk with little or no effective oversight.
The Organiza-tion for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) has determined that Bill C-51 violates both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights due to infringement on freedom of expression and privacy rights. Canada is a founding member of the OSCE.
Stephen Harper, more interested in scoring election points than protecting Canadians’ civil rights, used his all too familiar father-knows-best bully tactics to force the bill through the House of Commons, having rejected numerous thoughtful amendments from opposition parties. Bill C-51 is now before the Senate.
Liberal senators are prepared to vote no to Bill C-51 notwithstanding the Liberals’ support in the House. Conservative senators need to show equal courage.
Canadians are urged to write to their respective senators asking that they defeat Bill C-51 and send the issues back to an open and transparent all-party committee following the Oct. 19 election. Canadians will support a reformulated consensus security bill that fairly addresses both our national security concerns and our Charter Rights. If ever there was a time for sober second thought, this is it!
In B.C. please write to: Larry Campbell (L) [email protected]; Nancy Greene Raine (C) [email protected]; Mobina Jaffer (L) [email protected], Richard Neufeld (C) [email protected] and Yonah Martin (C) [email protected].
Our police, intelligence and security forces have demonstrated their capacity to rout out and thwart terrorist plans within the scope of existing legislation. They will continue to demonstrate their diligence in the intervening months while an all-party committee does its work and produces a fairer and more effective security bill.
Jef Keighley, Halfmoon Bay, Alliance 4 Democracy
