Canada's parliament votes to scrap anti-terror measures

Two anti-terror measures adopted as part of Canada’s response to the September 11 terror attacks will expire tomorrow after opposition politicians agreed they were an unnecessary infringement on civil liberties.

The measures empowered Toronto authorities to arrest and detain suspects for three days without charge and to compel individuals with knowledge of terrorist activity to testify before a judge. Neither has ever been applied.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party wanted to extend them three years, but his minority government needed the opposition’s support.

The motion was defeated 159-124 in the House of Commons yesterday after all three opposition parties voted against it.

“These two provisions especially have done nothing to fight against terrorism, have not been helpful and have continued to create some risk for civil liberties,” said Liberal leader Stephane Dion said.

The vote came just days after Canada’s Supreme Court struck down a law allowing the government to detain foreign terror suspects indefinitely while the courts reviewed their deportation orders.

Human rights activists hailed Friday’s ruling as a victory for those who believe fundamental rights have been curtailed in the name of national security after September 11.

That law and the two measures expiring tomorrow were all part of a sweeping package of anti-terror laws passed weeks after the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Although the provisions were never used, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was planning to use the investigative hearing provision to compel 15 individuals to testify about their knowledge of Canada’s worst terrorist attack – the 1985 downing of Air India Flight 182, which claimed 329 lives.