Ottawa 'terror' arrest - timed to support new legislation? l

[Oscar]

Was Ottawa 'terror' arrest timed to support repressive new legislation?

[ http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/02/was ... egislation ]

By Matthew Behrens | February 18, 2015

When the RCMP announced an Ottawa anti-terrorism arrest this month, the timing could not have been better for a federal government that appears to thrive on national security hysteria. After all, Prime Minister Harper, positioning himself as a wartime leader protecting Canadians from terrorists, had just introduced legislation (C-51) that would vastly increase the powers of Canada's state security agencies, a bill that's met with equal alarm from civil rights groups and the Globe and Mail's editorial board.

Facebook feeds were immediately full of Conservative-sponsored "Protecting Canadians From Terrorist Threats" clickbait, leading to a personal message from Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney proclaiming, "Jihadists have declared war on us all."

There's a critical question about the political timing of this arrest and the issuance of arrest warrants for two overseas Canadian fighters. Why was it so important, in the midst of a debate over controversial new policing powers, to now detain 25-year-old Awso Peshdary -- who appears to have been under surveillance for a good five years -- for the alleged crimes of raising money to send two Canadians to fight in Syria in 2012 and 2014? There was no imminent threat, beyond the apparently existential concern that Peshdary was corrupting young minds. In addition, why were the Mounties suddenly issuing warrants (one for a man reportedly killed last December) that named individuals whose activities have long been public knowledge?

The federal government's apparent ability to create a mirage of cascading terror threats was no doubt further enhanced by introducing C-51 the Friday before two long-scheduled terrorism proceedings were set to begin. Those trials -- the Toronto Via Rail plot and the B.C. Canada Day pressure cooker plan -- began with suspiciously timed arrests as well.

Indeed, during the spring of 2013, the Harper government had been experiencing troubles reviving recently lapsed anti-terror legislation originally passed in 2001. Then, an opportunity arose following the Boston bombings. The Harper government suddenly cleared the Parliamentary schedule for a two-day discussion and vote on Bill S-7 (The Combating Terrorism Act), which revived preventative detention and investigative hearings.

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