IT'S difficult to understand where the Conservative Party stands on issues of individual rights and freedoms.
Old-guard Reformers previously favoured smaller government and less regulation. From that perspective, the move to end the long-gun registration program is understandable. The government's move to end mandatory completion of the long-form census could - charitably - be explained in the same context.
It's hard to square those Tory stances on individual freedom with Bill C-30, introduced this week in Parliament. If passed in its present form, Internet service providers would be required to give police the power and the means to collect information on any Internet user without a warrant.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has said a warrant would still be required to follow a user on the Net, although the language of the present bill leaves that interpretation open to doubt.
Bill C-30 has been dubbed the Protecting Children From Internet Predators Act. But Canadian police have caught many child pornographers with the law as it stands and the co-operation of Internet service providers. The providers say they have no problem in assisting police in these cases. So where exactly is the demonstrated need for this bill and its heavy-handed language?
Lest anyone missed the point, Toews said if you don't support the bill, you support the child pornographers. That's Orwellian logic: demonizing a democratic opponent and leaving no room for debate on the issue.
Where is the respect for individual freedom in that?
