“The Strong Borders Act”! Wow! Doesn’t that sound impressive? It appears from the title that we’re really taking charge of controlling our borders now! No more line jumpers! No more terrorists! No more fentanyl slipping through—in or out! Let’s just get this through as fast as possible and end President Trump’s war on Canada.

But wait! It behooves us to have a look at this piece of legislation before we jump in and give our approval on the name alone. It’s also important that we demand of our Members of Parliament that they read it before it passes second reading.

The problem is the “Trojan Horse”. Hidden in the belly of Bill C-2 is an assault on the rights and freedoms guaranteed us in the Charter—including the preamble, which reads, “Canada is founded on principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.”

How do you feel about having things “read into the Charter” by our Canadian government . . . making it “malleable to government purposes”?

The courts have called our Charter a “living document”. They’ve twisted the meaning to say that we cannot practice common sense in obedience to our laws; they make no distinction between simply “being nasty” and physically assaulting someone. At least our government seems to think so, as the rope tightens around our necks, and we are told more and more what we can and can’t say and do.

Donald Trump spouts off a lot of blather, and the Liberals used his rhetoric to motivate voters. He also correctly identified Canada’s drug enforcement problems and our laxity on border security issues. But he’s the US President, not the Canadian Prime Minister.

Most of us will acknowledge that we have relied too much on the US to keep us safe. Like a child-country, we’ve been told by our neighbours to grow up and be responsible for ourselves. That’s the ostensible justification for Bill C-2.

But deep in the belly of this Trojan Horse legislation, we find a lot of problematic clauses that have nothing to do with legislation to protect our borders. The most egregious of these provisions is that the traditional concept of “innocent until proved guilty” has been stripped from average Canadians.

Canadians are being duped into giving up their privacy along with other things, by a piece of legislation. Remember the children’s game where you determine what doesn’t fit in a picture? Well, if you look at the bill itself, you can see what doesn’t fit. It has stepped away from border control and put a target on personal correspondence from and to you and me.

Part 4 amends the Canada Post Corporation Act to permit the “demand, seizure, detention or retention of anything in the course of post, only in accordance with an Act of Parliament.” It also amends that Act to expand the Canada Post Corporation’s authority to open mail in certain circumstances to include “the authority to open letters.”

I don’t often receive hard copy mail anymore, except junk mail and some bills. But, let’s just say that I receive private correspondence from my lawyer. Should some official decide that he has reasonable grounds to search my mail, he or she can do so . . . without a warrant.

Currently, a warrant to open mail, etc., is issued by a judge; but only if that judge is satisfied there is just cause. The police cannot conduct a search of a premises, of documents or of electronic communications without seeking a warrant from a judge.

Bill C-2 removes this safeguard and allows law enforcement officials to just go ahead and seize it; then they have 60 days to either notify Canada Post or put it back in the mail. Of course, protections are built in . . . for the official who opens YOUR mail. The act specifies that the officials “are not liable to any person for any claim arising from a demand, seizure, detention or retention.”

For our internet providers, CBC advises us that this bill, will also force Internet Service Providers (ISP) to turn over electronic mail if a law enforcement official makes the demand. I can almost hear your collective gasp of horror. Remember that receipt that came to your email address for your donation to the “Truckers Convoy”? The Liberal government didn’t like that and retaliated by freezing some people’s bank accounts. You could suddenly discover one day, while attempting to pay a bill with your banking card, that your bank card doesn’t work.

Space makes it impossible for me to more than touch on this bill but I encourage you to follow link 1 and read the bill for yourself, particularly:

• Part 4: “Canada Post Corporation Act”; Your mail can be seized and searched.
• Part 10: In order to prove that you’re not a terrorist, you’re not allowed to spend more than $10,000 cash. I’ve never held $10,000 of my own cash, but if I did have it, I’m a law-abiding citizen; why can’t I spend it how and when I want? Some say it’s a precursor to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which CHP strongly opposes.
• Part 14—dealing with your online privacy. Your internet service provider (ISP) can be required to give out information on your online activities without the safeguard of getting a warrant.

“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time.” - George Orwell, 1984.

CHP Canada policies protect your right to privacy. Without probable cause AND a search warrant, no law-abiding Canadian should have their rights taken away. We must be considered “innocent until proven guilty”; not the reverse.

Make sure your MP knows about the attacks on personal freedom and privacy hidden in this dangerous Bill C-2. Encourage them to vote against it. CHP Canada has better policies, policies that protect your freedoms. Go to our website and support CHP today!