06) BILL 30: PROFUNC REVISITED?

People's Voice Editorial

     Just two years ago, the Harper Tories killed the long form census, arguing that the government has no right to gather personal information about Canadians. Today, they demand the ability to read our private email. The Tories try to spin every issue for their political benefit, whether that means "defending privacy" or snooping into our computers.

     Bill 30 would force every Internet provider to hand "authorities" access to our private information, at any time, without a warrant. Even more disgusting, the Tories are using child porn criminals to justify this outrageous attack on civil rights. Despite overwhelming public opposition, they are still pushing Bill 30 through parliament.

     The details have changed, but there's nothing inherently new in this "Big Brother" legislation. Over sixty years ago, the federal government established PROFUNC, under which the RCMP gathered a mountain of data on communists and "sympathisers". Eventually over 50,000 people were on the PROFUNC list, along with family members. The RCMP even recorded the exits from homes, to help them round up "security threats" for internment on "Mobilization Day." (No, we aren't making this up.)

     That particular operation lasted until the early 1980s. PROFUNC was used by the police and military in 1970 to help round up "suspects" after the declaration of the War Measures Act.

     Today, Bill 30 would give the state new powers to collect a vastly expanded range of information about Canadians, with much less effort than the labour-intensive RCMP spy operations of earlier decades. This terrifying legislation must be blocked, before it renders civil rights and democratic freedoms almost meaningless.

(The above article is from the March 1-15, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)