Stephen Harper stresses importance of Anti-Terrorism Act during Montreal visit
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his government's Anti-Terrorism Act will be the "law of the land" in order to safeguard the country's freedom.
He made the comments Thursday evening, during a visit to Montreal, after he was honoured by the Jewish Community Council of Montreal with the King David Award.
"Friends, we know that evil comes in many forms, and reinvents itself time and again...Those who hate democracy and freedom, tolerance and openness have been plotting attacks against Western nations, beginning with Israel, for decades, seeking to destroy our rare and precious way of life," Harper said to the crowd of about 500 people.
The Anti-Terrosism Act, also known as Bill C-51, was passed in the House of Commons earlier this month but is not yet law.
The legislation would give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service more power to thwart suspected terrorist plots — not just gather information about them.
"The Anti-Terrorism Act 2015 contains a range of measures to ensure that our police and security agencies have the modern tools they need to meet evolving threats and keep us safe, by giving them the authority to stop planned attacks, to allow them to share information, to get threats quickly off our streets, to criminalize the promotion of terrorism, and to prevent terrorists from travelling and recruiting others,' Harper said.
Harper's speech to the Jewish Community Council of Montreal came hours after he was at Trudeau International Airport to announce more funding for the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency to fight terrorism.
"We have joined this international mission because it is not merely in the wider interests of the global community; we do this because it is in Canada's national interest. Canadians know that we cannot "opt-out" of the world," Harper said.
During his speech. the Prime Minister also mentioned Robert Libman, the Conservative candidate running for a seat in the upcoming federal election.
"You all know that Robert has a long and distinguished record of service to the families of this area, particularly as mayor of Côte Saint-Luc. I am fully confident that if he gets the chance, he will do an outstanding job as MP for Mount Royal."
The riding of Mount Royal is up for grabs this fall with Liberal MP Irwin Cotler stepping down.
About 30 per cent of the riding identified as Jewish in the last census — making the electoral district one of only a handful in the country where that community can swing an election if it votes en masse.
