Counter-terror law expert Dr. Robert Diab of TRU’s Faculty of Law was interviewed by CBC Television about Bill C-51, the new Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015, unveiled by Parliament on Jan. 30.
The most extensive set of counter-terror amendments since the Anti-terrorism Act of 2001, Bill C-51 creates a new terrorism glorification offence, extends preventive detention of terror suspects from three to seven days, and allows for court orders to prevent suspects from traveling abroad to partake in terror—among other things.
Diab, assistant professor in the Faculty of Law, has been following the evolution of criminal law and national security in Canada since the first impacts of 9/11.
Diab’s research focuses on constitutional and criminal law, human rights, and national security. His forthcoming book, The Harbinger Theory: How the Post-9/11 Emergency Became Permanent and the Case for Reform, was already in press when events and concerns about October’s Bill C-13 prompted him to add new material.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAg_AvUP2Nk[/youtube]
This book takes up where Diab left off in Guantanamo North: Terrorism and the Administration of Justice in Canada (Fernwood, 2008), tracing the changes to criminal law since 9/11 changed governments’ perceptions of the magnitude of potential terrorist threats.
Since the Ottawa shooting, debate has continued over legislation that trades privacy and other freedoms for greater security measures. October saw both Bill C-13, the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act (now law) which provides additional powers to the police to obtain information on Canadians’ internet use—with lower standards than are usually necessary to get a warrant—and Bill C-44, the Protection of Canada from Terrorists Act.
The Harbinger Theory is due out in March or April by Oxford University Press.
Contact:
Robert Diab
Faculty of Law
Thompson Rivers University
Mobile: 604-376-0305
Email: rdiab@tru.ca
