Lynn Gordon was blacklisted in the United States during the Cold War, when the McCarthy era saw all alleged communists as “subversives.”
She joined Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton in a frank expression of fear and anger at the fact that history may be repeating itself, this time labeling all dissidents as terrorists through the proposed anti-terrorism Bill C-36.
“The campaign against terrorism has produced measures that strike foe and friend alike,” said Hampton, seconding the voice of numerous critics who say the bill is the most dangerous piece of legislation to be considered in recent memory.
Among the provisions of the bill are defining acts that disrupt government or the economy as terrorism and giving the police the right to make preventative arrests, as well as ending the right to remain silent.
“The definition of terrorism is too indiscriminate and open-ended. We need to take a stand before it’s too late,” said Hampton.
Gordon, a well-known Toronto broadcaster and former chairperson of the Ontario Commission on the Status of Women, compared Bill C-36 to policies in the McCarthy era.
When asked about a sunset clause for C-36, in which the law would be eventually removed, Gordon said, “The sunset clause is only a distraction. The government will use this as an excuse to re-extend the law.
“Canadians don’t want to be the fifty-first state. Nor do they want a country where the right to dissent, to strike or to protest is forbidden,” said Hampton. Gordon concluded by saying, “Nothing we knew could have stopped what happened on September 11.
On November 19 at Toronto’s city hall, a forum will begin at 6:30 in the Council Chambers and will be moderated by Globe and Mail columnist Michael Valpy. This forum will discuss the individual and civil liberties that have been coming up as causes of concern, under the new Anti terrorist Act, and what people can do to preserve them.
