The Conservatives and the Liberals have just concluded their bipartisan effort to pass bill C-51. This bill creates permanent powers similar to martial law and represents a threat to our rights as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Pirate Party is calling for the full prevention of this crypto-totalitarian bill.
The same way that the Liberals and Conservatives have worked together to bring this bill forward, the Pirate Party pledges to work with other parties and MPs who value the privacy and democratic rights of the people they represent over the demands of party leaders.
This bill is already chilling free speech even before the bill has passed. Conservative MP Lawrie Hawn has already began his own brand of ‘McCarthyism’ — accusing Canadian tech business leaders of profiting from terrorism. His regrettably malicious (or inept) statements include the claim that these leaders are “not aligned with Canadian values.” Ordinary political dissent is being reframed as support for terrorists. [1] If we are facing a choice between blindly agreeing with the ruling party or being labelled a terrorist, what type of democracy can we have.
We already have ample laws that are focused on the prosecution of terrorism. This bill adds nothing of value to the fight against internationally motivated political violence and legal experts have warned the bill is unconstitutional. [2]
CSIS was created due to the RCMP’s secret intelligence abuses and violations of rights and freedoms. [3] C51 will not only turn back the clock and allow such abuses to return, it will expand powers and make these abuses a permanent and rigid mechanism of Canadian intelligence bureaucracy. Even the infamous U.S. PATRIOT ACT has an expiry and review date. C-51 has no such safeguards. Once it becomes law it will become increasingly hard to reverse.
“Leaked cables from Wikileaks have shown a history of engaging in warrantless surveillance of first nations activists,” said Deputy Leader Shawn Vulliez today, “The real targets of Canadian state surveillance are environmental and first nations political movements, not the terrorist bogeyman that prop up unconstitutional policies such as enhanced interrogation and mass surveillance.”
The Pirate Party calls on other parties to campaign to prevent bill C-51 from passing in the Senate. If the bill passes we call on all Federal parties to make the repeal of C-51 a clear and written part of their official platform for the 2015 election.
“Amidst the increasing calls for the abolition of Senate, this is an opportune time for Senators to show their value to Canadians by blocking the bill” said Party Leader Ric Lim, “The Senate can now show Canadians that they are still independent of Ottawa’s partisan games and can function, as they are intended, as a chamber of sobre second thought.“
