Canadians and other citizens of the world need to be “extraordinarily cautious” when their governments propose restrictive laws to fight an increased threat of terrorism, said Edward Snowden to Toronto high school students. The former U.S. intelligence contractor turned whistleblower spoke by video conference from Russia where he has sought asylum. He is wanted in the U.S. on charges of espionage.
The current Canadian government has just tabled legislation that would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service new powers to disrupt threats. The new law would also make it easier for police to control the movements of terror suspects and to detain them longer without warrant.
“I would say we should always be extraordinarily cautious when we see governments trying to set up a new secret police within their own countries,” Snowden said during a panel discussion. He added that the process is very, very easy to begin and always happens in a time of fear and panic…Once we let these powers get rolling it very difficult to stop.”
Terror threat overblown, says Greenwald
Canadians have a greater chance of dying from being struck by lightning or slipping in a bathtub than from a terrorist attack, said fellow panellist Glenn Greenwald speaking from Brazil. He is the journalist who received documents from Snowden and reported about them.
Canadian opposition politicians and civil liberties advocates have expressed concern about increasing police powers. The ruling Conservative Party has rejected their requests for expanded oversight of Canada’s spy agency. There will be a federal election in Canada this year and Conservatives are positioning themselves as the best protectors against terrorist threats.
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