Cullen Slams Anti-Terror Bill
Prince George, B.C. – Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen slammed the federal government’s proposed anti-terror bill, Bill C-51, during a teleconference with regional reporters today.
Hearings on the bill have been taking place this week in Ottawa and Cullen says all Canadians should be concerned.
“We have grave concerns about the definition of terrorism being expanded to just about everything and allowing CSIS to have extraordinary powers with almost no oversight over what Canadians do,” he says. “From gun owners to environmentalists, to First Nations, witness after witness has come forward in the hearings condemning the bill.”
If passed, he says the bill would allow Canada’s spy agency (CSIS) to tap our phones and look in on our emails without a warrant “simply for having an opinion.”
He says Canadians of all stripes, including former supreme court judges and prime ministers, have all come forward to oppose it.
“The government is invoking the terrorist attacks of last year and saying this is what we need to do to protect Canadians. You don’t protect people by destroying their rights, that doesn’t make any sense.”
Cullen predicts the issue will be a big one heading into the next federal election scheduled to take place this fall.
Comments
If not an issue this socialist sure will try and make it one.
They are working overtime to try and make this into a bigger issue than it is.
I like it when they use phrases like.
1. Allowing CSIS to have extraordinary powers with ALMOST no oversight over what Canadian do.
2. We have grave concerns about the definition of terrorism being expanded to JUST ABOUT everything.
Then he goes on to name the **hot button** groups that he thinks best support his argument. ie; Gun Owners, Environmentalists, and First Nations.
Seems naming these groups are a thread seen throughout the left leaning media.
maybe if Isis starts showing up in Canada, we might appreciate this new bill. Furthurmore, live an honest life if you are concerned. Also have
more respect for our police force. if you don’t like it, maybe move to
Iraq. Witness beheadings by ISIS. WE have to get smarter as a country,
not be a bunch of cowards. This isn’t the place for the NDP to try win
popularity. Are they even around anymore.lol?
And if this “socialist” was the one who invoked this act, I would wounder what garbage the right leaning puppets would be spewing.
Maybe Cullen should consider some Midol, I cannot recall anything he agrees with or is in favor of, no oil, no pipelines,No ships in the water, No new laws to try and protect Canadians from terrorist , I bet he even bitches when he’s eating ice-cream.
This government got rid of the gun registry, that the last fear mongering government brought in. But something has to be done to fight these new fanatical groups that are popping up right, left and center. You can’t even fly in a plane without knowing for sure what radical is flying it.
All the Chicken Littles are out tonight!
Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2015 @ 6:40 PM by furtree
Maybe Cullen should consider some Midol, I cannot recall anything he agrees with or is in favor of, no oil, no pipelines,No ships in the water, No new laws to try and protect Canadians from terrorist , I bet he even bitches when he’s eating ice-cream.
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Now that’s funny!
He does have a point though, this bill stinks.
It really is a big issue. Maybe not to some of you but these folks think it is.
Former Liberal and Progressive Conservative prime minister’s Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, Joe Clark and John Turner (plus several retired Supreme Court justices and ministers of justice).
More than 100 Canadian law professors.
The Canadian Bar Association.
Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien (plus every provincial and territorial privacy commissioner in Canada except New Brunswick).
BC Premier Christy Clark and the Government of Quebec.
Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow.
National security law experts Craig Forcese and Kent Roach and Internet law expert Michael Geist.
The editorial boards of the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star and dozens of local newspapers.
Environmental groups, labour unions, civil liberties groups and the Assembly of First Nations.
Conservative allies like the National Firearms Association (it’s a “creeping police state”) and the Canadian Constitution Foundation.
Conservative MP Michael Chong and ex-Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber.
Conrad Black, Ralph Nader, Rex Murphy and David Suzuki.
Edward Snowden.
Over 100,000 Canadians who have signed Open Media and Leadnow’s petition.
Thousands of Canadians who protested in dozens of Canadian towns and cities and at Conservative MP’s constituency offices.
Is this what happens to people as they get older? They start to be afraid of their own shadows? Then Harper has corralled all you spineless geriatrics into a pen of your choosing. Or should I say that you have all jumped on the “Sissy Conservatives for Steven” bandwagon.
“Steve save us from ISIS”
The Who were bang on. “Hope I die before I get old”
I have never been as ashamed of my fellow Canadians as I am now, when I see how eager you are all to give up your freedom for some imaginary level of safety.
I have seen Cullen when he is in town. His first question towards business and development is what will it take to get local support for a project. He is not opposed to development, he just wants development in a fashion that it makes sense to people in the local community. This is a better model of development than a top down system where Ottawa says, we want this, live with it. Most projects are rejected by local communities not on their merits, but on the process. Few people oppose development, it is just how the development is proposed.
This law is about lead time and awareness of any potential political opponents that would challenge the established political order.
If we are a corpocracy (which we are) then this will be used as a means to economic espionage. They were caught doing this with CSIS assets in Brazil only last year moonlighting a federal agency for mining companies. Hacking the government servers involved in the bidding process for the private benefit of private mining interests.
Through our FiveEyes arrangement with America, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand Bill C-51 will allow CSIS to operate illegally in those countries to strengthen their own hidden governments through the intelligence community. This is a police state enabling legislation as much to our closest allies as it is to Canada.
The biggest danger though is a foreign government using our own intelligence agency to corral and control our political sphere, so as to maintain their hidden influence in perpetuity… like a hidden hand pointing the nation down a path not of our national strategic interests, but rather those of a parasitic national aim.
Why such strong and vehement objection by the Harper government to an oversight board of MP’s that is picked by Parliament as a whole… surely we have a half dozen elected MP’s in Parliament that can be trusted with national security?
Its a disturbing trend by Harper… a complete disregard for the rule of law.
He has had more run ins with the Supreme Court than any other previous Canadian Prime Minister.
He uses massive amnibus bills at budget time abusing the legislative system to bully his agenda bypassing normal debate and holding the nations fiscal budget hostage to get his way.
He declares Canadian planes will be bombing in Syria, but provides no legal frame work to authorize this action and says he doesn’t intent to respect the global order of declaring war or war like actions. The multilateral framework of the world order is far more important to Canada’s long term security than any bombing targets not yet hit by the Americans in Syria.
And now with Bill C-51 he is pushing a bill that will authorize spying activity in violation of national laws in foreign countries a a keystone to his bill.
And yet when a lone gunman does attack, he is no where near the front leading… he is hiding in a closet protecting his own cowardly self. The very definition of a chicken hawk.
The greatest enemy of Harper isn’t his mirage of isis on the horizon, but rather due process itself.
“Is this what happens to people as they get older? They start to be afraid of their own shadows?”
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No, I think it’s only what happens to old Reformers . . .
“live an honest life if you are concerned” that’s all fine, so long as it jives with whatever government is in power. This bill removes freedoms and privacy.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”
-Benjamin Franklin
How’s that budget coming along, Steve?
Why so concerned over this Bill as you still have the Liberal-NDP Bill C68- Gun control-Police act hanging over everyones head, and no you don’t require a gun to be drawn into this act, it has wide sweeping powers.
Bill C-68 compliments of Gamil Gharbi
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