Letter: Anti-terrorism measures will protect Canadians

Today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Government has introduced legislation to protect Canadians from the evolving threat of terrorism and help keep our communities safe. The world is a dangerous place and, as most brutally demonstrated by last October’s attacks in Ottawa and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism. The proposed legislation will provide Canadian law enforcement and national security agencies with additional tools and flexibility to keep pace with evolving threats and better protect Canadians here at home.

The highest responsibility of our Government is to help keep Canadians safe and our country secure. The international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada. As demonstrated by the recent attacks in St-Jean-¬Sur-Richelieu and Ottawa, Canadians are being targeted by jihadi terrorists simply because they hate our society and the values it represents.

Our Government has never hesitated to call jihadi terrorism what it is. Just as we are not afraid to condemn it, we are not afraid to confront it.

Jihadi terrorism is not a future possibility; it is a present reality. That is why our Government has introduced the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015. This legislation will give our law enforcement and national security agencies the tools they need to protect Canadians against the ever evolving threat of jihadi terrorism.

Jihadi terrorism is not a human right; it is an act of war. The measures introduced today will strengthen and protect the rights of Canadians against those of jihadi terrorists who seek to destroy the very principles which make Canada the best country in the world in which to live.

The measures announced today will provide law enforcement the tools they need to help keep Canadians safe by:

• Stopping those who promote terror by creating a new Criminal Code offence that will criminalize the promotion of terrorist attacks on Canadians;

• Interfering with terrorist recruitment by giving our courts the authority to order the removal of terrorist propaganda online;

• Providing CSIS with the ability, under judicial authority, to intervene to prevent specific terror plots while they are still in the planning stages ;
Providing law enforcement agencies with enhanced ability to detect and prevent terrorism offences and terrorist activity;

• Preventing terrorists from travelling by enabling the sharing of relevant information across federal departments and agencies while also strengthening the Passenger Protect Program.

• Making it easier for law enforcement agencies to detain suspected terrorists before they can harm Canadians and toughening penalties for violating court ordered conditions on terror suspects;

• Enabling the sharing of relevant information across federal departments and agencies;

• Ensuring national security agencies are able to prevent foreigners who pose a threat to Canada from obtaining Canadian citizenship, or from coming to Canada;

• Providing witnesses with additional protection in national security proceedings and prosecutions.

Yours truly,

Hon. Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P.
Edmonton-Spruce Grove

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3 Comments

  1. Will they? I think a few Canadians might have something to say about that.

    http://www (DOT) ctvnews (DOT) ca/w5/bungled-arms-case-results-in-multi-million-dollar-secret-settlement-by-federal-government-1.2214061

    And that was caused by feds with less power. How much more damage will they be able to do with even more power?

  2. The attacks they keep bringing up have no relation to terrorism and were determined to be due to mental illness.

  3. The government is using “terrorism” to scare us into giving up more of our civil liberties. I do not support this act.

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