From the Canadian Constitution Foundation

“I worry that this law could be used to secretly cut off political dissidents from their phone or Internet service on the pretense that they may try to manipulate the telecom system”

The Canadian Constitution Foundation is concerned about the civil liberties implications of the Carney government’s proposed cyber security bill, C-8, which would allow the minister of industry to secretly order telecommunications service providers like Telus, Bell and Rogers to stop providing services to individual Canadians.

The minister would be allowed to make such an order if she has “reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary to do so to secure the Canadian telecommunications system against any threat, including that of interference, manipulation, disruption or degradation.”

An individual who does not comply, including by failing to keep the order secret, could face fines of up to $25,000 for the first contravention and $50,000 for subsequent contraventions. Businesses could face fines of up to $10 million for the first contravention and up to $15 million for subsequent contraventions.

The orders would remain secret indefinitely, with the minister required only to present an annual report to Parliament on the number of orders made and her opinion on their necessity, reasonableness and utility.

CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas said that the power to cut off the Internet or cellphone service of Canadians is a “very serious power that requires very strong safeguards, which are presently lacking in the bill.” 

“While this power may be necessary in some cases to prevent cyber attacks, it also poses serious risks to civil liberties,” Dehaas said. “I worry that this law could be used to secretly cut off political dissidents from their phone or Internet service on the pretense that they may try to manipulate the telecom system,” Dehaas explained. “Such an action would violate our most cherished freedoms including free speech.”

CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn said that the government cannot be trusted with such a power unless proper safeguards are in place.

“You may think that the idea of the government cutting off political dissidents from the necessities of life sounds far-fetched, but that’s exactly what happened during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa,” she said. “The federal government ordered banks to freeze hundreds of bank accounts without any judicial authorization, cutting protesters off from their money in the middle of a very cold winter.”

“Although the Federal Court agreed with the CCF that freezing bank accounts this way violated the constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures, that kind of damage isn’t easily repaired,” Van Geyn added.

Ottawa has appealed the Federal Court’s finding. The CCF is awaiting a decision from the Federal Court of Appeal.

Dehaas said that Parliament should consider requiring either judicial pre-authorization or an immediate, automatic judicial review of any decision to cut off an individual or business from their Internet or phone.

The CCF is also concerned that Bill C-8 would allow the minister to weaken telecommunications companies’ encryption standards, allowing for unconstitutional access to Canadians’ private information.

Finally, the CCF is concerned that the bill could allow the minister or any person designated by the minister to engage in unconstitutional searches.

Joanna Baron, the CCF’s Executive Director, said that Canadians must be vigilant about their constitutional rights and freedoms because they can be easily taken away, especially in times of crisis.

“I would encourage Canadians to fight for their freedoms, whether it’s by taking the CCF’s free privacy course, signing up for our weekly Freedom Update newsletter or becoming a monthly donor,” Baron said.

“Concerned Canadians are also encouraged to write to their MPs using our form letter, to tell them to amend these bills to ensure Canadians’ rights to privacy and free expression are protected,” Baron added.

From LifeSiteNews

By Emily Mangiaracina

Anti-Christian hate crimes are not properly documented in Canada, but media reports indicate a continuing wave of violence against churches.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday that Christians may be the “number one” target of hate crimes when asked how he would combat the eruption of attacks on churches in Canada.

“One hundred churches have been burned,” Poilievre said, according to a CBC News report. “Christians may be the number one group that is victims of hate-based violence. But, of course, it’s not politically correct to say that.”

“This anti-Christian hate has got to stop,” said Poilievre, referring to the arson crimes as “terrorist attacks.”

Catholic and Christian churches have seen a spike in arson attacks after a public narrative that Catholic priests had murdered children said to have been found in unmarked graves at the site of Canadian indigenous residential schools run by both the Catholic Church and other Christian churches.

The attacks have reached epidemic proportions. Last week, All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church, northeast of Edmonton, was destroyed after being set ablaze by a 23-year-old and a 26-year-old from Saddle Lake First Nation.

At least four other churches in Canada have been set afire this year, according to media reports, including a Catholic church in Saskatchewan, a joint Anglican-Lutheran church in Manitoba, a Greek Orthodox church that had been set afire three other times in recent years, and a Salvation Army church in Newfoundland.

Catholic churches in particular have seen a big spike in violence as compared with previous years, with a jump from 43 police-reported anti-Catholic crimes in 2020 to 155 in 2021, according to Statistics Canada data.

However, hard data on the incidence of overall anti-Christian attacks in Canada is not yet available because the currently cited data on anti-religion hate crimes in Canada does not account for non-Catholic Christian churches.

In recognition of this vacuum, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada is planning to launch an anti-Christian hate crime tracker.

Poilievre ripped liberals for enabling the rash of church attacks, calling out their policies of reduced penalties for arson, their redirection of resources from police and border services to targeting farmers and hunters, and their “divisive” identity politics.

He said he would take the “opposite approach” if elected prime minister, including “tougher laws” for hate crime perpetrators and redirecting resources away from targeting “sportshooters” and toward police services.

“Because frankly, Canadians of all faiths, including Christians, deserve to worship in peace,” he said.