After last year's attack, government to introduce new anti-terror law
After last year's attack, government to introduce new anti-terror law
The Conservative government's overhaul of anti-terrorism legislation will be introduced by the end of week and will make it crime to promote terrorism, Stephen Harper told party faithful on Sunday. The measures, which are also expected to give police greater ability to restrict the movements of purported extremists, will not be an assault on civil liberties, the prime minister said. Security officials have been on alert since a gunman attacked Canada's Parliament in October, fatally shooting a soldier at a nearby war memorial. The attack by a so-called "lone wolf" Canadian citizen came two days after another Canadian convert ran down two soldiers in Quebec, killing one.
These measures are designed to help authorities stop planned attacks, get threats off our streets, criminalize the promotion of terrorism, and prevent terrorists from travelling and recruiting others.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Harper said the new legislation, which he did not describe in detail, would not infringe on constitutionally protected rights to free speech, association and religion. After the Parliament attack, the Conservatives introduced a bill to enhance the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) spy agency. It said at the time it would also present other legislation designed to allow police to pre-empt threats and crack down on hate speech. In addition, the government wants to retool Canada's no-fly list procedures to make it easier to stop a suspected terrorist from boarding an airplane. An internal federal review of last fall's deadly attacks on Canadian soldiers concluded there is a lack of suitable laws to crack down on radicals who openly encourage others to wage terrorism.
