Trudeau defends Bill C-51 vote
Liberal leader believes it was the right move despite criticism
OTTAWA — Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has strongly defended his party’s decision to vote in favour of controversial anti-terror legislation, saying he was acting in the “best interests” of Canadians even though the bill has flaws.
Moreover, Trudeau insisted Wednesday that if the Liberals win the Oct. 19 election, they will move quickly to introduce legislation to amend Bill C-51 so that it better protects the individual rights of Canadians.
Trudeau made the comments in a wide-ranging interview on Parliament Hill with the Ottawa Citizen and the National Post.
Asked if he has regrets about his position, Trudeau indicated he thinks he made the right move — despite criticism from his political rivals — and that Canadians will ultimately decide on the matter.
“We took a position based on what is in the best interests of Canadians. And ultimately this is a line of work in which you have to know that if you’re making decisions and taking positions that are reasonable and that flow from your values and your fundamental principles, then people will make informed choices.”
In recent weeks, the Liberals have watched their first-place standing in public opinion polls slip to third — behind Tom Mulcair’s New Democrats and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.
Pollsters credit part of Mulcair’s surge to the dynamics associated with Bill C-51, which the governing Conservatives introduced in the months following the attack by a gunman on Parliament Hill.
The bill gives powers to Canadian spies to disrupt suspected threats to the nation, in many instances without the need for warrants. It also lowers the threshold required for police to detain suspected extremists without charge and to impose conditions on their release.
Critics have complained about the lack of oversight on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and police, and that Charter rights could be in jeopardy.
While the NDP categorically opposed the bill and voted against it, the Liberals voted for the bill and promised to fix it if elected.
But Trudeau indicated he believes he took the right decision.
“One of the things we said from the very beginning, in the aftermath of the shooting on Parliament Hill and throughout the debate, is we don’t want to see this issue more politicized than it has to be.
“Now, perhaps that was overly idealistic in an election year but, at the same time, I know that Canadians want both their physical security protected and their rights upheld.
“What came before us is a bill that brought in definite measures to immediately increase the security of Canadians but didn’t do enough to uphold and protect people’s rights.
“And we made a call that we were going to support the bill, push to have it amended, but try and remove it from political debate.”