OTTAWA -- In a new terrorism bill yesterday, the federal government gave itself powers to monitor the air travel of Canadians to weed out terrorist and criminal suspects.
Under Bill C-55, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP will be able to obtain passenger lists from airlines to flag security risks, identify travel patterns of potential terrorists, and alert local police to the presence on a specific flight of anyone wanted on an outstanding warrant for a serious offence. The lists will also be used to determine which flights are to be protected by armed air marshalls.
Ottawa also opened the door to new financing for Canadian ports, which are plagued by security flaws.
At the same time, the government watered down past proposals to give ministers the ability to impose unilateral regulations in emergencies and to create military zones over extended areas to fight terrorism.
The government said it was reacting to widespread concern among Canadians, who want the government to fight terrorism while preserving their rights and freedoms.
"We received a lot of advice, and in my view the criticisms were reasonable," Transport Minister David Collenette said.
Mr. Collenette insisted that information from passenger lists will be kept by CSIS and the RCMP only in limited circumstances.
Critics said the government is still giving itself too much arbitrary power, while not focusing its measures on the right targets.
Canadian Alliance MP James Moore said the government needs to give more tools to soldiers and border officers, not to federal ministers. "This bill, generally speaking, is not a step forward," he said.
The measures introduced yesterday are contained in Public Safety Act 2002, which is replacing last November's hastily packaged Bill C-42. In Bill C-42, the government had proposed giving itself the ability to create military security zones over areas under the protection of the Canadian Forces. A number of critics said the measure could have been used to stifle protest at the coming G-8 meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., or to impose order throughout Quebec in the event of a secessionist victory in a referendum.
The bill presented yesterday no longer would allow the government to create military zones over widespread areas. Instead, Bill C-55 would limit the creation of "controlled access military zones" in areas where Canada or its allies need to protect specific military equipment. The measure is designed to prevent terrorist attacks such as the bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.
"It must only be military; it cannot be anything beyond that," Defence Minister Art Eggleton said.
In the face of widespread criticism, the federal government was also forced to impose tighter checks on the use of interim orders by cabinet ministers.
Bill C-42 would have allowed ministers to issue regulations to deal with threats to security and public health with limited safeguards. Under Bill C-55, the federal cabinet would have to approve the orders after 45 days instead of 90. A new provision would require that the orders be tabled in Parliament after three weeks.
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