Conservatives and libertarians speak out against Bill C-51
By Peter Ewart & Dawn Hemingway
A group of individuals who call themselves “principled conservatives and libertarians”, many of whom have supported the Harper government in the past, have penned an open letter (1) strongly criticizing Bill C-51 for undermining the fundamental rights of Canadians, and have called upon the government to kill it.
Signatories include Prince George’s Sheldon Clare, president of the National Firearms Association; Connie and Mark Fournier, co-founders of the conservative publication Free Dominion; Jesse Kline, comment editor, National Post; and others.
The letter specifically criticizes the measure in Bill C-51 which will allow security agencies like the RCMP and CSIS, using “loosely written and vague law”, to pool together sensitive personal information on Canadians from 17 federal government institutions, including Revenue Canada, Health Canada, and other agencies. It argues that this will result in “a giant database and information disclosure [that] is tantamount to developing a long gun registry on steroids.”
According to the letter writers, Bill C-51 will allow for secret trials and “for speech to be censored by removal from the internet or by vague, and even unconstitutional ‘disruption’ measures that can be applied to Canadian website operators. It sets “dangerous precedents, and open[s] up doors to severe violations of Charter rights and privacy expectations of citizens in a free society.”
Instead of listening to the advice of experts, the letter goes on, the federal government “chose to attack those sounding the alarm as leftist ideologues and dismiss their valid concerns.”
One of the main things that this open letter illustrates is that a growing front of Canadians, from all walks of life and political persuasions, are opposed to Bill C-51. As the letter points out, the Harper government has tried to divide the citizenry by reducing the Bill C-51 issue to one of right wing versus left wing, which in today’s world is an increasingly archaic concept.
Fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and right to privacy, are not the private property of any party or political organization, whether labelled “right wing” or “left wing”. They do not have Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Greens or any other party name stamped on them.
Indeed, fundamental rights belong to the people of the country. They are embedded in the bones of the nation. When they are violated, everyone, no matter their politics, no matter which party is in power, must stand up to defend them.
That happened 25 years ago when Canadians stood up to oppose the Charlottetown Accord and the anti-democratic concept of “executive federalism”. It happened 4 years ago when British Columbians rallied together to defeat the HST.
And, although the Harper government may not like it, this is precisely what is happening with the opposition to Bill C-51.
Peter Ewart is a columnist and writer based in Prince George, British Columbia. He can be reached at: peter.ewart@shaw.ca
(1) Principled conservatives and libertarians against Bill C-51. https://stopc51.ca/Conservative
Comments
Is it any wonder Peter McKay slipped out the back door as quickly as he could prior to the next election. I guess he figures maybe he won’t have to answer reporters and voters for his policy this way? Just like the Prime Minister that hides in a closet when danger is near… both cowardly in their time of accounting for their character.
I think this legislation is mostly a result of politicians with post traumatic stress disorder manifested in legislation.
Because our capital had no real security plan, and no capacity to even deal with a lone gun man that arrived on foot after a shoot out a block away… so our billion dollar security establishment couldn’t respond to even the most simplest of threats; and as a result we have a Prime Minister hiding in a closet, and other MPs crouching behind desks hoping for the best… all traumatized in a place they should feel secure… and as a result the security establishment is granted new powers to collect meta data on virtually every aspect of every Canadian’s life, and they can now spy on our allies citizens too breaking their national laws where their 5-eyes agencies can’t due to their national constitutional restrictions.
We are told it should be a partisan issue and the useful fools eat it up with platitudes like, ‘well if you have nothing to hide’ nonsense….
Now our Canadian security institutions are the it guy in globalist corruption of the privacy and free speech spheres that NWO types need to dominate if they are to guide and control the policy and politics of Canada and abroad.
Harper, just staying on message all those from every background that have reviewed this Bill C- 51 are wrong and misguided or fear mongers. Many from all walks of life have taken up his challenge to be informed and now the list of opposition grows. Bill C-51 is not about protection but all about control. His trips to China seem to have given him some great ideas about how to suppress descent or opposition to his Government and policy’s. China very good at this, all in the name of protecting its citizens while heading the real agenda of suppression.
Once again we try to take an issue that has very little legs and turn it into an national incident. All the lefties, and those who never voted for Harper and the Conservatives (ever) are trying to destabilized the Government so that they can gain some traction in the next election.
Making reference to Harper hiding in a closet is a prime example of how you can distort a situation. What would you expect him to do. Tackle an armed man, while he himself was unarmed. Lets quit making foolish statements.
We were not prepared for a gunman on Parliament Hill because it has been a place where people were free to come and go for many years. Canada has a history of freedom of movement in and out of its institutions, that we should be proud of.
Fact is we are moving into a new age of terrorism, or war if you wish, and the game has changed. We no longer know who the enemy is. This didn’t happen by accident, it is happening all over the world, and will continue to be that way for many years to come.
So we need a system in place that can as much as possible guard against these type of incidents. Bill C-51 to some extent tries to do that.
Does C-51 have some problems?. Yes. Can they be fixed ?. Yes.
