| The Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre is warning Calgarians about the negative impact Canada’s Anti-terrorism Act is having on citizens’ rights and freedoms.
Linda McKay-Panos, executive director of the centre, says the act is subjecting ethnic minorities to racial profiling and is repressing some citizens’ civil liberties.
McKay-Panos will discuss the act on March 18 at a symposium exploring the national security measures the federal government introduced in December 2001, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
On the federal Department of Justice’s website, it states that the Anti-terrorism Act "was designed to create a balance between the need to protect the security of Canadians and the protection of their rights and freedoms," and that it "targets terrorists, and not minorities or religious groups." The website adds the act "does not apply to the expression of political, religious or ideological ideas that are not intended to cause the various forms of harm set out in the definition."
McKay-Panos says that isn’t always the case.
"I think we’re going to look back and (ask), ‘What were we thinking?’ We wanted to feel safer, but we really weren’t and we gave up so much for it," she says. "Right now the climate is people seem to be willing to sign off on a lot of freedoms because they’re afraid."
McKay-Panos says the act is leading to many cases of "racial profiling" where brown-skinned people are being questioned for hours at borders or airports for no reason except the colour of their skin.
"I’ve just heard too many stories from people of colour to ignore it. It’s happening a lot," she says.
Civil liberties are also seriously threatened due to the "really, really broad" definition of terrorism under the act, which she says could possibly be extended to peaceful demonstrations.
"It could stifle lawful protest. That’s the worry," says McKay-Panos. "We’re supposed to have freedom of expression in our country, but you don’t really want to be labelled as a terrorist or charged with terrorism activity because the penalties are quite severe."
The act also allows police to obtain wiretaps more easily, she adds.
"They don’t have to go through the same rigorous process," she says. "Before it had to be the only way they could get the information was through a wiretap. Now it’s less onerous…. You don’t have to demonstrate (to a judge) it’s a last resort anymore."
Prior to the act, people who were wiretapped had to be informed in writing within 90 days, but that has been extended to three years, and wiretaps were limited to 60 days, but now the police can get permission to wiretap for up to a year.
McKay-Panos says there are other national security measures the government has adopted, which aren’t under the Anti-terrorism Act, that are also of major concern.
The federal government has created a terrorist group list, but McKay-Panos says there have been situations where innocent people have been put on the list and it has seriously disrupted their lives before they were able to get their names cleared.
McKay-Panos is also concerned about the use of security certificates, under which the federal government can lock up non-citizens "indefinitely" without charging them with an offence. People locked up under security certificates can be denied the right to hear the evidence against them if the government claims making the case public would threaten national security.
"They don’t get to know the case that’s against them. They don’t have the opportunity to address it," says McKay-Panos. "That’s not the Canadian way, I don’t think."
McKay-Panos will speak at the International Hotel on March 18 from 9 a.m. to noon. Representatives from the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Canada Border Services Agency will also be in attendance. |
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