Above Photo: Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party took a hit in opinion polls after supporting the C-51 legislation. Photograph: Chris Wattie/Reuters
Activist groups, legal scholars and labour unions plan call for broad consultations on C-51 legislation amid push to protect civil liberties
Opponents of Canada’s sweeping new anti-terror law are planning a major campaign to pressure the Liberal government to launch broad public consultations before overhauling the controversial legislation.
Civil society groups, legal scholars and labour unions are calling on the government to hold a public debate on reforms for the legislation – known as C-51 – which they say are necessary to protect Canadian civil liberties, freedoms and personal privacy.
“We know very little about the government’s plans for C-51, so our hope is they are going to listen to the huge number of Canadians who expressed deep, deep concerns about this bill when it was passed,” British Columbia Civil Liberties Association executive director Josh Paterson says.
“They need to be very clear on what their intentions are before actually doing anything.”
The government has given few details on its plans, though prime minister Justin Trudeau has reiterated his pledge to establish an all-party national security oversight committee.
Legislation to form that statutory committee is expected within six months.
Federal public safety minister Ralph Goodale is in London this week looking to the UK’s intelligence and security committee of Parliament – which examines the policy, administration and expenditure of that country’s intelligence agencies – as a possible model.
The opposition Conservatives criticized Goodale on Tuesday for failing to include parliamentarians from other parties in these initial consultations.
Bill C-51 provoked widespread outrage when it was passed by the Conservative government last June. Liberals took a beating in public opinion polls when they voted in support of the legislation, though they promised to repeal its “problematic elements” if they won the 19 October federal election.
They did, and now the bill’s critics – who say it is too broad, lacks sufficient oversight for national security and law enforcement agencies, and includes a number violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a rights bill embedded in Canada’s constitution – want to ensure those problems are dealt with in full public view.
“Because it has been such a divisive political issue, I think there is a desire to move it out of the public sphere, especially because of the political damage the Liberal party took in supporting this legislation,” said Paul Finch, treasurer with the British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union.
“We want to set the agenda before the (January) legislative session gets going.”
While opponents say they are hopeful the government will follow through on its commitment to introduce new legislation, they are concerned that pledge has been moved to the political back burner.
“It was a big issue that got a lot of attention before the election and since the election hasn’t seen much action from the government,” said Laura Tribe of Open Media.
“Canadians are not going to let this one slide.”
Critics are also concerned the federal government will focus on cosmetic reforms that fail to address the deeper problems they see in the legislation.
“At this point there just needs to be some direction from the government about whether there is going to be a consultation and how deeply they are going to reach into bill C-51,” said Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor who has helped lead the attack on the legislation.
Goodale’s spokesman, Scott Bardsley, said: “Work on our platform commitments on C-51 is ongoing. The full details will be unveiled in due course.”
Those commitments include a guarantee all Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warrants respect the charter and a statutory review of the full anti-terror act after three years.
Bardsley also said the government was planning on holding “broad consultations” but said he could offer no further details for the moment.
Last summer, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression filed a lawsuit arguing that the bill violates the Canada’s constitution. That lawsuit is pending and the CCLA has requested a meeting with the new government.
Meanwhile, Tribe said time is of the essence when it comes to tackling the complex reforms.
“The longer bad legislation sits on the books, the longer information is being collected. The longer people are potentially subject to surveillance,” she said.
“It’s not enough to say, well, no harm has been done yet.”