By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada- Canada is planning on introducing new legislation aimed at giving more power to its police in the wake of two attacks by Muslim converts last year. Last October, a gunman attacked Canada’s Parliament, fatally shooting a soldier at a nearby war memorial. The attack came two days after another Canadian convert ran down two soldiers in Quebec. Days after the attack Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised new laws giving police more power to detain and arrest suspected terrorists.

Immediately after the Parliament attack, Canada’s Conservative government introduced a bill to enhance the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spy agency.“These measures are designed to help authorities stop planned attacks, get threats off our streets, criminalize the promotion of terrorism, and prevent terrorists from traveling and recruiting others,” Harper stated. The bill is expected to  remove safeguards on police powers to arrest, detain and restrain people without charge or the commission of an actual crime. The new laws would also give authorities more powers to track terror suspects abroad.

The bill will also make it easier for police to disrupt suspected terror plots by reducing the legal prerequisites required to obtain court-ordered peace bonds. Such orders can substantially affect the quality of living of national security targets. Failure to comply with the laws can result in a one-year jail sentence.

The Canadian Bar Association says the change in legislation would be a “big mistake.” Experts in constitutional law have noted that law enforcement agencies already have a very wide-range of powers.Those opposed to the new legislation have expressed concern that arresting and detaining people based on inchoate evidence is dangerous in regards to human rights. They argue that under the 2001 Anti-terrorism Act the government added safeguards to ensure these rights would not be violated.

Harper said the new legislation would not infringe on constitutionally protected rights such as free speech, association and religion. The nation’s leading independent organizations have not yet briefed or consulted on the government’s looming new anti-terror legislation.

 

For more information, please see the following:

BUSINESS TIMES – Canada To Unveil New Security Legislation After 2014 Attacks: PM – 25 Jan. 2015.

OTTAWA CITIZEN – Anti-Terror Bill: Can Government Balance Security and Civil Rights? – 25 Jan. 2015.

REUTERS – Canada To Unveil New Security Legislation After 2014 Attacks: PM – 25 Jan. 2015.

YAHOO – Canada Seeks To Beef Up Security After Attacks