Many Canadians are rightfully disturbed about the Conservative government's latest misguided legislation, which would give authorities the power to access their personal information without a warrant at any time, for any reason.

Bill C-30 is a compilation of three bills from the last parliamentary session (C-50, C-51 and C-52). The bill requires telecommunication service providers, like internet providers, to provide designated authorities (police forces, RCMP, CSIS and the Commissioner of Competition) with access to the personal information of their subscribers.

This bill raises serious concerns about personal privacy and our fundamental rights and freedoms. It's especially worrisome that the Conservative government introduced such legislation when their own Minister responsible for it, Vic Toews, hadn't read the most intrusive parts of it. Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that the bill is flawed and needs fixing.

The government has repeatedly hidden behind child pornography as the rationale for bill C-30, even though the bill is clearly focused on increasing the surveillance powers of state agencies.

My colleagues and I are committed to ensuring that law enforcement have the tools necessary to address emerging threats posed by cyber crime and online exploitation of children. However, we believe that we can go after criminals without making false comparisons to child pornographers and treating law-abiding Canadians like criminals.

We are opposed to this bill and encourage Canadians to take action by distributing and signing the petition we have created, available here.

Please return completed petitions to my office with a minimum of 25 signatures.