By Alastair Gordon, President, Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Ottawa, Canada- Today, the Liberal opposition lead by Stephane Dionjoined with the other Opposition parties to killtwo provisions of Canada Anti-Terrorism Act that were passed into law by the Liberal government of Jean Chretien in 2002. With allthe hyperbole generated by these provisions, it is essential that Canadians understand their implications and judge for themselves if today's vote was a win for human rights orfor those plotting acts of terrorin Canada.
The "preventative arrest" provision is an appropriate and constitutional response to today's mass-casualty terrorist threat.This provisionallows police to detainpersons whom they believe"on reasonable grounds" to beabout to commit an act of terror.Within one day, or as soon as constitutionally possible,the detainee must be brought before a judge to validate the detention.
The other provision authorizes the use of"investigative hearings" to require a person who has material knowledge of a terrorist act to be examined by a judge with regard to information that may prevent a planned attack or help identify the perpetrators of a past attack.Again, the law requires "reasonable grounds"to proceed. Moreover,it allows the person in question to have counsel, and prohibits the use of informationdrawn from the person to be used againstthat individual in any later criminal proceedings, save for reasonable exceptions relating to perjury and associated offences.
CSIS has identifiedover 50 terrorist groups operating on Canadian soil and over $256 million have been identified by FINTRAC in 2005/2006 as having possible links to terrorism. Today, Canadians lost vital tools needed to stop a massacre before it happens and to compel those with knowledge of terrorist activity to disclosesuch vital informationto a judge.
CCD notes with deep concern therecord of theLiberal Party in relation to several terrorism issues.These issues include itsopposition for thirteen years while in governmentto proposals fora judicialinquiry into the Air India bombing,its refusal to ban Hezbollah until finallybeing forced to do so bycourt action, andits refusal to list the notoriousTamil Tigers as a terrorist organization.And now in Opposition, the Liberals are further weakening our ability to break up terrorist cells and prevent the kind of massacres of civilians that have occurred in London, Madrid, New York, Amsterdam, and countless other cities. Along with other elements of the public record, these matters raise grave questions about whetherthe Liberal leadership is pandering to radical religious andethno-culturalvoting blocks at the expense of Canadians'safety andsecurity.
"For over a decade, the Liberals ignored pleas from victims' families for an inquiry into the Air India bombing," said David Harris, Senior Fellow for National Security for CCD. "Today's vote ordered by Stphane Dionmay have effectively killed the ongoing police investigation by making it impossible to compel testimony from material witnesses. One must question the determination of the Liberals to leave unexamined the worst act of airline terror in history and its bungled 20-year prosecution, and to abandon those whose lives were shattered by this atrocity."
"Liberal leaders' continuing disregard forthe innocentterror victims ofCanada, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Israel and India triggers disturbingconcerns about the price politiciansarewilling to pay forvotes," said Alastair Gordon, President of CCD. "By opposing extensionoftheir own Party'santi-terrorism provisions at a time when Canada is specifically targeted by bin Laden and Islamic extremism,Liberals owe Canadians an explanation.Is the risk to Canadians' safety and security to be regarded as just another reasonable trade-offin the struggle forpolitical power?"
For more information, please contact:
Alastair Gordon, President
416-963-8998
Canadian Coalition for Democracies
PO Box 72602
345 Bloor Street East
Toronto, ON M4W 3J0 Canada
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