Democracy, rights, and Bill C-2, the "Strong Borders Act"

Should Parliament be giving a thumbs up to this first bill of the new Canadian federal government -- which is anything but an elbows-up (to Trump) piece of legislation?

Two bits of context for thinking about Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Bill. Readers can draw the obvious connections — and consider the obvious contradictions.

Today, we are sharing reporting by

Rachel Gilmore

— to whose Substack publication we have previously recommended readers consider subscribing (and we do so now again!). She comments both in a brief text essay and as a video commentary on the federal Bill C-2 (short title, Strong Borders Act), which, if passed by Parliament, would grant government sweeping new powers.

Could Bill C-2 set the stage for Trump-style mass deportations in Canada? Advocates are concerned

Bill C-2 was the very first bill of the new government, which has indicated that (along with Bill C-5, discussed in Monday’s post) it wants to get through the House of Commons and the Senate with expedited speed (which equals very limited scrutiny) by the end of the present session of Parliament. Parliament is currently scheduled to go to June 20 — ten days from now.

Watch and listen to what Rachel Gilmore has to say, and also read three pieces that the Toronto Star has published (noted below), and then ask: do you want to see Bill C-2 on the statute books, available for use both by this government and by any government that follows it?

First, read Jim Bronskill’s report, “Liberal border security bill poses serious threat to rights, coalition warns” (June 6) bearing the subheading: “A national coalition of civil society groups says the Liberal government’s new border security bill poses a serious risk to liberties and human rights.”

Then see Althia Raj’s column, “Border bill primed to give Mark Carney’s government sweeping new powers. Who asked for this?” (June 8).

We close with a June 6 a letter to the editor published by the Toronto Star responding to the Star’s first news article providing an overview of Bill C-2:

There comes a time when continually attempting to appease a man who will not be appeased unless he can claim an absolute victory, stops working. If the proposed new Strong Borders Act is intended to make U.S. President Donald Trump roll back his tariffs on Canadian exports, it will prove to be a dismal failure . Aside from its chilling effect on Canadian individual rights and freedoms, those parts of the Act intended to mollify Trump will simply make him double down on his demands, including the annexation of Canada, because that’s what a bully does. We’ve seen it time and again, and it’s insanity to think that this time will be different. And in so doing, we will potentially lose something precious, something that sets us apart from the U.S., namely true democracy.

Michael Bines, Toronto