Mr. Speaker, I will briefly address the need to prevent our media and politicians from descending into xenophobia and populism.
The gunman here in Ottawa, regardless of his ethnic origin or religion, was first and foremost a drug addict. There are some real risks associated with giving CSIS these new powers without proper oversight. Rather than clarifying things, this bill opens the door to a number of legal problems and could very well be struck down by the courts. In addition to legal problems, this initiative exploits a certain social malaise fuelled by a populist, sensationalist narrative that feeds the gutter press and the most base form of politics.