Heh

"In this, the Canadian act goes beyond the U.S. Patriot Act (a piece of legislation hardly known for its restraint)..."

Aww, aren't we proud? We out-patriot the Patriot Act! Go us!

Incidentally, studying Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act is a bit sobering. A lot of it makes a great deal of sense, but some of it... well, normally the phrase "slippery slope" sets my eyes rolling, because hey, you could argue it's a very slippery slope between talking to a stranger and killing them, but in this case? Yowch.

That said, though, some of the stuff in the analysis of the ATA that I'm currently reading does make me roll my eyes. Because, call me crazy, but I think it's just barely possible that the laws we had in place before the ATA (eg hate crime laws, organized crime measures, etc) weren't actually sufficient to deal with tech-savvy international terrorism. Jus' sayin'.


ETA: Ooh, and it's got quotey bits too!

We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.
- J. Robert Oppenheimer, former director of the Manhattan Project

First they came for the Communists
and I did not object for I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not object for I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the Labour leaders
and I did not object for I was not a Labour leader
Then they came for the Jews
and I did not object for I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to object.
- Martin Niemoller

ROPER: So now you'd give the Devil the benefit of the law!
MORE: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the devil?
ROPER I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
MORE: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast – Man's laws, not God's – and if you cut them down – and you're just the man to do it – d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of the law, for my own safety's sake.
– Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons

The despotism of Augustus prepared the Romans for Tiberius.
– John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin, An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania