The Quiet Death of the Canadian Internet Survellance Bill 67
mykepredko writes "C-30, Canada's version of SOPA, would grant the federal government and law enforcement agencies the power to obtain information about individuals who are online without having to apply for a warrant is dead in committee. 'I don't know whether it was because the Minister so screwed up the messaging, or whether they've had some other input saying they went too far or it just can't be salvaged,' Nathan Cullen, House Leader for the NDP, speculates."
Re:If it is like the U.S.... (Score:5, Interesting)
My understanding is that the most potent objections to the bill didn't come from the Opposition or any particular civil liberties group, but rather from the Tory caucus itself. Rumor has it there were several very blunt exchanges in caucus over this bill between the Minister and various Tory MPs, and that the Government intentionally booted into the Death By Committee.
Not to say that you're not right, but it's pretty clear there are places that sizable portions of the Tory caucus just simply will not go, and for a Government, even the hint of a caucus revolt over legislation is enough to make the legislation go away quietly.
Re:If it is like the U.S.... (Score:5, Interesting)
They happily ignore anything the opposition or other groups say or do--they have a majority and don't care. But, accusing opponents of the bill of supporting child pornographers sure was a good strategy for bringing wayward Conservatives in line.
Extremist rhetoric might work well for Rush Limbaugh, but not so well when used against your own colleagues and supporters. With those words Vic Toews accidentally shot the bill in the back with a rocket grenade, and we're all happier for it.
Re:We need to limit political donations (Score:3, Interesting)
However keep in mind that it is confirmed that breathing biological entities with deep pockets can actually donate over 60k to their preferred political party by using a loophole to donate 200 dollars to each riding of their political party of choice. Something that's been acknowledged but Harper refuses to close for some reason. (Probably because his party is getting most of those willing donations lately. Probably by some people doing this very thing. - He -does- apparently serve corporate interests after all, based on all the pro-industry bills he passes, and union negotiations his party damages.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_political_financing_in_Canada#Loopholes_in_contributions_limits [wikipedia.org]
Additionally Harper has tried several times and continues to work towards trying to remove this limit and allow corporations to donate as much as they want.
And 3 weeks after he got his majority government he announced the elimination of the per-vote subsidy which currently funds most campaigns costs in canada to prevent the need for additional funding. So expect the reintroduction of corporation spending in campaigns in canada before too long.
Re:No need, it's in the budget bill. (Score:3, Interesting)
Libertarian would need reps in the ridings to vote for... I've never seen one.
Vote Green; same caveat the parent gave, but hey... they actually got a seat last time!
In Canada, in order to fix things, we need people who aren't interested in Politics getting fed up enough to run, and gather enough support to win, and then have enough morals to stick to their platform, even if it means getting voted out in the next round.
Re:If it is like the U.S.... (Score:4, Interesting)
That was one group, yes. The more powerful group was Conservative party members, particularly donors. They started hearing during fundraising calls about this, and people closed their wallets in protest.
The Conservative party is better then any other party in Canada at grassroots fundraising. When that gets threatened, the party brass respond VERY quickly.