Given a choice between trusting the "soft-on-terror" Liberals and the "crack-down-on-crime" Conservatives, I go with the softies every time.OTTAWA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Canada's Parliament scrapped two contentious anti-terror measures on Tuesday, angering the minority Conservative government, which accuses opposition legislators of being soft on terror.
The House of Commons voted 159-124 not to renew the provisions -- which expire on March 1 -- on the grounds that they had never been used.
One provision allows police to arrest people suspected of planning an imminent terrorist attack and hold them for three days without charge. The other provides for investigative hearings in which a judge can compel witnesses to testify about alleged terrorist activities.
The measures were introduced by the then-Liberal government after the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide attacks on the United States. In a bid to allay fears over human rights, Ottawa agreed the provisions would expire after five years.
The Conservative government controls just 125 of the 308 seats in the House and did not have the votes to extend the measures.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservatives won power in January 2006 on a platform that promised to crack down on crime, says the Liberals of Stephane Dion are soft on terror and cannot be trusted to keep Canadians safe.
Canada Parliament scraps two anti-terror measures
When people say "Soft on crime" they really mean "Stops the government from doing what it damned well pleases". A true conservative ought to reject that, given that a true conservative hates government interference in people's lives...
ReplyDeleteHey, are your legislators available for export or perhaps just a consulting role? There's a country just south of you that could use some help along the lines of this post.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how many Americans will or even can visit Canada anymore.
ReplyDeletehttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/02/23/MNGCAO9NSB1.DTL
"There was a time not long ago when a trip across the border from the United States to Canada was accomplished with a wink and a wave of a driver's license. Those days are over.
Take the case of 55-year-old Lake Tahoe resident Greg Felsch. Stopped at the border in Vancouver this month at the start of a planned five-day ski trip, he was sent back to the United States because of a DUI conviction seven years ago. Not that he had any idea what was going on when he was told at customs: "Your next stop is immigration.''
Felsch was ushered into a room. "There must have been 75 people in line," he says. "We were there for three hours. One woman was in tears. A guy was sent back for having a medical marijuana card. I felt like a felon with an ankle bracelet.''"
Maybe I would have more luck with my French passport.