As the Globe has noted, “one of the sections of the bill touted most loudly by Prime Minister Stephen Harper would make it illegal to promote terrorism ‘in general.’ But even the experts don’t know what that means. It is already an offence to urge people to commit a terrorist act. What does this law add?” Here are some quotes which should give us good reason to question.
The violent “anti-Canada petroleum movement”
“There is a growing, highly organized and well-financed anti-Canada petroleum movement that consists of peaceful activists, militants and violent extremists who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels,” concludes the [RCMP] report which is stamped “protected/Canadian eyes only” and is dated Jan. 24, 2014. The report was obtained by Greenpeace. “If violent environmental extremists engage in unlawful activity, it jeopardizes the health and safety of its participants, the general public and the natural environment.” Reported in The Globe and Mail, Feb. 17, 2015
“Far left and eco-terrorism”
I’d say that, in addition to their obvious military successes, ISIL is extraordinarily good at messaging in a way that is unprecedented. […] You can see that just in the lone wolf terrorist attacks that occurred last year. Obviously, Canada, quite sadly, was victimized twice on consecutive days. But in general, over the course of the past decade, across 15 western states you had an average of 7.3 lone wolf terrorist attacks per year for all kinds of terrorism, not just jihadist terrorism, but far right, far left, eco-terrorism, and the like. […] One thing, obviously, that Canada is concerned about now, which is reflected in Bill C-51, is trying to figure out a way to disrupt ISIL’s messaging. Dr. Daveed Gartenstein testifying at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 5th, 2015
And Marxism-Leninism?
But whatever it calls itself – Nazism, Marxist-Leninism, today, terrorism – they all have one thing in common: the destruction, the end, of human liberty. PM Harper at a Fundraiser, May 2014
Or any “ideologies at odds with the status quo”
The 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville, as with most venues of this type, will likely be subject to actions taken by criminal extremists motivated by a variety of radical ideologies, resulting in potentially serious public safety challenges. These ideologies may include variants of anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism, nihilism, socialite, and/or Communism. These ideologies may also include notions of racial supremacy and white power and engage in public incitement of hatred. The important commonality is that these ideologies (or at least the interpretations included here) place these individuals and/or organizations at odds with the status quo and the current distribution of power society. This may include a theoretical and practical opposition to authority (i.e. law enforcement and government); the capitalist, or mixed market economy; Multiculturalism, notions of free trade, and/or the current political systems embodied in most of the participating countries, etc. In addition to then generally held tenets, a variety of grievances exist: These grievances are based upon notions/expectations regarding the environment, animal rights, First Nations’ resource-based grievances, gender/racial equality, and distribution of wealth, etc. Most importantly, the ideologies or motivations that propel these individuals/organizations incorporate an acceptance or criminal activity and violence to achieve their various goals. Often this acceptance of criminal activity as a mesas is overtly stated, while at times it is known only internally.
Original files on CBC’s website, exposed internal documents of the RCMP on the “JIG” or domestic intelligence operation, which spied on community organizations and activists before the G8 and G20 summits. This operation “was in excess of 500 personnel from numerous federal, provincial, and municipal agencies, likely the largest JIG ever assembled in Canada.”
However — Nazi-inspired violence is not terrorism
“The attack does not appear to have been culturally motivated, therefore not linked to terrorism.”
Justice Minister Peter McKay, talking about the alleged thwarted “Valentines Day Massacre” by reported Nazi sympathizers Lindsay Souvannarath, Randall Shepherd and James Gamble, who planned to shoot and kill dozens at a Halifax shopping mall. Quoted in The Toronto Star, Feb. 17th 2015
Stop Bill C-51 campaign site.
Bill C-59, the Liberals’ new national security legislation, is a cleaned up continuation of the Tories’ infamous and draconian Bill C-51, which the Liberals promised to significantly amend if elected in 2015. In fact they voted for C-51 despite mass country-wide protests against the Bill before and during the election. Their promises to amend it were widely understood to mean they would rewrite it to expunge the dangerously authoritarian, repressive and anti-democratic core of the legislation. Two years later, the Liberals have produced C-59, the twin brother of C-51, cleaned-up, but no less dangerous to Canadians’ civil, labour and democratic rights.
