Bill C-51 Protest at Vancouver Art Gallery March 14 2015

The Vancouver protest was one of dozens across Canada in an event dubbed “Defend our Freedom.”

Huge crowds gathering in Vancouver to ‪#‎RejectFear‬ and #StopC51

Stefan Avlijas of Leadnow, which is known as Canada’s largest pro-democracy advocacy organization, says his hope is the protest sends a strong message to the Harper government.

“I think it’s important to counteract the broken and shaky narrative at the heart of the Conservative messaging around this bill, which says Canadians support this legislation,” says Avlijas. “As you can see here today in Vancouver, Canadians are coming out here today to say that they think this bill is reckless, it’s ineffective, it’s dangerous and it must be stopped.

“Bill C-51 fundamentally rewrites the cornerstone of our democracy, which is the right to peacefully dissent and disagree with government policies. Essentially, Bill C-51 will undo the separation between CSIS and the RCMP, giving CSIS unprecedented powers to intervene in the lives of everyday Canadians who have committed no crime at all.”

Bill C-51 proposes to give authorities expanded power to detain terror suspects. Critics say the proposed bill as it is would infringe on Canadians’ civil liberties and the right to privacy – especially online.

“We don’t want your secret police.” Drumming and singing at Vancouver rally to #StopC51. #cdnpoli #C51 #YVR

Gallery Link: http://minus.com/mb2bFLBPweRif5