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.