[A-List] Bill C-36: COPY AND SEND THE LETTER BELOW TO JEAN CHRETIEN, ANNE MCLELLAN AND YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (fwd)

[Andre Gunder Frank <franka@xxxxxxx>]

good neighbor policy!




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                    ANDRE  GUNDER  FRANK
Department of History			   Home
University of Nebraska Lincoln [UNL]       4440 North 7th Street 
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E-Mail: franka@xxxxxxx          Web Page: csf.colorado.edu/agfrank/
    



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 12:27:49 PDT
From: shniad@xxxxxx
To: shniad@xxxxxx
Subject: Bill C-36: COPY AND SEND THE LETTER BELOW TO JEAN CHRETIEN,

    ANNE MCLELLAN AND YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

Bill C-36: COPY AND SEND THE LETTER BELOW TO JEAN CHRETIEN, ANNE MCLELLAN
AND YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

Under the auspices of the war on terrorism, the Canadian government has fast
tracked their anti-terrorism legislation - Bill C-36. 

Some of the more insidious aspects include: 

Preventative Detention: This gives the police the power to throw anyone in
jail they choose, without justification or recourse for the detainee.  Say
goodbye to peaceful protest and the right to dissent. Say hello to
oligarchy.

Access to Information: The right of Canadians to examine the activities of
their elected officials be curtailed, but even worse, at least before they
had to ask permission to monitor our e-mails, telephone calls, private
discussions, etc. Now they can do it without permission.  Say goodbye to
Freedom of Speech.  Say hello to Big Brother. 

On October 25, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) said that Bill C-36 goes
too far and must include a sunset clause, thereby ensuring that the law will
not be on the books forever and will end at a certain date. Opposition
parties are also demanding the same thing.  The CBA argues that a sunset
clause should apply to the entire Bill except for the clauses that hate
propaganda iis llegal. 

In a not so veiled attempt to please Washington, Ottawa is trying to get
Bill C-36 approved as quickly as possible.  There is no time to lose. If
this bill passes, it is not inconceivable that in the very near future, the
government might not only be aware that you have read and sent this e-mail,
but they may have you on a list of potential people to arrest. Is this the
kind of enduring freedom we want? 

Copy and send the following letter to your MP, to Justice Ministre Anne
McLellan (McLellan.A@xxxxxxxxxx or fax 613. 996-4516) and to Jean Chrétien
(pm@xxxxxxxx or fax: 613.941-6900) 

------------------------- 

Dear Mr. or Ms. 

Thirty years ago the October Crisis and the War Measures Act gave Canadians
a small taste of what it was like to live in a police state.  Now the
Canadian government wants to extend these draconian conditions into a
permanent way of life.	This flies in the face of the Canadian charter of
rights and freedoms and Canadian values of democracy, plurality and
openness. 

Eric Rice of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) argues that the definition
of terrorism under C-36 "could include legitimate activities that upset the
social order, like the recent illegal strikes waged by nurses and truckers,
anti-globalisation marches or First Nation demonstrations". 

Among other things, Bill C-36 includes: 

Preventative Detention: This gives the police the power to throw anyone in
jail they choose, without justification or recourse for the detainee.  Even
worse, our fundamental right to not answer questions will be stripped away. 
According to the CBA this powerful combination erases the distinction
between suspect and witness. Say goodbye to peaceful protest and the right
to dissent. Say hello to oligarchy. 

Access to Information: Not only will the right of Canadians to examine the
activities of their elected officials be curtailed, but even worse, at least
before they had to ask permission to monitor our e-mails, telephone calls,
private discussions, etc. now they can do it whenever they feel like it. 
Say goodbye to freedom of speech.  Say hello to Big Brother. 

For the CBA, Bill C-36 is tantamount to "breaking the equilibrium between
security and freedom". 

I am therefore asking the Canadian government to abandon Bill C-36 owing to
the intensely nefarious consequence for Canadians and our way of life. 
Given the fact that this war is being touted as one "in defence of freedom"
it is painfully inconsistent and ironic that the Canadian government is
trying to justify curtailing the freedom of its own citizens. 

In the growing climate of fear, Canadians more than ever need to feel safe. 
If our own government is turning against us "for our own good", how can we
ever expect to feel safe again? If in the process of re-destroying
Afghanistan, we also destroy our own country, one needs to ask who is
winning this specious war? 

ABANDON BILL C-36 

Signature 


For the email address of your MP, check out the following:
 


http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/SenatorsMembers_house.asp?Language=E&Parl=37&Se
s=1&Sect=hoccur