SERENA WELLAND

With a federal election date approaching, the Conservative Party has been reducing the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens. Such reductions are not only unethical, but arguably illegal under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Charter guarantees every Canadian citizen certain non-negotiable rights that neither the government nor society can take away. Since 1982, this charter has been entrenched in the Canadian Constitution so that these guaranteed rights, while still subject to judicial interpretation, are unambiguous and outline numerous guarantees for citizens’ personal security and quality of life.

In recent months, certain Charter rights have arguably been revoked and severely restricted by the Harper government. This has been done in what appears to be an attempt to stifle the vote of demographics who might not cast their ballot for the Conservatives, if given the opportunity.

As illustrated in Section 3 of the Charter, “Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.”

This section is clear. Every Canadian citizen has the absolute right to vote. In July 2015, a policy was introduced that revokes the voting rights of Canadian citizens who have lived out of the country for over five years. This not only violates this Constitutional right, but could be considered illegal as well.

In addition, the Harper government introduced Bill C-23 in 2014 — less formally known as the Fair Elections Act — which seriously impedes the ability of certain citizens to vote, as vouching to provide proof of a voter’s identity is no longer legal. This could have a negative effect on voting for students, Aboriginals and out of province residents.

Further, the government’s efforts to revoke citizenship from Saad Gaya, a Canadian-born man convicted of terrorism in 2006, is walking dangerously close to violating the life, liberty and security of person clause, along with Section 6 (1).

“Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in, and leave, Canada.”

While this might sound like lenience towards a man who has been convicted of bomb plotting, the Charter is not a pick-and-choose document to be followed with a casual and convenient inconsistency.

Furthermore, it is not an avenue in which to record or display bias, racism or personal vendetta. It is simple: every citizen is equal under the Charter.

Another hallmark of this election campaign has been the targeting and exploitation of minority rights. Section 2 of the Charter guarantees “freedom of conscience and religion” as one of several fundamental rights.

However, the fear-mongering and stigmatization of Islam and minority values in general have led to despicable policies — rejecting citizenship based on religious outerwear and proposing a tip line to report “barbaric cultural practices,” to name only two.

Evidently, Harper seems to believe that the way to a majority government is to appeal to a cynical, naive demographic that has been blinded by fear. I am not saying that this is the fault of the electorate buying into his ideology, but it is the fault of the leadership guiding the public down a path of supposed “security” under false pretenses and an ultimatum of collecting votes.

It appears that the days of the Canadian values of acceptance and diversity are long gone. If, on Oct. 19, we are left with the same stale, power-hungry leadership, one can certainly expect more policies of division to further separate our country that was once built on qualities I was actually proud of.

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Image: Ashley Britz