Anti-terrorism Legislation
Tuesday October 16, 2001
Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg--Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Prime
Minister has just mentioned the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I know
how attached he is to it because I was here in the years when he made the case
for it in the House of Commons.
Given the appropriate attachment of the government
to the charter and given the controversy about whether or not the bill actually
meets the test of the charter, would the government consider a referral to the
supreme court of the more controversial elements of the bill so that the court
might consider it simultaneously? We could still do this in the urgent way that
the government considers necessary.
Hon. Anne McLellan (Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has
just indicated, we believe the legislation fully complies with the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Therefore we see no reason to refer this matter
to the supreme court.
Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg--Transcona, NDP): Mr.
Speaker, the problem is that other people may think differently and it may be
in the government's interest to prove that it does meet that test by referring
in the way that I have suggested.
Would the Prime Minister indicate whether he would
be open to sunsetting, as has been suggested, certain sections of the bill?
I would agree with him that some sections having to
do with UN conventions are not things that should be sunsetted but there may be
more controversial elements that could be sunsetted. I wonder whether the
government would be open to that.
Right Hon. Jean Chrétien (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr.
Speaker, I think there is a place to make this debate. We have a committee that
will meet very soon and it will look at all that. I want the members to look at
that.
I want to affirm again that, yes, rather than
rushing into this legislation we took our time because we had a goal. We wanted
to have a bill against terrorism that would not work against the charter of
rights and freedoms. I wanted the charter of rights and freedoms to remain
completely intact despite the legislation.
