Original author: By Kathleen Harris
Source: The Toronto Sun
URL: [link]
Date: February 15, 2005


Canada must cling to its controversial anti-terrorism law because the deadly threat hangs over Canada "unabated," says Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan. Facing a Senate committee conducting a three-year review of the Act, McLellan insisted the law's sweeping state powers strike the right balance between upholding human rights and keeping Canadians safe.

"I think it is the right legislation to deal with both the domestic and global threats of terrorism," she said.

Insisting the new authorities have been exercised "judiciously," McLellan said changing "circumstances" might warrant amendments in the future.

But Conservative Sen. John Lynch-Staunton accused the Liberal government of being too soft on some terrorists while trampling the rights of mere suspects. He slammed the practice of detaining people under security certificates with the "flimsiest" of evidence.

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