LETTER — MP Cathy McLeod is wrong on Bill C-51

Posted on March 20, 2015 in Letters // 5 Comments

LETTER — The Conservatives “anti-terror” Bill C-51 is seriously flawed; sweeping, dangerously vague and ineffective. It doesn’t do things that are proven to work, and puts politics ahead of protecting Canadians.

The threat of terrorism is real and protection of the public must be paramount. However, standing up for our values, refusing to allow cowardly attackers to change our way of life doesn’t mean we must sacrifice our freedoms.

Bill Sundhu.

C-51 is yet another massive Omnibus bill (5 bills) and Conservatives are ramming it through Parliament. The Liberals have unfortunately sided with the Conservatives, but New Democrats are standing on principle, demanding the bill gets needed scrutiny.

It gives broad new powers to CSIS without enhancing oversight. It makes possible for law enforcement agencies and CSIS to take action against legitimate social and political activism. Harper’s judgment on CSIS oversight is lacking, he abolished the internal watchdog office in 2012. PM Harper dismisses parliamentary oversight as ‘red tape’, something required by all our major allies. Protecting democratic rights is not ‘red tape’! Canadians died in wars for fundamental freedoms.

I attended Kamloops Rally against C-51 because I am a democrat, first and foremost. I belong to a team analyzing C-51 for the CBA (36,000 Canadian lawyers). The Harper government engages in partisanship, refusing to hear from the CBA, Special Advocates (experts in national security hearings), and the Privacy Commissioner. It ignores former Supreme Court Justices, four former PM’s, and legal scholars.

Instead Conservative MP’s respond with talking points, on matters of fundamental importance. MP Cathy McLeod is wrong in alleging “misinformation” by those expressing concern about C-51 and that it has been cleared for Charter compliance. The overwhelming legal expertise is not onside with the government. Harper’s government has recently experienced half-dozen Supreme Court defeats for violating the Charter. This is a cynical government that does not respect meaningful Charter compliance and puts crass politics ahead of respect for fundamental freedoms and the Charter.

C-51 goes too far and isn’t balanced. Canadians can count on New Democrats to take a principled stand for our rights and freedoms.

BILL SUNDHU
Federal NDP Candidate,
Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo

Bill Sundhu

P.Graham // March 26, 2015 at 2:44 PM // Reply

Any threats to Canada derive from our own citizens, not from foreign zealots, and the Harper government is riding a wave of their own-provoked fear and ignorance in order to get elected. Our MP McLeod is merely a puppet for the right-wing line of thought -or rather – propaganda. The Canada I grew up in is just a distant, fond memory!
We are massively in debt, the poor are poorer, our pension system is under attack, and we are aging as our government hires foreign workers rather than pay Canadians a decent wage, stifles scientific inquiry, and cheats our veterans. What a sorry record!

LikeLike

Adam // March 24, 2015 at 8:17 PM // Reply

Thank you for this, Bill. Well spoken. I was very disappointed to receive a “Protecting Canadians” flyer in the mail today from Cathy McLeod. She should really look to distance herself from all the inane freedom-gauging anti-terrorism nonsense that our government has decided to scare the country with since the economic ‘highlight’ that was big oil went in the tank.