On October 31, 2012, Parliament voted to approve Bill C-309, an amendment to Section 65 of
the Canadian Criminal Code also known as the Preventing Persons from Concealing Their
Identity during Riots and Unlawful Assemblies Act. Following a formal rubber-stamping by
the Senate, this bill will establish two new criminal offences, each with alarmingly harsh
sentencing provisions. Once Bill C-309 becomes law, individuals charged with wearing a
mask or other disguise while participating in a riot (defined as ?an unlawful assembly
that has begun to disturb the peace tumultuously?) will face an indictable offence
carrying a maximum sentence of ten years; those charged with concealing their identity
while participating in an unlawful assembly could face either an indictable
offence?carrying a maximum sentence of five years?or a less serious summary offence.
The crime of rioting currently carries a maximum two year sentence, whereas participation
in an unlawful assembly is a basic summary offence.
Bill C-309, submitted by Conservative MP Blake Richards, was one of three private members
bills pushed through Parliament by Stephen Harper's majority government that day; the
other two included Bill C-217, which sets harsh new punishments for those convicted of
vandalizing war memorials and Bill C-350, which forces claimants who are awarded monetary
settlements from the court to use the funds to first pay back pre-existing court-ordered
debts, such as child support, victim compensation or restitution payments.
Traditionally speaking, private members bills rarely become law; major legislative
initiatives are usually promoted by cabinet members of the sitting government, not by
party backbenchers. The Harper government has begun to change this convention, publicly
throwing their support behind a number of private members bills?which require far less
constitutional scrutiny and parliamentary oversight than their government-sponsored
equivalents?as part of a broader strategy aimed at tightening their control over the
political agenda in Ottawa.
Beyond the populist rhetoric of taking a ?tough stance on crime?, recent Conservative
efforts such as C-309 are best understood as part of a massive expansion of this country's
Prison-Industrial-Complex, and a shift towards a more Americanized system of
incarceration. When Stockwell Day announced, in 2010, the government's plan to spend $9
billion dollars on the construction of new prisons, liberal commentators quickly responded
by pointing out that crime rates in the country have actually been declining for years.
This confusion belies a lack of understanding on the part of many progressives of the true
role that prisons play in capitalist society. The myth of prisons popularly conceived of
as institutions intended to deter and ultimately rehabilitate criminals ignores the
rampant culture of recidivism fostered by a system that does not address the root causes
of crime, and purposefully makes the process of reintegration into society more difficult
for those leaving prison. It also shrouds the much more important role of the
Prison-Industrial-Complex as both a lucrative site of corporate profit and a vital tool of
State control.
It is no secret that Bill C-309 is a response to the spread of black bloc tactics in
Canada?such as those witnessed in Vancouver during the city's 2010 Anti-Olympic protests
and 2011 Stanley Cup riot, in Toronto during the G20 Summit, and more recently during this
year's student strike in Qu?bec. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament on the day of
the bill's passage, Richards explained why various police chiefs and business leaders had
asked him for these tough new laws. ?They have individuals coming to gatherings of various
types and looking to cause trouble and they come with a toolkit. They've got a bag,
they've got a mask, they've got a disguise, black clothing, they've got hammers to break
windows, objects to throw at the police, things to start fires with.?
These new measures should hopefully serve as a wake-up call to anarchists and
anti-authoritarians in this country. If you identify yourself as an enemy of the State and
capitalism, it should come as no surprise when the State begins to treat you accordingly.
In this current age of austerity, it is only prudent for the ruling class to reposition
themselves into a more advantageous position to crush the resistance that their policies
will inevitably provoke. This is why they are building more prisons?and passing new laws
to fill them. Realizing this, the question then becomes: what are we going to do about it?
In terms of the deployment of black bloc tactics, this bill suggests the need for a
tactical shift, with a stronger emphasis on avoiding unnecessary arrests. What constitutes
an unlawful assembly and/or riot is ultimately up to the discretion of police officers on
the ground. Any assembly of three or more people can be declared 'unlawful' at any time,
thus clearing the way for police officers to surround and arrest small groups of masked
protesters. Being aware of police movements and avoiding falling into these types of traps
will become increasingly important, as will tactics such as de-arresting and breaking
kettles. Along with this must come an increased awareness of the presence of surveillance
cameras and the use of plainclothes police?as investigators will likely be happy to wait
until after things in the streets have died down to come and arrest black bloc
participants in their homes or on their way to work.
Even more importantly, however, anarchists must strengthen our bonds to the mass movements
of the working class. The days of the anti-globalization movement are over, and the St.
Paul principles that ostensibly served to navigate the rules of ?diversity of tactics? are
ill-suited to our emergent reality. This approach does not mean we need to compromise our
politics?in fact, it demands that we bring anarchism out of the ghetto of radical activism
and demonstrate its relevance to those who comprise our natural base of support. The
alternative is complicity in the State's ongoing efforts to marginalize us, thereby
leaving us even more vulnerable to the full weight of its repressive security apparatus.
Anarchists also urgently need to develop a strategy that sees the potential of
incarceration not as a worst-case scenario, but as an increasingly likely consequence of
struggle. Our prison support work must extend beyond letter-writing and fundraising events
(as important as these are) towards a practice that breaks through the isolation of prison
walls in more meaningful and productive ways. If the jails are going to be full of
anarchists, then they should become breeding grounds for anarchism. As capitalism ramps up
its attacks on the working class, larger segments of the population will be drawn into
open class war. Things are going to get ugly. As anarchists and revolutionaries, it is our
responsibility to meet this coming period of increased repression with clarity of vision
and an inspiring depiction of the new world we believe is truly worth fighting for.
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On line journal of the anarchist Common Cause
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» (en) Canada,Linchpin.org*: Bill C-309 and its Discontents By: Eric Jacobs