OTTAWA - “The
Green Party of Canada is strongly opposed to the latest round of more
government controls served up as security," said Leader Elizabeth May,
after learning that the Prime Minister intends to re-introduce expired clauses
of the Antiterrorism Act. "What we need is security, yes, but security of
jobs, pensions, housing, and transportation systems so that we have a place to
live, a place to work and the ability to get there. We also strongly object
to the divisive tactics Harper is using, "...including his failure to
distinguish between the practice of Islam and the activities of radical Islamic
militants. Imagine the uproar if the Prime Minister of Norway had blamed
all Christianity for the actions of a radical Christian extremist!
Prime Minister Harper owes an apology to all Canadians and especially
Muslim Canadians."
The
Antiterrorism Act clauses, brought in after the 9-11 attacks, expired in
2007. They allow police to make arrests without warrants and hold people
for up to three days without charges if they suspected a terrorist act.
They also allow judges to compel witnesses to testify under penalty of jail for
refusing.
Speaking
on the anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy, Prime Minister Harper stated that
"the major threat to Canada is still Islamicism,” leading to widespread
outrage. “Greens stand with the other opposition parties that find this
type of fear-mongering to be disrespectful and distasteful,” said Green Leader
Elizabeth May. “If Mr. Harper wants to get real, he should recognize that
climate is the biggest security threat, as a Pentagon-commissioned study has said.”
Joe
Foster, Green Human Rights critic, observed, "Greens have growing concerns
about the alarming erosion of basic freedoms and human rights in Canada.
Scapegoating an entire religious group simply promotes intolerance and provides
support for the few destructive elements in society who promote divergence
rather than harmony.”
“Harper
is attempting to rile fear against an entire religious group in order to bring
back police-state type security measures. This is moving towards a Big
Brother form of government where fundamental civil rights and freedoms are
incrementally extinguished in the name of national security. This is
exactly the response terrorists are attempting to trigger in order to turn
people against government,” said Green International Affairs Critic Eric
Walton.
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