The Minister is "surprised" at what is in the bill he tabled?

[snowywolfowl]

I find it odd that the Conservatives did away with the Long Gun Registry as being too invasive of law abiding citizens, and yet tabled a bill that creates a mandatory internet surveillance program and  allows personal information to be accessed without a warrant.

I also find it really disturbing when the Minister claims not to know where these provisions are within the bill he tabled.

Please don't get me wrong. I am in total agreement with the Minister of Public Safety (for the record, I LOVE that title. It's so darkly funny) that children need to be protected from exploitation. However, if probable cause exists then the appropriate warrants are available. This is not, as he so elegantly put it, about either standing with the government or with child abusers, its about the balance between legitimate security and the citizen's rights to privacy. As the government that so forcefully championed the cause of gun owners to not have their weapons registered I'd expect them to be championing a citizen's ability to read their emails without Big Brother looking over their shoulder, instead of making Big Brother the law of the land. 

Considering the red flags various federal and provincial watchdog agencies are raising, and the push back that's happening, this could be a political battle Stephen Harper's government may have to back down on. He's in no danger of a Non-confidence vote but he's had enough missteps that the Conservatives might not get reelected, especially if some of their more unpopular decisions don't pan out.

Comments

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

"...he's had enough missteps that the Conservatives might not get reelected, especially if some of their more unpopular decisions don't pan out."

Yeah. I'm hoping people are over the Tea Party here, too, after all the crap they pushed on people and the pushback they gave to Obama when he tried to do anything.

[snowywolfowl.livejournal.com]

The Conservatives have four years or so to go, so they aren't in any danger. In Canada whether a government gets reelected boils down to the economy, how well organized the main opposition party is, and just how tired the electorate is of the governing party's scandals. By the end of a term or two its almost unheard of a Canadian government not to have something serious in the headlines.

[bonnie-halfelvn.livejournal.com]

Sounds like Pennsylvania (and my humble city where nepotism abounds).

[kathyrene.livejournal.com]

They've had a majority government for less than a year now and they've ramped up a pretty good list of unpopular decisions already. We're only looking at the tip of the large iceberg to come. How they ever got a majority vote is still beyond me but I do think the clueless Liberals and Iggy at the helm were a huge help to the Conservatives. If only Jack Layton hadn't passed on. I was looking forward to some real government for a change with integrity and transparency. That died with Jack. And although I usually vote liberal I went with the 'crush'.

For those of us who felt young Justin Trudeau might just be the saviour of the day his past actions and verbal foibles lead many of us to believe he is nowhere near to his father's political or even good sense. Four years is a very long time to fuck up a country. Harper may as well be GWB!