Recent Developments in the 'War on Terrorism' in Canada

Abstract

We appear to have entered a ‘third phase’ in the worldwide legal reaction to the events of 11 September 2001. If the first phase was marked by a supine reaction on the part of courts to bold executive use of terrorist-related powers and by the passing of ‘copy-cat’ anti-terrorist laws in countries across the globe, and the second by the uncertainty of the response of those bodies charged with supervising the implementation of these new laws, the third phase seems to be characterised by an attitude of scepticism in courts and elsewhere and an increased willingness to delve into the often murky realities of the application of terrorism policies. This note concerns two recent developments in Canada which may be said to embody this trend, both of which deal with the paradigmatic (and problematic) connection between counter-terrorist policy and secret intelligence.