Canadian Issues Committee Report Elise Moser, Chair
Bill C-51 Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act introduced in June 2015, was a pressing issue for the Canadian Issues Committee this year. The Act’s vague language created new terrorism offences, and allowed for the unconstitutional overreach of the RCMP and CSIS in making arrests. In December, as part of the Consultation on National Security, we provided a written submission to express our central concern regarding the implications for freedom of expression in Canada given the Act’s broadening of the existing criminal offence of terrorism to include “advocating and promoting” the commission of “terrorism offences in general.” On May 2, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) issued its report and called for removal of what it conceded was a “vague and overly broad term”: “terrorism offences in general.” In other words, it took our point. 8 PEN Canada