NDP Plans Humanitarian Exemption Amendment for Bill Easing Aid Restrictions

In this excerpt from The Hill Times, Senator Omidvar discusses Bill C-41, which is attempting to allow Canadian aid groups to operate in terrorist-controlled areas:

Independent Senator Ratna Omidvar (Ontario), who has long called on the government to move a legislative fix so aid organizations can operate in Afghanistan, told The Hill Times she hopes any amendments to the bill are made in the House of Commons.

“In the interest of timeliness, I would prefer an amended bill [come to the Senate], if that is going to be the case, so we can do our review and move to royal assent in a more timely manner,” she said, noting that she had hoped to see the bill in front of Parliament “much earlier.”

She said that if amendments are not accepted in the House and are re-tabled and passed in the Senate, it will start a ping-pong between the two Chambers.

“I’m anxious about not delaying the bill,” she said.

At this stage, Omidvar said she hasn’t decided on whether the bill should be amended to include a blanket exemption, noting an appropriate balance has to be struck.

“A discussion needs to be had about protecting the security interests of our country and the due process that has been proposed by the government in order to get aid to Afghanistan,” she said, adding that there is also a need to review Canada’s anti-terrorism financing law.

The Ontario Senator said there is a tension between getting the bill right versus getting it perfect.

Read the full article in The Hill Times