Original author: Joan Bryden (CP)
Source: CANOE CNEWS Network
URL: [link]
Date: February 27, 2007


OTTAWA (CP) - Opposition parties joined forces Tuesday to vote down the extension of two controversial anti-terrorism measures, ending an acrimonious political battle rife with accusations of dirty politics.

But the debate over national security vs. civil liberties is sure to continue into the next election campaign. A Conservative government motion seeking to extend the security measures for three years was defeated by a vote of 159 to 124.

Most Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs voted against extending the provisions, which expire automatically Thursday without parliamentary approval to renew them.

The measures empower authorities to detain suspected terrorists without charge and to compel individuals with knowledge of terrorist activity to testify before a judge.

The Conservatives say the provisions are needed to keep the country safe from terrorists, but critics say they go too far and infringe on civil liberties.

The vote marked a victory for Liberal Leader Stephane Dion who had ordered his MPs not to support the government.Only one Liberal - Tom Wappel - voted with the government, while about a dozen others were absent. Former justice minister Irwin Cotler, who supports extending the provisions, was present but didn't vote.

The measures were introduced by the previous Liberal government as part of its response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

The Liberals and Conservatives have been trading barbs for over a week on the issue. The partisan sniping heated up again Tuesday over a Conservative MP's accusation that Dion has caved in to "extremists" in his caucus by opposing the measures.

Liberals demanded an apology from Ottawa MP Pierre Poilievre for telling a radio interviewer that Dion's caucus includes MPs who want to legalize the anti-Israeli terrorist group Hezbollah and shut down the investigation into the 1985 Air India bombing.

"We know there is an extremist element in the Liberal party generally that has been very vocal in opposing measures that are designed to combat terrorism," Poilievre said, according to a transcript of the interview.

"And it would seem that Mr. Dion has collapsed under the pressure from those groups."

Liberal MP Omar Alghabra called Poilievre's comments "outrageous, slanderous" and demanded an apology.

"This is the pattern that this government, this Conservative government, is following in choosing to go to the lowest level of politics that they can find to smear people just to make a political point," he said.

Colleague Navdeep Bains, who was singled out for attack by the Tories last week, said the Liberal party is seeking legal advice about possibly suing Poilievre.

The Tories countered with a raft of quotes from Dion and other Liberals accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of being captive to a radical right-wing American agenda.

Last week, Harper appeared to suggest the Liberals are opposed to renewing the anti-terrorism measures because they're trying to protect Bains' father-in-law from having to testify in the continuing Air India investigation.

In the Commons on Tuesday, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Harper's determination to take "the low road" is eroding the trust necessary to conduct comprehensive reform of Canada's anti-terrorism laws.

Harper shot back that it's the Liberals' "flip-flop" on security measures they introduced that erodes public trust.

He noted that the families of Canadians killed in the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre made a last-ditch, emotional appeal Tuesday for support of the measures and begged MPs to not to play partisan games with the issue.

Neither of the provisions due to expire Thursday has ever been used. However, the RCMP has been planning to use the investigative hearing provision to compel 15 individuals to testify about their knowledge of Canada's worst terrorist attack - the 1985 downing of Air India Flight 182, which claimed 329 mainly Canadian lives.

The Mounties did attempt to use the provision once in the past but its constitutionality was challenged by the wife of Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person ever convicted in the Air India bombing. The provision was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Dion rejected "outrageous" Tory charges that he's soft on terrorism. He said he's determined to fight terrorism but the preventive arrest and investigative hearing provisions aren't necessary in that battle.

"These two provisions especially have done nothing to fight against terrorism, have not been helpful and have continued to create some risk for civil liberties," he said.

But Maureen Basnicki, whose husband was killed in the 9-11 attacks, urged Liberal MPs to defy their leader.

"When Canadian lives are at stake, we expect all MPs to vote with their conscience and not with their party."

Flanked by her daughter and Cindy Barkway, whose husband also died in the World Trade Centre, Basnicki said the 9-11 families couldn't "stand on the sidelines any longer and watch opposition parties play politics" with the anti-terrorism measures.

She said the measures are crucial tools that "allow law-enforcement officials to prevent terrorism from turning people like you into victims like us."

Basnicki said MPs must strike a balance between protecting Canadians' security and their civil liberties.

"We're here to remind you what happens when we get that balance wrong."

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