The Communist Party of Canada warns against the attempt by the federal Conservative government to use the recent events in Ottawa and St‑Jean‑sur‑Richelieu as justification to restrict civil liberties and democratic freedoms. Even before these unconnected incidents the government had been preparing new so‑called “anti‑terrorism” legislation to expand the legal scope for CSIS and other security agencies to spy on the activities and communications of Canadians, and to allow “disruption” tactics – a euphemism for the authority to arrest anyone considered a potential threat, even those who have not engaged in any illegal activity. This chilling legislation will be brought before Parliament shortly, perhaps in an even more draconian form.
Ever since taking office, the Harper Conservatives have directed state security agencies to profile and focus on those they consider “enemies”, such as environmentalists opposed to the expansion of the tarsands and hydraulic fracking, Aboriginal movements which resist the destruction of their traditional territories by governments and resource corporations, or groups CSIS vaguely labels “multi‑issue extremists”. CSIS already operates beyond the reach of Parliament and exists to suppress political dissent. The expansion of police state powers will accelerate this drive to label Canadians as “potential terrorists,” creating a basis for even more severe police spying and repression against, the labour and democratic movements and grassroots opposition forces.
Such domestic activists are the main target of the Conservative security state agenda, as has been the case for every federal government since Confederation. For nearly 150 years, every attack on civil rights and democratic freedoms has been accompanied by ominous speeches by politicians, warning of “dire threats”. This has been a key excuse for repeated waves of repression, such as the mass arrests during the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, the trials and internments of Communist leaders during the 1930s and ’40s, the blacklisting of thousands of militant labour activists during the Cold War era, the mass suppression of democratic rights during the 1970 October crisis, the mass arrests during the G‑20 Summit in Toronto and the student protests in Quebec, the criminalization of Aboriginal land defender movements, and many other occasions. Allowing the “pre‑emptive” arrest of “potential terrorists” would open the door to police actions against virtually any movement or organization critical of government policies. This legislation must be condemned by democratic forces in Canada, especially trade unions, Aboriginal peoples, environmentalists, defenders of immigrant rights, civil liberties groups, and all those who want to protect the Charter rights to freedom of speech, expression and assembly. Instead of supporting the Harper government’s repressive agenda, the opposition parties in Parliament must also unequivocally oppose the attempt to gag and silence Canadians.
No clear connection has been drawn between the homicides in Quebec and the homicides in Ottawa, which left two soldiers and their two attackers dead. Nor is there any clear evidence of links with other organized groups. In fact it seems the perpetrators acted as individuals.
But these events take place in the context of the Canadian government’s enthusiastic participation in war‑making and militarism as a key partner in the US‑led NATO alliance. The Communist Party restates our long‑held view that war‑making by the Canadian state – including the Harper government’s decisions to take part in the bombing of Islamic State forces, to back the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and to support the far ultra‑right coup regime in Kiev ‑ inevitably become part of a deadly global spiral of violence and militarism. The most aggressive and powerful terrorist force on our planet has been U.S. imperialism, which has repeatedly overthrown governments and invaded countries which it considers unfriendly to the interests of transnational capital. Joining wars launched by the U.S. will only exacerbate crises rather than resolve international problems.
The Communist Party condemns the efforts to criminalize dissent, and calls upon the labour and democratic movements to defend the rights to free speech and expression, assembly, privacy, legal due process and citizenship protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights. The Communist Party particularly condemns the tendency by the corporate media and politicians to use inflammatory rhetoric like “lone wolf terrorists,” racialize these incidents, and vilify Muslims and the Islamic faith. We will strenuously combat all attempts to victimize or marginalize any national, ethnic, religious or political minority or community in Canada. We call on all labour, progressive and democratic forces to defend democracy and the cause of peace, and oppose all efforts to eliminate these rights in the name of “fighting terrorism”.
The Communist Party demands an independent foreign policy based on peace and disarmament, and calls for full support for mass protests against participation in the new war in Iraq and Syria in cities across Canada on October 25‑26 and beyond. We cannot be silent.
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada, October 23, 2014