Using every incident to dump garbage on a Democratically elected Government under the guise of being concerned about civil rights is nothing more than left wing politics. Rather than bash the Government that is trying to do something, perhaps it is time to actually look into the actual problems of present day terrorism, and its consequences on Western societies, and try to come up with some constructive solutions.
Hey palopu, democratically elected Government are you for real?? guess a little joke on a Thursday never hurts ;)
That’s right . It was such a clean election that two of his henchmen should be going to jail .
Great article at the tyee . harper’s running out of fear fuel . Canadians are more likely to be killed retrieving their mail than being killed by a terrorist . Why is it that the righties are always more fearful than normal people ?
Ataloss , must ask you, what do you perceive as a normal people?
Give it up Palopu. One gunman at Parliament Hill in who knows how many years does not warrant our freedoms being restricted. If that were the case, Prince George would be on constant lockdown.
Today’s Ted talk Ted.com FBI create more terrorists than all the terror groups combined . Looks like our police are getting into the same business . Shameful .
@furtree the sixty one percent that did not vote for harper and his harperettes .
Ataloss ,show some gonads and answer my question. Whator who do you perceive as a normal people?
Ataloss sixty one percent, those are skewed numbers. Guess that’s the workings of a extreme lefties normal brain, eh?
No furtree those are the real numbers . If you are referring to me as left , you are wrong . I’m a green .
@ Elaine . Have you missed the bc Duffy style scandle . It appeared a few days ago in desmog.ca
Most of the lefties posting here have never in their whole lives ever been restricted by the regular police, or the Canadian Secret Service, when it comes to freedom of speech, or movement, or association.
So whats all the BS about. Some perceived time in the future, when someone, somewhere, will be picked up by CSIS, held for a period of (max) 7 days in custody, tried in court with some restrictions, and then sentenced to a long term in prison, and while all this takes place, Canadians across the nation, plus newspapers, and tv stations, will not be aware of any of it, will not raise any objections, and will hide in fear of their rights being taken away.
What a line of BS. This whole opposition is a pig in a poke. To compare Canada, to any Country that tramples on peoples rights is an insult to all Canadians, and to refer to Harper as a dictator and a threat to Canadian freedoms is nothing more than propaganda from those who don’t like to see the Conservatives in power.
This whole campaign is being pushed primarily by the Left, ie; NDP, who are trying to exploit any political situation in this election year, that will give them at least a chance to hang on to their precarious position as the opposition in parliament. Lots of luck with than.
As I stated before, perhaps you would like some cheese with your whine.
Ataloss 169 MPs voted in favor of Bill C-51, you do the math on the percentage. Admitting to being a Green ,after the melt down of Elizabeth May at the press gallery dinner says a lot, of what you consider as Normal.
For the next 31 years if we want to protect our waterways , or any other part of our environment from destruction by Chinese business interests we will have to pay them for their losses . Imagine us having to pay communists protection money . That’s insane . Is that the kind of deal a normal Canadian would make ? Is that what normal Canadians would accept ? Only a person that hated his/her country would do something like that .
The only thing Ms. May did that I see as wrong , was to apologize . She spoke the truth . Nothing wrong with the truth no matter how ugly it is . She loves our country deeply . harper does not .
“Fact is we are moving into a new age of terrorism, or war if you wish, and the game has changed. We no longer know who the enemy is”
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Did you dust that off from a Bush junior speech circa 2001?
Funniest thing ever is how terrified of elezibeth may little Stevie blunder is . She might just ask him a question . So no consortium debates for him . What a coward . I would imagine justin is just as scared of her as is closet boy . She can think circles around both of them at the same time .
I don’t think scared is the right word, cautious would be a more suitable way to describe the relationship and with good reason. It is clear that May has a drinking problem, showing up at a national event three sheets to the wind and cursing like a sailor! It is no wonder that other leaders give her a wide berth.
Never know if you are going to get the angry drunk or the one feeling sorry for themselves and blubbering uncontrollably. Maybe a quick trip to rehab before the election might be in order.
Ataloss, you did catch May’s recent performance, didn’t you? In case you didn’t, it was shamefully pathetic!!
Sparrow ,I’m a sailor . She doesn’t sound anything like me . Hart guy I had no idea what a delicate little flower you are . Next time Liz is speaking cover your ears and eyes . Or put a pot on your head and bang it with a metal spoon .
@ataloss
Sailor or do you just like submarines because they are full of…..well you know.
I sail a fractional rigged planing hull sail boat . I think John Baird and Steve would really like some of ….. Well you know . However, I’ve always preferred the company of women . It’s a hetro thing .
Ataloss,. Your well named. At a loss for saying something that makes sense seems to be your lot in life.
Stating that Harper hates his Country is a prime example of a person saying something that he has absolutely nothing to back it up with.
I suggest to you that Harper is by far a much better Canadian than you are. That is if we can use your comments to judge from.
We have had similar agreements with the USA when it comes to trade, and of course the USA owns a lot of business’s in Canada.
These trade agreement are what’s on the table when you play with the big boys. I suppose we could pick up our marbles and go home, however that could cost us one hell of a lot of jobs.
