Michael Laxer is wrong: Mulcair is not soft on C-51

Writing here on rabble.ca Michael Laxer makes an unconvincing case that NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and his party are wobbly on Harper's anti-terrorist legislation, Bill C-51.

Laxer quotes this writer in support of his flawed argument.

He tries to make the argument that because Mulcair says he would amend C-51, were his Party to take power, not scrap it, the NDP leader has backtracked from his principled opposition to the Bill.

Nonsense.

The way laws are changed in this country is most often, in fact, through amendment. C-51, itself, is largely a series of amendments to other, existing legislation.

In power, the NDP could amend the anti-terrorist legislation in such a way that the resulting new law (or, more precisely series of laws) would be radically different from what Harper's Conservatives (with Liberal concurrence) will pass in this Parliament. 

That is the way our system of legislation works.

NDP amendments would almost certainly include fundamentally changing the current wording in several parts of C-51 that criminalizes legitimate dissent and civil disobedience.

As well, we could expect amendments to institute Parliamentary oversight of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the police, and to limit the new extra-legal powers Harper intends to give CSIS.

We might also see tweaking of the information-sharing, preventive detention and "no-fly list" provisions of C-51, which would not kill those parts of the legislation altogether, but would make sure they were Charter of Rights compliant and respectful of Canadians' privacy rights.

Plus, of course, a new government could amend C-51 or pass separate legislation to give the necessary resources to "soft" measure aimed at heading off so-called "radicalization."

And that new government could also decide to give the necesary financial and human resources to the police so that they could effectively do their job of protecting Candians' security while respecting their rights.

If the current Conservative government were to agree to fundamentally amend C-51, in response to the concerns of the NDP (and many others), it would be natural that the Official Oppostion could then vote for it. 

But saying that does not make the NDP soft on C-51.

And because the New Democrats and Greens believe the Bill in its current form is fatally flawed they will vote against it, which is hardly a wobbly position.

The Liberals, based on what they have said on the record, also seem to believe this Bill is bad legislation. Somehow they will nonetheless vote for it. That is what you might call a wobbly position.   

Original Article
Source: rabble.ca/
Author: KARL NERENBERG