Conservatives to propose minor amendments to Bill C-51

OTTAWA—The majority Conservatives will put forward four changes to their proposed terrorism law, clarifying that protests and dissent do not qualify as national security threats.

The government’s amendments to Bill C-51, to be tabled on Tuesday, would address two specific concerns brought before the Commons committee studying the bill.

The first amendment would clarify that any protest or dissent would not fall under C-51. The bill currently excludes “lawful protest,” but legal experts and activists warned that civil disobedience could be considered “unlawful” and, as such, would be fair game for CSIS.

Another would clarify that CSIS agents are not permitted to arrest people as part of the agency’s new powers to “disrupt” threats to national security.

Under the proposed changes, government departments would be limited to sharing information with 17 government and security agencies, rather than “with any person for any purpose.”

Finally, the government will drop wording that would allow the minister of Public Safety to order an airline to “do anything that, in the minister’s opinion, is reasonable and necessary” to prevent someone on the no-fly list from travelling.

University of Ottawa law professor Craig Forcese, along with fellow academic Kent Roach, has conducted an in-depth analysis of the bill. Forcese said Friday that dropping the word “lawful” from C-51 to ensure it doesn’t target civil disobedience activities may allay some concerns on the part of environmental and aboriginal groups.

But Forcese said the wording of the amendments will have a serious impact on how CSIS wields its new power. For instance, while CSIS may not be able to arrest someone, its new powers to “disrupt” threats could involve detention — especially in foreign countries.

“The language is going to matter. Detention is a much broader concept (than arrest). Arrest is a form of detention, but it’s not the whole universe of detention,” Forcese said.

“To say they have no powers of arrest, if that’s interpreted to mean they have no powers under the Criminal Code, that doesn’t really matter because it doesn’t foreclose the possibility of detention overseas.”

While the Conservatives will tweak their terrorism bill, they do not appear open to the most common concern expressed at the Commons committee studying the bill: the lack of parliamentary oversight.

Both critics and supporters of the C-51’s measures have called on the government to create some civilian oversight for Canada’s spies. Canada is the only member of the Five Eyes security partnership — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — without such an oversight body.

In a press conference Friday morning, the opposition New Democrats tabled their proposal to create a parliamentary committee to decide how that oversight should work, as well as to restore the position of CSIS Inspector General, who provided direct oversight on the agency’s actions.

But NDP public safety critic Randall Garrison said they still want large portions of the bill scrapped. Specifically, the New Democrats want to delete the section that gives CSIS “disruption” powers, as well as the creation of a new criminal offence for advocating terrorism “in general.”

“We’re proposing to delete some provisions that violate the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of Canadians, including the new terrorism offence and the disruptive powers of CSIS,” Garrison told reporters.

“We would narrow the scope of the bill to make the bill both more respective of rights and at the same time more effective meeting the threats that we face as Canadians.”

The New Democrats are also calling for the creation of a national co-ordinator to oversee community outreach and “deradicalization” efforts among young people who stray toward extremism and terrorism.

The Liberals, for their part, have also proposed parliamentary oversight, but stopped short calling on the government to abandon the proposed new powers for CSIS. Instead, the party is calling for a three year “sunset” clause for the disruption powers, as well as a complete review into how C-51 has been used over that period.

The Commons study into Bill C-51 continues on Tuesday, while the Senate begins its own hearings on the bill on Monday.