Canada Is Considering New Spy, Surveillance, and Detention Powers Because of Two Extremist Crimes

Minister Blaney announcing the Government of Canada's intention to introduce legislative changes to the CSIS Act, joined by Andy Ellis (left) - Assistant Director of CSIS Operations, and Janice Armstrong - RCMP Deputy Commissioner, in Banff on October 16, 2014. Photo via Public Safety.

Last week, Canada experienced its first taste of modern terror attacks in short succession. A warrant officer, Patrice Vincent, was killed in Quebec after an individual named Martin Couture-Rouleau-who was known to the RCMP-struck him in a hit-and-run. Then, thanks to the generous publication of surveillance footage, we all became intimately familiar with the shocking, second killing of a military member at the hands of Michel Zehaf-Bibeau, who stormed Canadian Parliament with a hunting rifle after shooting and killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in front of Canada's National War Memorial.

These alarming crimes threw the Canadian media into a frenzy. At the very beginning of the coverage arc for the Parliament shooting, it seemed as if these two incidents could be connected. False media reports claimed the two men were in communication, that Zehaf-Bibeau was working with more than one shooter, and that there was a shooting at the Rideau Centre that didn't happen. Some Redditors even pointed out that bullet holes were reported on by the CBC in the walls of Parliament, which were not bullet holes at all.

Writing for iPolitics, Andrew Mitrovica accused Canadian anchors of overblowing the story to find their "Walter Cronkite moment," a reference to Cronkite's infamous reporting of the JFK assassination. Still others praised the CBC's coverage for being more level-headed than American media's treatment. While the peak-hysteria of the Parliament shooting has passed, it's understandable that our nation's discourse reached a fever pitch-though it certainly didn't help any kind of balanced, intelligent conversation from happening.

The symbolism of Zehaf-Bibeau's crime alone is enough to terrify Canadians. A shooting on our most sacred government property in broad daylight is heartbreaking, which is why I disagree with Glenn Greenwald who wrote that the Martin Couture-Rouleau killing (and later implied the same about Zehaf-Bibeau) was not terrorism as it did not fit the definition of as: "deliberate (or wholly reckless) targeting of civilians with violence for political ends."

Based on the information we have now, it does not appear as if Couture-Rouleau and Zehaf-Bibeau were working within an organized terror cell with a deliberate intent to kill civilians. But the crimes of both men were, at the very least, cheered on by ISIS supporters as being part of their crusade. With violence that fits into the ISIS philosophy of striking westerners at home happening on Canadian soil for the first time, the net result is clearly going to be a terrified population; whether or not that was a conscious goal of Couture-Rouleau and Zehaf-Bibeau is hard to say, as the police have already killed both individuals. Zehaf-Bibeau did, however, produce a personal video before the attacks that is in the possession of the RCMP. They have stated he blames Canada's foreign policy and thanks Allah.

Where Greenwald and I do agree is on how dangerously fast the Harper government has used these attacks to snap into action and push through new laws "in the area of surveillance, detention and arrest." Writing for the Guardian, VICE contributor Justin Ling reported that the government is looking to take more "pre-emptive measures" to try to prevent crimes like the Ottawa shooting from ever happening again.

Inbetween Couture-Rouleauand Zehaf-Bibeau's attacks, reports explained how CSIS is currently seeking new legislation to get "more authority and better tools to track potential terrorist threats to Canada's national security" through Bill C-44, also known as the "Protection of Canada from Terrorists Act." The bill also provides more powerful laws to protect their sources, which sounds like a good thing. But given CSIS's already strong capabilities, "more authority" does not appear as if it's going to be the fix Canada needs to stop terrorists.

It's an all-too-popular narrative in the post-9/11, security-obsessed western world. An attack happens in a first-world country, then police and surveillance agencies scramble to explain away their failure to stop it by pushing for more and more powers. The reality is, with a lone-wolf attack like Zehaf-Bibeau's or Rouleau's, unless we intend to round up all individuals who are suspected of having radicalized thought and/or trail any and all suspects with cars and undercover agents 24/7, we are not going to achieve perfect security. In fact in a press conference following last Wednesday's incident, RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson said himself that "it's impossible to know when and where these types of attacks happen."

And why, as a country who at one time prided itself on rationality, are we even trying to get there?

The Harper government has long been criticized for pushing through overly harsh legislation to combat a variety of things-namely free speech online, and the environment. Their horrible online spying bill, C-13, is on its way to becoming law. And these attacks provide just the right amount of public support to continue pushing their agenda. While in the wake of the attacks, Trudeau and Mulcair expressed their support for the reigning government, they shouldn't let a wave of patriotism allow for, say, a Patriot Act style set of laws to get passed through Parliament.

All that said, there is new legislation in the form of Bill C-44 being pushed forth now that has been in the works for months. As Justin Ling reported, on Tuesday in Parliament we learned that 300 cops are being shuffled out of RCMP's organized and financial crime division and onto anti-terrorism. Paulson called the risk that Canada is facing "serious and present," and indicated that the RCMP's partnership with CSIS is very tight. He also called for a lower threshold on police requirements so that the RCMP can get over the small problem of not having adequate evidence to combat terror. Namely, he would like the requirements to obtain a warrant reduced.

CSIS will be be more directly empowered by Bill C-44, which has removed the limits on where they can go in the world to investigate for their operations, "without regard to any other law, including that of any foreign state." C-44 is also designed to allow CSIS to share information more freely with our Five Eyes partners in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. And as I stated earlier, it provides CSIS with the ability to keep their informants secret, while simultaneously strengthening Canada's ability to strip away an individual's citizenship.

With powers like this already coming, in such times of confusion and chaos, it's deeply problematic to allow our government to capitalize on fear and push through new laws to make people feel safe, while simultaneously throwing basic freedoms out the window. If Mackay's hinting at new preventative detention laws and the rumours about restricted online speech legislation come true, we could be facing undesirable attacks on civil rights from our own government.

As Craig Forcese and Kent Roach wrote recently in the Globe and Mail: "To wish for perfect security is to ask for an all-seeing state. That may soon be within technological reach, but the state secured in that manner is not one that many people would recognize, or choose."

The unfortunate reality is that if there are people out there who plan on acting alone to hurt others, it is very difficult to stop. Our police and security agencies have already thrwarted two terror attacks (that we know of), which is worth being proud about. And Canada is not unfamiliar with terror attacks altogether. Ask anyone who remembers the Air India bombing or the FLQ crisis. Given our past experience, and having watched America go through the horrors of 9/11, we should be careful to not make similar mistakes when it comes to our already powerful security agencies.

There are many, many things that make Canada a wonderful place to live. Our harsh government is not one of them, and we can't let a few crazies determine how we run our country. As Trudeau Jr. said, the people who target Canada "will not make the rules about this land we share and they will not get to change us."

Let's see if he has the balls to stick up for it.

@patrickmcguire