More than 300 organizations from across the country gathered on Parliament Hill today, calling for the federal government to scrap Bill C-2, also known as the “Strong Borders Act.” Critics say the bill is a sweeping and dangerous attack on refugees, migrants, civil liberties, and privacy.
The legislation, backed by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, is being slammed as Canada’s version of Trump-era immigration crackdowns. Advocacy groups say the bill would give authorities broad new powers to strip people of immigration status without due process and dramatically expand surveillance — all under the vague banner of “border security.”
“Prime Minister Carney was elected on a promise of standing up to Trump but his very first bill is the same scapegoating of migrants and refugees that we’ve witnessed south of the border,” said Karen Cocq from the Migrant Rights Network.
Privacy advocates say the bill also opens the door to unchecked spying. “Without a warrant, police and spy agencies could demand information about our online activities based on the low threshold of ‘reasonable suspicion.’ This shockingly broad system is ripe for abuse and appears deliberately designed to prepare Canada for controversial data-sharing obligations with the United States and other countries,” said Tim McSorley of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.
“Bill C-2 is anti-privacy, anti-rights, and anti-Canadian. It solves border problems that don’t exist; and breaks rights that do. Canadian voters want our government to keep its elbows up to defend our privacy and freedoms, and that requires a full withdrawal of Bill C-2 now,” said Matt Hatfield from public advocacy group OpenMedia.
Last week, other critics also slammed Bill C-2 and its quiet sweeping powers for government agences to get your data. One part of the bill would allow telecom providers to hand over your data, without a warranty, while being gagged from ever letting you know about it for a full year.
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