The conflict behind the proposed anti-terror laws: a West Block primer

Watch: The West Block primer this week looks inside the controversy swirling around the Conservatives’ proposed anti-terror laws. 

The government’s proposed anti-terror laws continue to be at the centre of heated controversy. Why?

The Conservatives say that the terrorist threat is so dire, the only way to fight it is by giving more powers to the national security agencies — allowing CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to hold suspicious people in detention for up to seven days without charge and stopping potential criminals from getting on an airplane, for example.

WATCH:  Despite Conservative promises on what the bill will do, there has been intense criticism that the bill is being rushed through.

What’s more, is the Conservatives say their proposed legislation is such a no-brainer, they have moved to have the bill pass through Parliament in mere days.

Critics including former Supreme Court justices and former prime ministers, however, say the bill is so poorly written it could give security agencies power to apply the rules intended for terrorists to a person protesting a pipeline or someone staging a wildcat strike.

On Sunday, The West Block with Tom Clark speaks with Liberal public safety critic Wayne Easter and Daniel Lang, chair of the Senate committee on security and defence.

You can watch The West Block with Tom Clark on Global at:
11 a.m. in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan
12 p.m. in the Atlantic provinces
10 a.m. in Alberta and B.C.
The show is repeated 10:30 p.m. in Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon, and 11:30 p.m. everywhere else.