The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security completed its clause-by-clause review of Bill C-51 yesterday with a hearing that Green Party leader Elizabeth May described as the “most offensive she has experienced.” In all, the government rejected 61 Green Party amendments, 28 NDP amendments, and 13 Liberal amendments. Yesterday I posted a “by the numbers” review of the committee hearings on Bill C-51 noting that Conservative MPs rarely asked substantive questions about provisions in the bill and that important voices such as the Privacy Commissioner of Canada were blocked from appearing altogether.
One of the most striking aspects of the hearings was how difficult it was for the government to find expert supporters of the bill. There were certainly some – police associations, Robert Morrison, Peter Neumann, Garth Davies, Christian Leuprecht among them – but the line-up of supporting organizations also included:
- the Center for Security Policy, a U.S.-based organization founded by Frank Gaffney. Gaffney is the author of a short book claiming the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the Obama White House, was a leading voice in the Obama birther movement, and is concerned by the “increasingly obvious and worrying pattern of official U.S. submission to Islam.”
- the Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, who no longer operate a functioning website and seem mainly concerned with slowing immigration to Canada.
- Matt Sheehy, a former Air Canada pilot, who typically focuses on airline security issues. Sheehy claimed that the legislation created a more robust and resourced oversight of CSIS and that in talking to some associates (“front line type people”) he learned that police have been reluctant to deal with terrorism.
- David Harris, who has described Canadian immigration policies as “making Canada a kind of Islamic extremist aircraft carrier for the launching of major assaults against the U.S. mainland.”
- the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing U.S. think-tank that is said to push Republican members of the Congress further to the right.
- the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, which appears to have a full-time staff of one person with a rather small board.
- the Canadian Thinkers’ Forum, a small Toronto NGO which runs a barely functioning website that does not say anything about Bill C-51
- Salim Mansur, a Western University professor who has also focused on muslim immigration and who ran as a Freedom Party of Ontario candidate in last provincial election, picking up 636 votes.
The role of these commentators was rarely to discuss specifics on the bill. In fact, witnesses such as the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, the Center for Security Policy, and the Centre for Immigration Policy Reform did not comment on any Bill C-51 provisions during their opening statements. Instead, those groups were often used by Conservative MPs to avoid asking questions of critics of the bill. For example, when the Canadian Bar Association appeared before committee, Conservative MPs did not pose a single question to their representatives. Instead, virtually all their questions went to the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
When more mainstream groups and experts supporting Bill C-51 did appear, they often could not bring themselves to fully supporting the bill:
- B’nai Brith Canada, which spoke specifically in support of the advocacy or promotion of terrorism offence, urged the government to create a new defence against the charge
- the Mackenzie Institute criticized the CSIS provisions and called for improved oversight
- former Senator Hugh Segal warned “that any time we set aside any freedom if we don’t have to, any time we set aside any core constitutional protection if it’s not absolutely necessary, we’re going down the wrong road; and we should do our best not to do that.”
- the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called on the government to establish improved oversight and to reform the information sharing provisions
- Ron Atkey, former chair of SIRC, argued that “Part 4 authorizes the federal court to issue a warrant to CSIS to take measures that may contravene a right or freedom guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This provision, in my view, is clearly unconstitutional and it will be struck down by the courts.”
- Barry Cooper, a University of Calgary professor, called for improved oversight
The bill has now passed the committee and heads to the House of Commons for third reading. Left behind is an anti-democratic approach to the bill has attracted the attention of leading commentators who have concluded that Canada now has “a fake legislature designed to fool the tourists and visiting dignitaries Canada retains a vibrant parliamentary democracy.”
The entire process was a sham masquerading as something designed to look like democracy. Meanwhile, until the courts begin striking down provisions of C51, we are stuck with a Charter that has been shred of all meaning.
It boggles my mind — or rather should, sadly it doesn’t really boggle my mind — how a bill can be rammed through so undemocratically.
What has happened here should be criminal and people should be removed from office and go to jail.
How soon before THIS starts happening in Canada? “spying powers are abused for private agenda instead of public interest” http://robinwestenra.blogspot.ca/2015/04/john-key-behind-facade.html
Are federal judges really going to give CSIS the power to circumvent the Charter?
What makes you think that kind of thing isn’t already happening in Canada?
They had time for all these nuts but not Canada’s privacy commissioner?
The whole thing is a farce. To think that they get extra pay just to sit in these committees.
No sooner have we ended our commitment to Afghanistan, we are now involved in George Bush’s Iraq war (episode 3) which parliament voted against back in 2003.
Obviously, this goverment is determined to ram all its pet bills through way before the next election.
Too bad they didn’t invite Sarah Palin. I understand she makes some wicked chocolate chip cookies – Diane Ablonczy would have asked for the recipe – on the record.
Why are the Liberals pressuring Lead Now to stop dissent on Bill C51? http://www.someprogress.ca/?p=365%5C
My wife and I finally got our second reply back from our RCMP freedom of information requests that we sent them to get our 30-08 warrant information and the investigation information that our daughters were working on before they were murdered. We were told our requests needed our signatures, birth dates, and social insurance numbers. We sent in the FOI request forms with a sample of our hand writing, multiple samples of our signatures, our birthdates, copies of our birth certificates and copies of our social insurance cards. My wifes reply from the RCMP was that they needed to know what RCMP detachment has her information so they can find it and my reply from the RCMP was that they needed to know my birthdate before they can find my information.
We are being stonewalled by the RCMP from getting our information. These are the type of games every government agency we have applied to to get our 30-08 warrant information through the freedom of information system has been play with us for over a year now. CSIS and CSEC are not even replying back to us and SIRC should of got back to us this week but they just tabled a letter in Parliament yesterday stating they can not properly investigate CSIS. How are we suppose to get our 30-08 warrant information and have a proper investigation done for the torture and murder of our family for the last 6 years? Who is going to help us?
Democracy in Canada dies ages ago.
The Cons have simply made it much more obvious, that’s all.
Nothing much will change, going forward. Get used to it.
I think this is among the most important information for me.
And i am glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things, The website style is
ideal, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
Isn’t Mr. Mansur a Toronto Sun columnist as well?
Do not obtain stuck paying for a bunch of extras that you can hop on one disc later on. At the
time of writing, they are now searching nearly 27,000 square nautical miles ‘ 12,425 square nautical miles in the Straits of
Malacca and 14,440 square nautical miles in the South China
Sea, both target areas are traced from the last known locations of the missing MH370.
You can team statements, insurance documents, health care statements, as well as other
essential bits of information with each other, wherever will have them easily looked
at about taxes period.
You actually make it appear really easy together with your presentation but I in finding this matter
to be actually something which I believe I might never understand.
It seems too complicated and very wide for me. I’m having a look forward to your next
post, I will attempt to get the dangle of it!
Great web site you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find good
quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate individuals like you!
Take care!!
Or you can just make an in-game purchase with real money
for an optional gold doubling boost. Some people are prone to video game addictions, so watch the amount of time you spend in gaming activities.
” Your task is simple: protect the citizens of the realm and fulfil errands for a lot NPCs, while you explore a vast area of dungeons, forests, mountains and islands.
That is really interesting, You are an overly skilled blogger.
I’ve joined your rss feed and look ahead to in quest of
more of your excellent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your site in my social networks
Pingback: Who Needs The Rule Of Law? – Ablonczy – Pitt Meadows Today
Pingback: Who Needs The Rule Of Law? – Ablonczy – Chilliwack Today
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about quality clean skin.
Regards
Hello, everything is going well here and ofcourse every one is sharing information, that’s genuinely good, keep up writing.