Last month, as Spring’s last day gave way to Summer, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast assiduously busied themselves with plans to avoid the mundanities of governance and governments, Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, along with Justice Minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould held a twilight press conference to announce, on Parliament’s penultimate day, the birth of ‘Bill C-59: An Act Respecting National Security Matters’.
And, on Parliament’s last sitting day, Justin Trudeau answered opposition party questions about the long-promised undoing of Bill C-51, legislation roundly condemned by social libertarians as invasive to the point of draconian.
The Prime Minister then reminded the ousted Tories of duties incumbent upon leaders; patiently explaining the reasons for the erasure of their contentious, Anti-Terrorism Act of 2015, saying, “Canadians expect their government to do two things: to protect our rights and freedoms and keep our communities safe.”
But is that all they expect, and does C-59 fit the billing?
Marie Aspiazu is the Social Media Specialist at Open Media, a civic engagement organization working to, “keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free.” The Vancouver-based Aspiazu has worked within the environmental, conservation, and non-profit sectors, while her articles on those topics have appeared at Rabble, Common Ground, and Alternet.org.
Marie Aspiazu in the first half.
And; twenty years after Clayoquot Summer ’93, arguably the peak of environmental activism not only in the Sound, but on Vancouver Island, kayak guides and naturalists Dan Lewis and Bonny Glambeck shifted oars and founded Clayoquot Action, an organization dedicated to keeping “Clayoquot Sound clean and green for future generations, to preserve the diversity and integrity of the ecosystems, and to maintain and develop community and cultural richness.”
While they’ve been educating and activating people living in and visiting to Clayoquot for a long time, this Summer they launched Clayoquot 2.0, an “all-new weekly, multi-media journey through the visually stunning landscape, wildlife and culture of Clayoquot Sound.”
Bonny Glambeck and Clayoquot 2.0 in the second half.
And; Victoria-based horticultural guru, Christina Nikolic will be here at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with some of what’s good going on in and around our town in the coming week. But first, Marie Aspiazu and Bill C-59; real National Security Act reform, or just an act?”
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Wednesday, 1-2pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: https://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/