Sept 26, 2005 Senate hearings on the Canadian Anti-terrorism Act legislation

Some highlights of the hearings:

The only two witnesses that spoke to strengthen clauses and lengthen the times of many terms of the Anti-terrorism Act legislation were B'nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC):
-- Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) - Ed Morgan (National Pres., said that Jews have been targeted broadly by groups from neo-nazis to marxists.
-- Senator Raynell Andreychuk said that she was surprised by Morgan's call for National profiling.
-- B'nai Brith - Senior Legal Council David Matas said that he wants to beef up encitement of terrorist acts.(inluding attacks against religous institutions) Matas said that Canada was making the anti-terrorism legislation unnecessarily restrictive.
-- Senator Smith questioned the profiling of terrorist suspects and the protection of victims' property. Matas said that "Jews are an under privileged minority" and "a lot of incitement to hatred is incitement to terrorism" "some glorification is incitement and some is not"
-- Senator Serge Joyal spoke against the CJC's stance on profiling.

-- Other witnesses that spoke to ease clauses of the Anti-terrorism Act legislation were human rights people, those who spoke for anti-poverty and those who protect protesters that try to make a better world.