At over 60 pages, Bill C-51 – the Anti-Terrorism Act – is both literally and figuratively a heavy read.

Today, BCCLA Senior Counsel Carmen Cheung was the very first non-government witness to testify before Parliament on this bill. Below, we break down what you need to know.

For a quick read on what every Canadian should know about the proposed "anti-terror" legislation, check out our "8 things you need to know about Bill C-51"  blog post by the BCCLA's Carmen Cheung and Alyssa Stryker .

For more depth on this topic, you will find a summary of Carmen's remarks before Parliament here, her full spoken remarks here, and the BCCLA's full written submission on this topic here.

Want to see what you missed during committee testimony? Check out our Live Tweet  of this morning's hearings.

The BC Civil Liberties Association believes that every Canadian should be concerned about the sweeping provisions of this bill, and the radical reimaging of national security that the bill allows for. 

Join us this Saturday, March 14 for the Vancouver Day of Action Against Bill C-51, or join Policy Director Micheal Vonn and the Terry Project on March 19 for UBC BARtalk: panel discussion on Bill C-51. If you can, don't miss Tuesday, March 24 C-51 Panel Discussion at the Morris J. Wosk Centre, featuring national security expert Craig Forcese, democratic communities expert Max Cameron, and the BCCLA's very own privacy expert Micheal Vonn.

Did you miss this week's event in Prince George? Check out the coverage here.

Today, for the first time in the BCCLA's 50+ year history, two of our staff testified before two different Parliamentary committees at the same time on Bill C-51, the anti-terror bill, and Bill S-4, the digital privacy bill. A third of our full-time staff was on Parliament Hill to stand up for your rights!

The need for our organization is growing everyday, but we are still a small operation. The BCCLA has just six full time staff members. We need to grow our capacity to fight for the rights of Canadians. As a non-partisan charity, we exist only because of the generosity of our supporters.

Please make a gift today to support our work, and help us to grow.

Your contributions fund important test case litigation like our historic death with dignity case, public education at more than 60 events every year, and policy research and advocacy that has  shaped hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy.

Become a member today and join us in the fight to protect human rights and civil liberties in Canada.

Sincerely,

Josh Paterson, Executive Director,
and the BCCLA team