A plea for caution
Edward Snowden, the security service whistleblower and international fugitive, has warned Canadians to be “extraordinarily cautious” in accepting new anti-terrorism laws. And he’s right.
Legislation introduced by the federal government at the end of last week represents the largest overhaul of Canada’s security laws in more than a decade. Broadly speaking, Ottawa’s Anti-Terrorism Act 2015 ratchets up the power of police and spy agencies while loosening civil rights protections. And it does so without including any new mechanism that would allow Parliament to effectively oversee to work of security services. That’s a troubling combination. Deadly attacks on Parliament Hill and in Quebec last fall demonstrate that terrorism is no idle threat. So are trials currently underway concerning two plots aimed at causing wholesale death. One, in Vancouver, involves two people caught in an RCMP sting planting what they thought were bombs in British Columbia’s legislature. The other, in Toronto, concerns two men charged with planning to derail a Via Rail passenger train.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is right to be concerned about terrorist activities, and it’s vital that agencies protecting Canadians from such threats be adequately empowered. But so far, the government has not made a convincing case that its proposed new law would have stopped the earlier attacks, or would prevent future ones.
The new legislation would make it illegal to urge, even in a casual way, an attack on Canada or to “promote” terrorism. It would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service new power to disrupt perceived threats, including through interference with websites, phones and social media accounts. And it would lower the legal threshold for detaining terror suspects or restricting their movement.
It’s still far from clear that this new anti-terrorism law would noticeably improve public safety or simply erode existing liberties without providing substantially more protection.
No wonder Snowden advised extreme caution when he addressed students at Upper Canada College in Toronto on Monday night. The presentation was remarkable in that he spoke via a Google Hangouts Internet link from exile in Russia.
Tough anti-terrorism measures that impinge on existing freedoms “happen in time of fear and panic,” Snowden said. “Once we let these powers get rolling, it’s very difficult to stop.”
In particular, he warned, expanded electronic spying, including the way Canada’s Communications Security Establishment has been trawling through up to 15 million free file uploads daily, is a threat to democracy: “This fundamentally changes the balance of power between the citizen and the state.”
In light of these risks it would make eminent sense to create a special committee of MPs and senators, representing all major parties, to vet Canada’s security laws. Members of this panel, sworn to secrecy, would also oversee the operation of Canada’s spy agencies, as well as the military and police in security matters.
Intelligence agencies in the United States are subject to such oversight, as are services in other nations allied with Canada such as Britain and Australia.
Harper and his ministers have so far brushed aside calls for parliamentary oversight. But simple caution dictates that a significant increase in the power of the security services should be accompanied by a mechanism that better ensures such powers remain free of abuse.
Edward Snowden is right to urge Canadians to be cautious in accepting new anti-terror laws