Bill C-36 is the scariest thing that has ever happened to Canada by far (except perhaps for NAFTA). Unless we act in large numbers immediately, we may find that we have lost what are left of our civil and political rights. This is a basic issue that underlies the possibility of any participation in social change.

Dear friends,

The Canadian Government is contemplating passing Bill C-36 in the next few days that would grant unprecedented powers to the police and state - things like preventative arrests and indefinite detention on suspicion of planning "terrorism", defined as planning to do anything illegal for ideological, religious, political or philosophical reasons, forced testimony, indefinite wiretapping, loss of lawyer/client confidentiality, long prison sentences for minor mischief, seizure of property, withholding of information by the government indefinitely (suspension of the Access to Information Act), and other such draconian measures.

At the same time, the government is planning to pass Bill C-35 which grants foreign government officials immunity from Canadian legislation, even if they are known criminals or terrorists. Do you see the pattern?

Even thinking about challenging the government will land you in jail with no due process, plus forteiture of all your property, including the same treatment for all friends and any organisation you are part of, whereas those who commit mass murder and other such crimes against humanity under the guise of "government" are immune from any accountability.

If you care about your basic civil and democratic rights, please go to:

http://www.canadianliberty.bc.ca/

where you can learn all about this bill, and where you will also find a list of the email addresses of all the Canadian MPs and senators. Write, call, and visit them please. This may be our last chance to save ourselves from a police state even worse than we already have.

It may be better not to use your true name and address, though, because some people report that they have been put under surveillance and review for protesting this proposed legislation.

My letter to the MP's

Dear Canadian Members of Parliament,

It was with sadness and foreboding that I consider the possibility that you may put your signature to one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation that has ever passed through the Hall of Parliament – Bill C-36.

As Canadian citizens, each of us is responsible for safeguarding the values and principles which constitute the soul of our nation. This is particularly true of elected government officials such as yourself, who are entrusted with the care and protection of our country and the freedoms which we all cherish. The action which you and your fellow parliamentarians are contemplating, namely the signing into law of Bill C-36, even with the proposed amendments, is in direct contravention of the spirit of our great country, which is rooted in principles of fundamental justice and the rule of law, as mentioned in the preamble to our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

To quote our national charter:

“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law…. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.