Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his government's proposed new anti-terrorism law at a community centre in the province of Ontario, accompanied by his Justice Minister, Public Safety Minister and Associate Minister of National Defence, on Friday, January 30, 2015.
Photo Credit: Frank Gunn/CP

PM Harper doesn’t think liberties taken away by protecting Canadians from terrorism

“We do not buy the argument that every time you protect Canadians, you somehow take away their liberties,” said Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper as he presented a proposed new anti-terrorism law which would give Canadian authorities wide powers to share information, disrupt terrorist plots and create a new criminal offence: “advocating or promoting” terrorist activities.

Joined by his Justice Minister, Public Safety Minister and the Associate Minister of National Defence, the Prime Minister unveiled the new legislation at a community centre in the province of Ontario, before an appreciative audience.

Bill C-51, the “Anti-terrorism Act, 2015” is a bill to “enact the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act and the Secure Air Travel Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.”

After his statement, the Prime Minister answered a few questions from the media.

RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda has a report.

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More information:
Bill C-51 – Anti-terrorism Act, 2015 – here
CBC News – Stephen Harper makes his case for new powers to combat terror – here
Ottawa Citizen/Andrew MacDougall – Let’s avoid pantomime in the terror debate – here
Ottawa Citizen/Tyler Dawson – Criminalizing speech is a mistake – here

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