Assignment on Government by Bill C51

Bill c-51
Student’s name
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"The powers afforded to the federal government by bill C51 are reasonable and necessary
given national security concerns, and do not constitute a violation of the privacy of
Canadian citizens."
Triggered by the threats of terrorism in Canada, Bill C-51 was introduced in early 2015.
The legislation sets out to extend Canada's Anti-terror laws. However, the Bill is not just about
terrorism in particular but granting higher powers to police authorities to target activities,
individuals and groups that could undermine Canada's security as well as events that are harmful
to Canada’s interests. Some argue that it gives the government too much power to choose targets
for scrutiny and violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In summary, Bill C-51
allows information sharing between government institutions to protect against activities that pose
a threat to security; allows the Minister to put Canadians on a “no-fly list”; creates an offense of
advocating or promoting terrorism; and gives powers to the Canadian Security Intelligence
Service to take measures to reduce security threats (Geist, 2015). Bill C-51 cannot be justified in
a democratic society considering the Bill alters Canadian security while risking civil liberties,
including violations of sections of the Canadian Charter Rights and Freedoms, the constitution
and Canadian law. It has worrisome implications in people's freedom of speech and privacy and
cumbers too many liberties in the process (Geist, 2015). A lot of concerns were raised when this
legislation was introduced such as the uncertainty of what kinds of speech and activities are
labeled to be a form of terrorism and threat. The issue raises ethical concerns most especially the
people's right to privacy.
The first section of the bill enacts the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act. The Act
allows government institutions to freely share information with other government institution “in
respect of activities that undermine the security of Canada” (Scotti, 2016). This cannot be