Canada.com: Canada’s warrantless surveillance bill is back, with surveillance powers for US gov’t, too

An upcoming deal with the U.S. could expand the warrantless surveillance in the proposed bill C-30 to apply to U.S. authorities, allowing them to access Canadians' private information. As the article below shows, after we revealed the U.S. connection in our latest letter to supporters (subscribe here) the momentum has grown significantly. The hugely popular blog Boing Boing posted it, that post hit the front page of popular online news site Reddit with thousands of votes, and then it received the Canada.com coverage below. Our video now has over 20,000 views thanks to you, and as the Canada.com article notes, "there are currently 79 MPs on Open Media’s list, including Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth May, Bob Rae and Andrew Cash." It's working. Keep spreading the word (try using this Facebook share link) and take the next step by joining our petition drive challenge. Article by Russ Martin for Canada.com: Bill C-30 is still alive and well, according to the pro Internet group Open Media. In February the bill caused a public uproar and was then sent to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights to be amended before a second reading.

It hasn’t been heard from since. But that doesn’t mean the bill, which the Province dubbed the “Spying on Every Single Canadian any Time We Feel Like it Act,” won’t resurface.

“Really, they never suggested that the bill was going to die,” says Lindsay Pinto, a spokesperson for Open Media. “They did try to quiet it down after a bit and try to wait us out but clearly Canadians have stayed engaged and informed. Our outcry has not died down and neither have they.”

Discussions of Bill C-30 were reignited when Open Media released a list of ‘pro privacy’ MPs who oppose the bill. A Boing Boing post about Bill C-30 also made its way to the front page of the social news site Reddit on Saturday, where hundreds of people voiced opinions about the bill.

There are currently 79 MPs on Open Media’s list, including Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth May, Bob Rae and Andrew Cash.

While there are names from each of the opposition parties, no Conservative MPs have joined. Open Media has, however, been in contact with some Conservatives.

“We’ve heard from three conservative MPs who have some issues with the bill but haven’t really spoken out really strongly against it,” Pinto says. “It is really different to speak out from within that party from what we hear.” Read more »

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