False Security: The Radicalization of Canadian Anti-Terrorism - Softcover

Forcese, Craig; Roach, Kent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1552214109 ISBN 13: 9781552214107

Publisher: Irwin Utp, 2015

Synopsis

On 20 October 2014, a terrorist drove his car into two members of the Canadian Armed Forces, killing Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. Two days later, another terrorist murdered Corporal Nathan Cirillo before storming Parliament. In the aftermath of these attacks, Parliament enacted Bill C-51 -- the most radical national security law in generations. This new law ignored hard lessons on how Canada both over- and underreacted to terrorism in the past. It also ignored evidence and urgent recommendations about how to avoid these dangers in the future.

For much of 2015, Craig Forcese and Kent Roach have provided, as Maclean's put it, the "intellectual core of what's emerged as surprisingly vigorous push-back" to Bill C-51. In this book, they show that our terror laws now make a false promise of security even as they present a radical challenge to rights and liberties. They trace how our laws repeat past mistakes of institutionalized illegality while failing to address problems that weaken the accountability of security agencies and impair Canada's ability to defend against terrorism.

About this title

Review

"This book is key to understanding Bill C-51. The authors rightly criticize provisions of the Act as endangering free speech, authorizing unnecessary disruption, and lacking oversight. Their quarrel is with the radical means to be employed by government agencies -- almost guaranteeing court challenges -- and with the absence of any effective anti-terrorism strategy. This is a valuable resource for anyone trying to get behind the political rhetoric to understand an important and complex issue."

--Ron Atkey, P.C., Q.C., first Chair of the Security Intelligence Review Committee

"Professors Roach and Forcese take the reader on a comprehensive journey through Canada's anti-terror efforts, providing invaluable depth, insight, analysis, and most importantly, their informed conclusions for the most effective ways forward. This work is excellent."

--Sukanya Pillay, General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

"A vital threshold and fair-minded analysis of the excesses, inadequacies, assumptions, and judgments impacting the new national security laws in Canada; coherent, inclusive, and trenchant -- not to be missed or set aside. Invaluable to all those who care about the right balance between freedom and security."
--Hugh Segal, former Chair of the Special Senate Committee on Anti-terrorism

About the Author

Craig Forcese teaches national security law at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law and is an executive member of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society.

Edition details

• Publisher: Irwin Utp
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1552214109
• ISBN 13: 9781552214107
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 600