On October 20, 2013, the House of Commons vote approved the “Cyber bullying” bill C-13. I don’t have to go into details on all the problems with the bill, you can google it. That the conservatives voted in favour is not surprising – they sponsored the bill, and the government is doing everything it can to curtail online privacy, despite overwhelming opposition from the Canadian public. It also shows the Liberal spinelessness – despite knowing (and publicly acknowledging) that only 7 out of 60 provisions of the bill actually relate to the problem of cyber bullying. The remaining 53 provisions have nothing to do with cyber bullying, and are in essence an omnibus bill giving the government increased powers to monitor your use of the internet, your mobile phone, etc. It also gives telecommunication companies immunity if they voluntarily share your information with law enforcement and security agencies. In other words, vast majority of Bill C-13 is about taking away our civil liberties. It is a bad bill, and both Conservatives and Liberals should be ashamed for voting in its favour. You can see how all the MPs voted here.
Once again, it shows that establishment parties cannot be trusted. One exception is the NDP, but I am skeptical about their motivation – was is just their stance as the Official Opposition? They have shown that when in power, they behave just like any other party.