Here’s how we can Repeal Bill C-51 and win strong privacy rules to keep us safe

With your help, we’ve just launched a powerful new tool to get Canadian voices on the public record against Bill C-51

It’s here! We’ve just launched a powerful, one-of-a-kind tool to get your voices on the public record opposing Bill C-51, and in favour of strong privacy rules for Canadians, as part of the government’s national security consultation.

You can check out our tool right now at SaveOurSecurity.ca.

It’s really important that we get as many people as humanly possible to make their voices heard on this. Over recent years, we’ve all been witness to an unending stream of revelations about how the privacy of law-abiding Canadians is being eroded by the government.

Whether it’s Bill C-51, CSE spying, Stingray surveillance, or the RCMP demanding our device passwords, we’ve been travelling in the wrong direction for far too long and we all need to seize this chance to change course.

As our own Marie Aspiazu noted, this consultation represents our single best opportunity to get Bill C-51 repealed, and to deliver the strong privacy rules all Canadians need to keep us safe from surveillance.

Ready to get cracking? Okay, here’s our quick guide to help you get started:

• Load our tool by visiting SaveOurSecurity.ca (link will open in a new tab)

• We’ve focused on seven high-level topics that members of our community have told us are most important to them. These are: surveillance oversight, secret police powers, information sharing, Internet censorship, online privacy, interception of communications, and encryption.

• For each topic, we’ve worked with experts to provide you with useful talking points you can refer to. Click the answer box, and these suggestions will appear. Clicking on a talking point will even add it to your message. (For added impact, we recommend writing these in your own words.)

• Complete your answers to each question. You don’t need to answer all the questions (but we recommend that you do). Fill out your name, email address, and postal code at the bottom of the page and hit the big red Submit button.

• You’re done! Our tool will send your feedback directly to the consultation.

Congratulations, your voice is now on the public record!

While we’ve provided helpful talking points you can refer to, we know many of you will also want to take a deeper dive into the issues — especially given warnings from experts and from the federal Privacy Commissioner that the government’s approach is biased in favour of more surveillance powers for the police and spy agencies. Here are some great background resources you can dig into to help shape your input:

• Bill C-51: A Primer - everything you always wanted to know about Bill C-51, from CJFE, CIPPIC, and OpenMedia.

• Canada’s Privacy Plan - our positive action plan on privacy, crowdsourced by over 100,000 Canadians.

• AntiTerrorLaw.ca - the in-depth analysis of Professors Craig Forcese and Kent Roach, two of Canada’s most respected voices on Bill C-51.

• A Different Shade of Green Paper - our friends at the BCCLA set the record straight on the biased way in which the government have framed many of the consultation issues.

This is one of the most ambitious and complex tools we’ve ever built and it would never have been possible without the help of our monthly allies and donors— thank you from our small team for making this happen! And sincere appreciations also to our friends and partners at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) for their invaluable advice and support.

Last but not least, if you’re wondering whether your voice will make a difference, the evidence is pretty clear: YES IT WILL! After all, we only secured this consultation in the first place due to your public pressure on Prime Minister Trudeau, and after we met with Public Safety Minister Goodale and handed him your giant petition— so we’ve already seen this government respond when Canadians speak up.

Every single person speaking out will move us forward to getting Bill C-51 repealed and securing the privacy safeguards we deserve. So get started with our tool right here and, when you’re done, don’t forget to share it with all your friends on Facebook and Twitter.