“What we have been hearing from experts and citizen is that this new law gives the government and police way too much power to snoop into our lives,� said New Democrat Privacy and Digital Affairs Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay). “Canadians are right to feel that the Conservatives are not protecting their privacy and that we need to curb this bill.�
Over the summer Angus has been putting in place a team of MPs to work with civil society groups, stakeholders and citizens to fight against lawful access legislation both in and out of parliament.
Conservatives have indicated that "lawful access" provisions will be included in their omnibus crime legislation this fall. Experts warn this would legalize widespread snooping on average citizens – all without a warrant.
Telecom providers would also be forced to install surveillance software giving police the ability to track internet and mobile phone activity.
MP Charmaine Borg (Terrebonne-Blainville), who will be spearheading this fight at the Justice committee, agrees with Angus and points out that while the party supports modernizing policing powers to deal with digital issues, removing the requirement for warrants altogether opens the door to all manner of abuse by security officials.
“This access is anything but lawful,� said Borg. “This isn’t a question of whether abuse will occur, it’s how extreme the abuse will be.�
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NDP Critic for Canadian Heritage Peter Julian issued the following statement:
"It has come to our attention that a consultant for a federally funded anti-racism project has a disturbing track record of spewing hate speech online against Jewish and francophone communities. This is completely unacceptable. We call on the Minister of Heritage to take drastic action and terminate his contract.
NDP Heritage Critic Peter Julian issued the following statement:
“Today’s announcement by Hockey Canada is another attempt to delay the important and urgent work to deal with the toxic culture in this organization. While a former Supreme Court Justice is a credible appointment to conduct the review into Hockey Canada, this won’t be the first time the organization undergoes this process.
NDP critic for Canadian Heritage, Peter Julian, made the following statement:
“Canadians are horrified by the incidents of sexual assault and by what they’re hearing from Hockey Canada. They are left with many questions about how this toxic culture is allowed to persist in our sports organizations and what the government is actually doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again.