The House of Commons wrapped up debate this week on a controversial secret police bill tabled as Bill C51 which passed in a vote at third reading stage Wednesday night with a Conservative majority, as well as with the support of the Liberal Party.
Despite the vow from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau that his party will be supporting the government’s anti-terror bill, one of the party’s senior MPs says the Liberals wouldn’t have introduced the legislation.
The Liberal party, and its leader, have been criticized for not opposing the government’s controversial anti-terror bill. On Thursday morning, Liberal MPs Irwin Cotler and Wayne Easter unveiled the list of amendments the party would like to see to Bill C-51.
“We have a series of 10 fundamental amendments … to maintain the proper relationship between protection of security, which is a parliamentary as well as governmental obligation, as well as protection of our civil liberties,” Cotler said.
The MPs said that there’s a need for Canada’s security and intelligence agencies to have greater powers to counter terrorist threats, one of the main planks of the government’s contentious anti-terror bill.
But, Cotler added, “this is not a bill that we would have introduced.”
The anti-terror legislation has received widespread criticism since it was introduced in the House of Commons this winter.
Organizations such as the Canadian Bar Association have worried, that the bill does not strike the right balance between protecting security and protecting Canadians’ privacy rights.
The NDP and Greens voted against C-51 and have had serious concerns with the bill since it was tabled in the House earlier this year.
The Greens are readying themselves to make Bill C-51 an election issue and get the bill repealed.
“The fact is that this bill will not make Canadians safer – it will actually do the opposite and that’s the big lie being told to Canadians,” noted Green Party leader Elizabeth May after the vote Wednesday night.
“We need outreach programs that counter radicalization of our youth, oversight over our intelligence agencies, and improved coordination between CSIS and the RCMP,” she said.
The NDP’s public safety critic, Randall Garrison, said in a press release Wednesday that his party strongly condemns the adoption of the bill, and that thousands of Canadians took to the streets to protest against it.
“These people don’t want fear to triumph over the values that guide our democracy,” Garrison said.
“Terrorism is a very real threat,” he added, “but it is the responsibility of the government to protect both public safety and our civil liberties. This bill is vague, dangerous and won’t make Canadians safer.”
The Liberals’ support, however, hasn’t gone without criticism and OpenMedia, one of the groups spearheading the #StopC51 campaign, plans to fight against the bill as it moves to the Senate and make C-51 an election issue if it becomes law.
“The government and the Liberals may think today marks the end of this matter, but passing this reckless legislation will be an albatross around their neck moving into the election,” said OpenMedia spokesperson David Christopher.
The next step for C-51 is study by the Senate — where it’s possible amendments will be made — and then the bill will be set for Royal Assent.
View Bill C51: A Primer PDF below
