ACTION ALERT: Contact your MP to urge them to reject Bill C-42 (Secure Flight)

(Ottawa, Canada – December 3, 2010) The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is today urging supporters and all Canadians of conscience to call on their Member of Parliament to oppose the passage of Bill C-42: An Act to Amend the Aeronautics Act. Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities are on the verge of possibly recommending passage of a new law that will, potentially, have huge impacts on Canada’s sovereignty and our privacy and Charter rights.

Bill C-42 would amend the Aeronautics Act thereby legally permitting Canadian airlines to provide passenger information to foreign states – an action which is currently prohibited under Canadian privacy laws – in order to satisfy the U.S. Secure Flight program. Secure Flight has been roundly criticized by international civil society groups because it requires that a hodgepodge of Canadians’ personal information be transmitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) even if the flight is only passing through U.S. airspace.

Canada has already taken many steps to harmonize its airline security with U.S. programs but to no avail as ever more severe demands are made. The purported purpose of the Passenger Protect Program (PPP), a made-in-Canada "No-Fly" list, was to prevent the imposition of the U.S. list on Canada. Yet again the benchmark has been moved.

Due our geographic location, Canadians have the most to lose from the imposition of Secure Flight rules on Canadian travel. It's only right that Canada takes a stand now, before it’s too late.

ACTION REQUESTED

Write or email your Member of Parliament today to urge them to vote against C-42 as an unnecessary violation of Canadian sovereignty, the rule of law, privacy and due process, and ask that, in the least, steps be taken to mitigate its impact on Canadian citizens.

You can find out who your member of Parliament is with your postal code here:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx

REMINDER: Please cc CAIR-CAN on all correspondence at info(AT)caircan(DOT)ca

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Honourable __________,

I'm writing to ask you to vote against Bill C-42: An Act to Amend the Aeronautics Act, as it is currently written. C-42 would permit Canadian airlines overflying a foreign states’ airspace to share passenger information with that foreign state – in this case the United States’ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - an action which is currently prohibited under Canadian privacy laws.

This bill raises serious concerns around Canada’s sovereignty and the privacy and civil liberties of Canadian citizens. If enacted Bill C-42 would, in effect, cede de facto right to the United States to decide, based on its own “No Fly” lists, who can travel to or from Canada to many destinations - even when those travellers are not heading to a U.S. destination.

Many Canadian Muslims share concerns regarding how the introduction of new security regimes seems to have had a disproportionate impact on members of the Muslim community and the possibility that this new bill could potentially introduce the racial or religious profiling of passengers. One obvious example would be the case Maher Arar.

I urge you to vote against Bill C-42 or, in the least, Parliament should take the following actions to minimize the impact of Secure Flight on Canadians:

(i) To limit the amount of personal information disclosed to US authorities;

(ii) To work with the Canada’s other international partners to negotiate accessible and robust mechanisms of redress with

American authorities for Canadians who find themselves prevented from flying as a result of Secure Flight;

(iii) To implement a national education campaign to inform Canadians about the Secure Flight Program and Canada’s own

Passenger Protect Program; and

(iv) To question the length of the retention periods of information and implement agreements to stipulate that clearly

defined protections be set on any information that may be shared.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

NOTE: Your full name and address are required if you wish an official response.

The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization working to empower Canadian Muslims in the fields of the media, human rights, and public advocacy. Its board members include Kashif Ahmed JD, Dr. Jamal Badawi, Selma Djukic, Khalid Elgazzar LL.B., Dr. Wael Haddara, Khadija Haffajee, Aftab Sabir and Shahina Siddiqui

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