Below is the text of a letter I have written to my MP, Carolyn Bennett (Liberal). I have tried to strike a balance between brevity and detail, concern and tact. Please feel free to cut and paste sections for use in your own letters of concern. I will be sure to post any responses that I receive.
January 7, 2008
The Hon. Carolyn Bennett
M.P. St. Paul’s (Liberal)
1650 Yonge Street, Suite 103
Toronto, Ontario M4T 2A2
Dear Dr Bennett,
I hope that this letter finds you well. I am a resident of your St. Paul’s riding, and I am writing to you about a bill that is currently before Parliament, C-3 - An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Certificates and Special Advocates). I am deeply concerned about this legislation, and I strongly encourage you to vote against C-3 when Parliament reconvenes.
C-3 represents a ‘bare minimum’ response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on security certificates in Charkaoui. Security certificates are fundamentally unjust, and their continued existence - regardless of minimalist amendments - represents a black mark on Canada’s human rights record. The ‘special advocate’ system that C-3 will put in place closely resembles the British special advocate system, which is so flawed that lawyers have recused themselves in protest. We should not be importing a broken model.
During debate on C-3 in the House of Commons, Members of the Conservative Government repeatedly redirected discussion away from the real problems underlying security certificates, arguing that debate should focus only on the limited range of issues associated with the bill. No matter how many layers of complexity are added to the process, the fact remains that security certificates use immigration law to address national security concerns. There is no justifiable reason for this. Canada’s anti-terrorism laws are capable of handling everything from involvement in active plots to membership in a terrorist organization (‘listed entity’). Further, if the Government of Canada believes that an individual represents such a threat to this nation that it is prepared to deport them to face probable torture in their countries of provenance, then the reasonable person would have to conclude that there is a sufficient dossier of evidence against that person to lay criminal charges. Our international reputation suffers from our continued use of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as a convenient substitute to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Please stand up for universal human rights and a substantive understanding of the rule of law, and vote against C-3. It is a flawed bill, bound to result in additional Supreme Court challenges. It supports an unjust and unnecessary mechanism. It is, quite simply, bad legislation.
I should close by saying that the issues at stake here are of sufficient importance that the outcome of C-3 will be a major factor in my mind when I cast my ballot in the next Federal election (I note that the NDP has spoken out against the legislation). I have respected your moral compass on matters such as health care, the death penalty, and the Iraq war, and I hope that you will take a similarly principled stance on immigration security detention.
Sincerely yours,
Mike Larsen
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