OTTAWA – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is opposed to the Conservative Government’s new Anti-Terrorism legislation, Bill C-51.
“I completely agree with the editorial in the Globe and Mail today that Parliament must reject this bill. In the House of Commons today, I urged all MPs to read the editorial and not allow the Conservatives to turn CSIS into a secret police force.
“The words that are found under the definition of activities, which affects the ‘security of Canadians’, is so broad that it can apply to almost any activity including nonviolent civil disobedience. This bill could now treat peaceful protesters as potential terrorists.
“Is Stephen Harper using the imagined fear of widespread security threats to score political points before the next election?”
The Globe and Mail Editorial states, “Prime Minister Stephen Harper never tires of telling Canadians that we are at war with the Islamic State. Under the cloud of fear produced by his repeated hyperbole about the scope and nature of the threat, he now wants to turn our domestic spy agency into something that looks disturbingly like a secret police force.
“Canadians should not be willing to accept such an obvious threat to their basic liberties. Our existing laws and our society are strong enough to stand up to the threat of terrorism without compromising our values.”
