Canada’s federal election came to a close this past Monday, October 19th, resulting in a landslide victory for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. The event marks a large change for Canadian politics, which was run by a majority Conservative government for about the last decade.

 

For those unfamiliar with Canadian politics, the distinction between whether or not the governing party has a majority or a minority government can be foreign. In Canada, citizens vote on which local member of parliament (MP) they wish to represent them in their seat at parliament. After all the seats are filled, the party that claims the most seats wins and their head is appointed the Prime Minister of Canada. A majority government is formed when over half the seats in parliament belong to one party. On the other hand, a minority government is created when no party possesses over half of the seats.

 

Majority Government: a Double-edged Sword

 

It was to the joy of many Canadians, Albertans aside, to hear that the Liberals had won the majority vote. Change is in the air as the country goes from a Conservative majority to a Liberal majority –– it’s clear that a significant portion of Canadian political opinion has shifted. With a majority government, the power to effect change is often the largest benefit. Without a need to cater to other parties to receive votes on proposed bills, the Liberal government is in a better position to follow up on their platform promises and push Canada in the direction mandated by their voters. However, Canadians should be wary of the power that stems from a majority government, as Harper’s previously-held Conservative majority gives us a prime example of the pitfalls of an unchecked majority.

 

During his majority tenure, Stephen Harper was able to pass a variety a controversial bills, including C-24 and C-51. This bills’ claim to infamy is in the fact that Canadians felt the new laws would unjustly violate their rights, and many Canadians were downgraded to “second class” when the possibility of revoking citizenship became frighteningly possible. With regard to privacy rights, no bill impacted Canadians more or was more controversial than the conservative anti-terror bill, C-51. Many newspapers, bloggers, and online users voiced their opinions on, and often criticisms of, the bill (a detailed explanation of Bill C-51 can be found here). In April 2015, the Canadian Journalist for Free Expression (CJFE) posted an article outlining the top six ways that citizens would be affected. The top effects for citizens listed in the article consisted of the following:

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• Your private information will no longer be private

• Innocent words can be interpreted as terrorism

• Online Posts will be censored

• Protesting could put you under Government watch

• Your Travel may be restricted without explanation

• Your material possessions may be seized

 

For those less familiar with Canadian laws and politics, many of these outcomes of the bill step on the rights guaranteed to Canadians in theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Many people, including the staff at Privacy Shell, have been increasingly concerned with the violation of Canadians privacy rights arising from C-51. Hear Edward Snowden comment on bill C-51 below.