Surrey - The Editor, Re: Bill C-51. Our federal government has tabled legislation that will criminalize dissent. Environmentalists are not terrorists threatening the state but they do have a different vision as to how our country's economy should grow and the direction it should take.
This is hardly subversive. Our country has a history where divergent views are not only accepted, but encouraged. Up until recently, this practise has been not only accepted but supported financially by our federal government.To say that peaceful protest is criminal is to say Rosa Parks refusal to sit in the back of the bus because she was black, or Mahatma Gandhi's salt march was criminal. These two protests were instrumental in ending segregation in the U.S. and the British oppression of India, respectively. Both today are widely praised as brave opposition to oppressive state law.I am worried that my beloved country is sliding into a police state where people are afraid to criticize government and government policy. The threat of terrorism should not be used as an excuse to limit people's right to dissent.Phil HarrisonSurrey