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NDP targeting Liberal MPs to vote against C-51

NDP targeting Liberal MPs to vote against C-51

The NDP is making a big push against the government’s anti-terror legislation just ahead of Parliament’s return from a two week break when the House of Commons is set to bring its attention back to the controversial bill.

In particular, the party is targeting Liberal MPs in an effort to persuade them to vote against C-51, using the hashtag #VoteAgainstC51.


A number of Liberal MPs, according to an NDP press release, have concerns about the bill, as do former party leaders Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and Bob Rae. Liberal members in the House of Commons, however, are expected to vote in favour of the bill, despite their misgivings.

The NDP launched a “Tell a Liberal” campaign website Friday to drum up more online activity in their efforts to sway Liberal MPs. Typing in a postal code will take a user to contact information for a nearby Liberal MP, along with a call script to use if someone feels inclined to call that MPs’ office, and ways to share the campaign on social media.

#VoteAgainstC51 was trending on Twitter in Canada Friday afternoon and, according to a party spokesperson, 250 people per minute were using the website.

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Some claiming support for the Liberal party also took to Twitter to air their concerns over the legislation.

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Bill C-51, which was tabled the House of Commons in January, and has been harshly criticized by academics, privacy advocates, former politicians and provincial and federal privacy commissioners.

The government responded to some concerns by amending the bill, but many believe those few changes haven’t made C-51 much better than it was to begin with. Every amendment proposed by an opposition party was voted down by the Conservative-dominated committee.