Liberal security bill doesn’t go far enough to protect rights, groups say

More than three dozen groups and individuals are telling the Liberal government its national security bill falls short of reforms needed to protect privacy and civil liberties.

The groups, including Amnesty International Canada, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association, outline their concerns in a letter, made public today, to the ministers of public safety, justice and immigration.

The government’s sweeping security legislation, tabled in June, fleshes out Liberal campaign promises to repeal some elements of C-51, a contentious

omnibus bill brought in by the Harper government after a gunman stormed Parliament Hill in October 2014.

The Liberal bill would limit – but not eliminate – powers that allow Canada’s spy agency to actively disrupt terror plots.

It also blazes new paths for Canada’s security services in data-crunching and cyber warfare, and bolsters accountability and review in the often murky world of intelligence.

The groups calling for change in the letter say that while the bill makes some meaningful and necessary improvements to the national security regime, it fails to reverse the overall thrust of the Tory measures in C-51 and introduces serious new problems.

The legislation is “a substantial undertaking that aspires toward balanced policy-making,” the groups say.

“Unfortunately, it is not the fundamental change needed to undo C-51’s legacy, nor to fully realize and respect that human rights must sit at the core of our national security framework.”