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Amendments to Bill
C-36
November 20, 2001
The Government of Canada today tabled
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 is grateful to all Senators and
MPs, who have responded in spectacular fashion to the Prime
Minister’s request, made on October 15 in the House of Commons, to: "give
the Bill thorough study, while obviously taking into account the need to
pass legislation as quickly as possible."
The amendments tabled today before the House of
Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights include the following:
In addition to the 3-year Parliamentary review
of the Act, sunset clauses would be added to the preventive arrest and
investigative hearing provisions, so that they expire in five years.
Either or both of these provisions could be continued for up to five more
years following sunset through a resolution passed by both the House of
Commons and the Senate. A provision will be added so that proceedings that
have already commenced prior to the sunset date may be completed, if the
powers are not continued by resolution.
The Attorney General and Solicitor General
of Canada, provincial Attorneys General and Ministers
responsible for policing, would be required to report annually to the
public on the use of the preventive arrest and investigative hearing
provisions in Bill C-36.
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 specifically 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.
These amendments respond to concerns expressed
by witnesses before the parliamentary committees while respecting the
broad public acceptance that Canada must take special measures to counter
the threat of terrorism that has emerged since September 11.
The Government is committed to developing
effective legislation to combat the
threat of terrorism at home and abroad. We are determined to adopting
measures to effectively identify terrorists and bring them to justice, while
striking the right balance between the promotion of public security and the
protection of civil rights.
This legislative package is in keeping with the
actions of our allies. Bill C-36 is an important
element in Canada’s commitment to join its international partners
in confronting and stamping out
terrorism around the world.
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