Mr. Speaker, normally I always say that I am pleased to rise to speak but today I am not because war is hardly a cheery topic.
A little while ago I was speaking with the member for Repentigny in the Bloc Quebecois caucus about the work of MPs, and for no particular reason I said to him that it must be quite something to be a parliamentarian when there was a war going on. I had absolutely no idea that I would find myself in that very situation in two weeks' time.
Naturally, such a topic arouses many emotions in us, particularly because I am one of those who felt there were already quite enough problems. I was very worried about the direction in which the world was headed. I questioned many things that were going on in this society and I think I was not alone in doing so. Now, we find ourselves in a situation where the huge social, environmental and democratic problems we had have all been set aside so that we can focus on another matter, which has nothing very constructive about it.
When I hear President Bush say that we are going to win, I do not agree. I think that we are all losers; we have all already lost. We have the proof today, with this debate about a bill which deprives us of certain freedoms. I am not saying that I oppose the bill but I do have certain concerns about our freedoms. I am concerned for us but also about those now living in fear of being bombed.
I know that I have had my breakfast this morning, that I will have my lunch at noon, and that I will eat again this evening, but there are a great many people who are not this lucky. And there were already many many such people. The images we are now seeing on television are terrible. The only interesting thing, and it is something very disturbing, is that this whole business has brought to light the scandalous treatment of women in Afghanistan and throughout the region. The lack of respect accorded women by men in this part of the world is, in my view, a crime against humanity.
If we can find something positive in current events, it would be a greater awareness of the situation there. But will that be enough to solve the problem? In my view, it is essential that we should be aware of this situation.
We must find the means to fight against terrorism and the bill before us aims at fighting terrorism. The government is telling us that its goal is to keep terrorists out of Canada and to protect Canadians from terrorist activities, to provide the tools to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists, to prevent the Canada-U.S. border from being held hostage by terrorists, impacting on our economy, to co-operate with the international community to bring terrorists to justice and deal with the root causes of the hatred that motivates them. This last point is most important.
I will endorse my party's position, which is to co-operate to have this bill passed. We are ready to listen to what will be said in committee. This will be a crucial stage that should not be rushed. It is important that we get a sunset clause. I think we need a clause that would allow the legislation to remain in force for three years only, unless the House provides otherwise.
The definition of terrorist activity is very broad and there is a risk of excesses against groups of people who are not terrorists. This is quite a challenge. We should define what a terrorist is. What I fear is that, with the media excesses these days, people could be singled out as terrorists when they are not.
For example, two years ago, young people stirred up public opinion with regard to the multilateral agreement on investment. They went so far as a commit what was, to a certain extent, an act of civil disobedience by demonstrating peacefully but clearly to show their concern. Would these people be considered as terrorists today? I, myself, one day walked out of this Chamber with my chair, which is certainly not something people normally do. Could that have been considered a terrorist act? There are many disturbing questions like that, involving restriction of individual freedoms.
This is why I say yes, we must go ahead with this but we need safeguards to ensure that we can regain control if things get out of hand.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada will be able to withhold information normally accessible under the Access to Information Act and no safeguards have been provided for.
The Minister of National Defence will be able to intercept international communications simply by sending a written request to the centre. He will not even need a judge's authorization.
This bill includes all the provisions found in the bill on the registration of charities, which is a bad one.
Certainly many provisions lend themselves to criticism, but this does not mean that we are against taking measures to stop terrorism. However, as far as the fight against terrorism is concerned, I believe that the bill does so in a repressive way. If we want to be serious and to really get to the heart of the problem, we also have to look at measures to prevent terrorism.
What causes such actions? What brings people to go so far? Therein lies a great challenge for humanity. Even if we have the best security systems in the world, our freedom will be affected. That is not the type of world I want to live in. What I want is to turn to those people who hate the United States and the western world so much. I want to understand countries like Afghanistan where people live in a terrible state of destitution.
Social problems are the breeding ground for fundamentalism. Over there, young girls and some boys too are not allowed to go to school, people cannot lead a fulfilling life, have no access to some degree of wealth and cannot satisfy their basic needs; it is not surprising that the powder keg explodes at some point.
I have always thought like that, probably after reading about what Nelson Mandela said “Security for the few is insecurity for all”. I think this was proven right on September 11.
As far as access to education is concerned, I for one believe that education is the antidote to the problems of this world, to poverty and terrorism. I am a fervent supporter of education.
The other aspect is the religious one, and I will speak to that in a future speech because, unfortunately, my time is up.