When the government placed the Internet surveillance bill on the notice
paper one
week ago,
few would have predicted that within days of the introduction, the
anger with the legislative proposals would have been so strong that the
government would steadily backtrack on its plans, with Public Safety
Minister Vic Toews yesterday telling the House of Commons the bill will
go to committee before second reading to ensure that there is greater
openness to amendments (changes are more restricted after second
reading). While the battle is only beginning, the overwhelming negative
reaction seems to have taken the government
by surprise.
There are undoubtedly many factors that led to the early successful
fight against the bill. Toews' outrageous
comments
on siding with child pornographers the day before the bill was even
introduced placed the government on the defensive from the outset. The
substance of the bill is genuinely bad as there is no need for
hyperbole to explain the privacy threats that come from mandatory
disclosure of personal information without court oversight. This is an
issue that resonates with both sides of the political spectrum with
criticism from Conservative MPs and supporters particularly telling.
Yet this time I think there is something more happening. Government
ministers often make ill-advised comments, yet few sink support for
legislation so quickly. Privacy is a major concern, but it rarely
generates this level of interest (the Privacy Act has not been amended
in over 30 years despite repeated efforts to do so and there are no
protests over the delayed Bill C-12, the privacy reform bill,
languishing in the House). There has been conservative criticism of
other government initiatives, but it rarely generates such a quick
reaction.
The "something more" is the Internet and how over the past month it has
emerged as a powerful political force in North America and Europe.
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