Debating the Anti-Terrorism Legislation: Lessons Learned (Legislative Process and Societal Debate Surrounding Bill C-36)
By Canadian Parliamentary Review
- Release Date: 2003-06-22
- Genre: Law
Description
Bill C-36, Canada's anti-terrorism bill, was drafted under extraordinary circumstances, and was the subject of an extraordinary debate within and without Parliament. This article describes the legislative process and broader societal debate surrounding Bill C-36. Furthermore, it argues that three central lessons can be learned from studying the discussions of the Bill: that the legislative process should be "internationalized" to correspond with increasingly international law and policy; that parliamentary committees can and should be empowered to play an important role in formulating policy; and that emergency legislation poses grave dangers and should be made as temporary as possible. **********
