What Toronto Coalition to Stop Bill C-51 rally. The Harper government’s (so-called) “anti-terrorism” legislation is entering the final week of deliberations in the Senate.
When A rain-soaked Saturday, May 30 in front of Queen’s Park. About 300 people took part in the march which made its way to the Federal Court of Appeal Building on Queen East.
Why Part of National Day of Action against C-51. Constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati, who was among the speakers at the Toronto rally, announced plans to challenge the proposed legislation in court. Legal experts and civil liberties advocates say the Bill will give the government and law enforcement agencies far-reaching powers to collect information on Canadians without proper oversight and in contravention of privacy rights protected in the Charter.
C-51 by the numbers
15 Senators that oppose the bill
5 Senators that support it
62 Senators that are undecided or have yet to publicly declare how they intend to vote
235,296 Canadians who have signed the StopC51.ca petition calling on the government to scrap the bill. The signatories include four former prime ministers, five former Supreme Court justices and three former members of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, the body charged with overseeing Canada’s spy agency, CSIS.
Groups among the more than 130 that say the bill amounts to the creation of police state laws
Canadian Bar Association, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, Amnesty International, Assembly of First Nations, Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Greenpeace Canada, PEN Canada
What Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien says
“While the potential to know virtually everything about everyone may well identify some new [terrorist] threats, the loss of privacy is clearly excessive. All Canadians would be caught in this web.”
NDP position
Leader Thomas Mulcair has described the Bill as “sweeping, dangerously vague, and likely ineffective,” identifying new powers to CSIS and “provisions that could impact legitimate dissent,” as major concerns.
Liberal position
The Grits supported the Bill in the House even while leader Justin Trudeau has raised concerns about “gaps” on oversight. The Libs have their own bill before Parliament calling for the establishment of an all-party committee to oversee CSIS, the RCMP, the Department of National Defence, and Communications Security Establishment Canada (which former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed has been collecting the internet communications of Canadians, despite a mandate that’s supposed to be over foreign activities only).
Green party position
Of the opposition leaders, Elizabeth May has been the most pointed in her criticism. She says “Stephen Harper wants Canadians to think we are at war [and] anyone who raises finicky, lily-livered concerns about civil liberties is a fellow-traveller of ISIS. We must not be afraid. We must be smart. In terms of Canadas future, the climate crisis is a much larger threat.”
