AMENDMENTS TO BILL C-36

OTTAWA, November 20, 2001 - The Government of Canada today proposed amendments to Bill C-36, the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, which will clarify and strengthen provisions in the bill that safeguard the rights and freedoms of Canadians.

The Government continues to be committed to developing effective legislation to combat the threat of terrorism at home and abroad. "Bill C-36 has given us an opportunity to hear the views of Canadians about the tools and laws we need to deal effectively with the threat of terrorism," said Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. "Canadians have told us they want laws that identify terrorists and bring them to justice. They have also told us they want assurances that appropriate safeguards are in place that strike the right balance between the promotion of public security and the protection of civil rights."

Amendments tabled by the Government before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights include the following:

• Provisions in Bill C-36 dealing with preventive arrest and investigative hearing powers would sunset after five years unless a resolution was passed by both the House of Commons and Senate to extend either or both of these powers for up to five more years. A provision would also be added to grandfather proceedings that have already started prior to the sunset date so that they could be completed, if the powers are not extended.
  
  
• The Attorney General and Solicitor General of Canada, provincial Attorneys General and Ministers responsible for policing would be required to report annually to Parliament on the use of the preventive arrest and investigative hearing provisions in Bill C-36.
  
  
• Provisions dealing with Attorney General certificates would be amended so that the certificate could no longer be issued at any time, but only after an order or decision for disclosure has been made in a proceeding. The life of the certificate would be fifteen years, unless re-issued. The certificate would be published in the Canada Gazette. The Attorney General certificate would be subject to review by a judge of the Federal Court of Appeal. The existing provisions and process for the collection, use, and protection of information would be preserved under the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
  
  
• The word "lawful" would be deleted from the definition of terrorist activity. This will ensure that protest activity, whether lawful or unlawful, would not be considered a terrorist act unless it was intended to cause death, serious bodily harm, endangerment of life or serious risk to the health or safety of the public.
  
  
• An interpretive clause would be added to the Bill clarifying that the expression of political, religious or ideological beliefs is not a terrorist activity unless it also constitutes conduct that meets the definition of "terrorist activity."
  
  
• The provisions concerning facilitation of a terrorist activity would be reordered so that they clearly state that, in order to be guilty of an offence, an individual must know or intend that his or her act would help a terrorist activity to occur, even if the details of the activity are not known by the individual.

The amendments also include a number of provisions to clarify the intent of the Bill as well as technical amendments to improve the Bill.

Committees of both the House of Commons and the Senate heard from over 60 witnesses on Bill C-36. While witnesses expressed concern over specific provisions in the Bill, their testimony also reflected broad public acceptance that Canada must take special measures to counter the threat of terrorism that has emerged since September 11th - a menace that goes beyond the usual categories of crime and targets civilian populations and democratic institutions.

Bill C-36 will combat terrorism through provisions that detect, deter, disrupt and disable terrorist groups. The Bill establishes a process for designating terrorist organizations and creates new and specialized offences that both prevent and punish terrorist acts. It contains extensive safeguards, including procedural steps and decision-making criteria, that are enhanced by today's amendments and that ensure the legislation is focused on the threat to human security posed by terrorism while protecting the rights and freedoms of Canadians.

The Act also parallels the actions taken by our international partners. Bill C-36 ensures that Canada can play an active role in the global effort to combat terrorism and allows Canada to fulfill its obligations under international conventions dealing with terrorist financing, terrorist bombings and the use of other lethal weapons, and the protection of United Nations and associated personnel.

The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act is a key component of the Government of Canada Anti-Terrorism Plan, which has four objectives:

• stop terrorists from getting into Canada and protect Canadians from terrorist acts;
• bring forward tools to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists;
• prevent the Canada-US border from being held hostage by terrorists and impacting on the Canadian economy; and
• work with the international community to bring terrorists to justice and address the root causes of such hatred.

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Ref:

Farah Mohamed
Minister McLellan's Office
(613) 992-4621