Needs fixing

Dear editor:
Senator Lynn Beyak from Dryden sits on the committee studying C-51, the new law on national security.
While fellow senators like Grant Mitchell and Mobina Jaffer are asking to fix the faults in C-51, Ms. Beyak is silent.
She said her constituents are concerned that “the rights of terrorists” are taking precedence over the rights of Canadians.
Constituents like myself and two others, Dave Schwartz and Jim Johnson, have written to the Senate and sent letters to the editors of newspapers. Ms. Beyak has not responded—despite the fact our concerns are shared by most of the 38 witnesses who appeared before the Senate.
Instead of challenging government witnesses to prove that we really need such sweeping legislation, Ms. Beyak asked an RCMP representative why the force did not prosecute jihadi brides.
She knows Canada has strong laws dealing with suspected terrorists. Do we need to go further?
The prime minister’s security advisor, Richard Fadden, told the committee that C-51 will enable CSIS, Canada’s spy agency, “to use a surgical approach.”
There is nothing “surgical” about C-51. The federal privacy commissioner and 11 other provincial and territorial commissioners have said that C-51 could turn the government into a dragnet, data-mining for information “relevant” to national security.
The bill permits all government departments to share information with CSIS and 16 other government departments and agencies.
The Canada Revenue Agency will be able to share income tax returns, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission about employment history, and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs about data on aboriginal people.
Mr. Fadden said policy and training will prevent abuse but we need guidelines in C-51 telling government employees how far they can go. “Relevance” is a vague standard; we need to know that information is accurate and reliable before it is shared.
Mr. Harper says “trust us.” But why trust a government which has several times had laws overturned by the Supreme Court for violating the Charter of Rights. And why would we want a judge to be able to override the Charter, as C-51 provides?
C-51 does not protect our privacy. It makes no provisions allowing citizens to delete or correct information collected or limiting how long information can be held.
C-51 also limits the right of citizens to claim compensation for unlawful or negligent use or disclosure of their private information. If the law is so good, why not make government fully accountable for mistakes?
Improper use or disclosure can cause harm to reputations and business interests, cause issues at the border, and make travel by air difficult.
Send Sen. Beyak an e-mail, give her a phone call, or write her a letter. Tell her that Bill C-51 needs to be fixed.
(Signed),
Peter Kirby,
Kenora, Ont.,
Jim Johnson,
Keewatin, Ont.,
& Dave Schwartz,
Kenora, Ont.