5
Did I mention that Bill C-51 violtes International Law?
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization, recently performed a legal analysis of Bill C-51 and found it to be in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Canada has ratified. In other words, Mr. Zimmer, your government’s Bill C-51 anti-terrorism legislation violates international laws. Could you please reassure us that the OSCE, a Vienna-based group, which Canada joined in 1973, is only “hyping” this issue, and that they have not read Bill C-51 either? To help you with your informed response, here is a link to said subject matter:
http: //thinkpol.ca/2015/05/25/bill-c-51-violates-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-osce-finds/
Copy and paste it to your address bar, then delete the space between the : and the /
Sophic Sage said, Did I mention that Bill C-51 “violtes” International Law? Is “violtes” International for approval of Bill C-51,eh.
That’s a very deep and insightful comment furtree. Guess you can’t imagine the missing “a” being between the l and the t.
Now could you share with the rest of us some, profoundly original, thought on Bill C-51? I would like to learn from you.
Sage or peeps and ataloss you folks are just amazing. Great entertainment value.
Wonder if May drinks organic wine?
Peter Ewart & Dawn Hemingway state; “Instead of listening to the advice of experts, the letter goes on, the federal government “chose to attack those sounding the alarm as leftist ideologues and dismiss their valid concerns.”
Factually correct again, and here is a partial list of those of those “leftist ideologues:
Former Liberal and Progressive Conservative Prime Ministers Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, Joe Clark, and John Turner; several retired Supreme Court Justices and Ministers of Justice; more than 100 Canadian law professors; The Canadian Bar Association; Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien along with every provincial territorial privacy commissioner in Canada except New Brunswick; BC Premier Christy Clark; The Government of Quebec; former NDP leader Ed Broadbent; former Saskatchewan Premiere Roy Romanow; National security law experts Craig Forcese and Kent Roach; Internet law expert Michael Geist; editorial boards of the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, (list goes on); environmental groups; labour unions; civil liberties groups; the Assembly of First Nations; National Firearms Association; Canadian Constitution Foundation; Conservative MP Michael Chong; ex-Conservative MP Brent Rathegber; Conrad Black; Ralph Nader; Rex Murphy; David Suzuki; Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald; etc.
But what do these experts know, when compared to the awesome knowledge of the Harper government? It’s time to heave steve on October 19th.
Sophic Sage, I’m not a fan of C-51, but many of the people on that list aren’t exactly experts. David Suzuki? Rex Murphy? Christy Clark? Conrad Black?
The legal profession, sure. Commentators and politicians that may not even understand legal text if they read it? Surely not.
NMG, on the topic of understanding legal text; If the group I listed got togeather to draft a Bill or piece of legislation, what are the odds it will pass Supreme Court of Canada, or other levels of judicial, review? I am siding with this group of experts, you can side with the Harper government, with full knowledge that it has the worst record of any sitting government on having it’s Bill’s, legislation, and laws overturned as being either unconsitutional, or illegal.
So I ask you the same question NMG: who exactly has a problem understanding legal text?
Ummm, I guess you didn’t see where I said I wasn’t a fan of C-51, LOL.
Now, if you think half of those people on your list are experts on this or any other legal matter that would have to be decided by the Supreme Court, you are as gullible as those who think that people’s ideologies can be neatly organized into pots like “lefties” or “righties”.
It’s okay to try and be objective and think for yourself sometimes . . .
NMG, among the group of experts I listed; is The Canadian Bar Association, they represent more than 36,000 lawyers across Canada. But nope they are all “leftist ideolouges” according to the Harper government. I mean WTF?
Sophic Sage on your Thursday, June 4, 2015 @ 4:04 PM list of who’s who ,you forgot to name Pee Wee Herman ,Micky Mouse and Goofy.
furtree. He also forgot to mention the What me Worry kid from Mad Magazine, also Dumb and Dumber, Dagwood Bumstead, Wimpy, Dick Tracy, Gomer Pile, and Marshall Dillions sidekick Festus.
Palopu, maybe he’s calling them asking if they wish to be put on the hit list also.
Posted on Thursday, June 4, 2015 @ 6:14 PM by NMG
It’s okay to try and be objective and think for yourself sometimes . . .
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I like you!
So, when Bill C-51 recieves Royal Assent, and comes into force, who will it target? Just suspected terrorists you say? Really? How about any person, or organization, that appears on the Harper Government’s enemies list? We know Harper and his government have one, we just don’t know who, or what organizations, are on it… yet! Guess we will find out when Dear Leader’s secret police show up at their door.
www. cbc.ca/news/politics/pmo-asked-staff-to-supply-enemy-lists-to-new-ministers-1.1361102
Copy and paste the link to your address bar, then deleted the space between the www. and the c
Palopu I chose ataloss because I was at a loss as to why our highways were second class (b) in the north and the carnage was unbarable in the winter .
Hey seamutt I bet you’re afraid to listen to her online eh .
Umm… can anyone tell me why furtree and Palopu are randomly listing all the members of Harper’s cabinet?
It’s because they are lazy . I mean really . Alfred E.Newman ? If you can’t remember , look it up .
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