A petition was presented yesterday on Parliament Hill that had garnered over 50,000 signatures in opposition to the proposed act, with members from the NDP, the Liberal party of Canada, and the Green Party also there to show support of the petition. The petition calls on members of Parliament to stop the U.S.-style voter suppression from becoming Canadian law.

Adam Shedletzky, co-founder of Leadnow.ca, an independent advocacy organization that “brings generations of Canadians together to achieve progress through democracy,” said “There is a groundswell of citizens’ opposition to this rush to rewrite election laws in Canada.”

Many critics say the act, which was designed to combat voting fraud after the scandal of previous elections, such as the infamous Robocall’ scandal in the 2011 federal election, is taking a step backwards rather than tackling the core issues.

“People are calling for the Conservative government to remove measures in the proposed elections law that would suppress the votes of young, aboriginal and low-income people,” says Shedletzky. “Instead, they want the government to address the real threat by giving election watchdogs the power they specifically requested to investigate fraud organized by political operatives.”

The fear is that the new Act will be a mirror case of some of the underhanded tactics used in historical American elections, such as poll taxes and literacy tests that were aimed at restricting the black vote after the American Civil war.

The proposed changes in the act would enforce a mandatory public registry for mass automated election calls, and allow jail time for those convicted of impersonating an election official. It will also remove the “vouching” for the identity of a voter, which allowed 120,000 people to vote in 2011, as well as no longer accept voter identification cards as valid identification, commonly used by youths attending university, seniors, and aboriginals living in reserves.

It’s no wonder, then, that there are worries that the changes will discourage voters when voting is already at an all-time low. However, it’s not just the restriction on identification that is worrying those opposed to the the bill. It will also prohibit the Chief Electoral Officer from engaging in public education or democratic outreach to groups that are less likely to vote. This seems strange from any viewpoint, and as Marc Mayrand, the Chief Electoral Officer says, “there are no other jurisdictions in the world where the electoral body cannot talk about democracy”.

This combined with the almost strong-arm tactics used by the conservative government to introduce the bill, refusing to consult the Chief Electoral Officer, the top expert on election laws, and shutting down debate after only an hour after the Minister introduced it, and many Canadians are wondering who this “fair”act is really aimed at.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming issues of This Magazine, as we follow the Fair Election Act protests over the next few months.

The Force Four Entertainment-produced series, called “Border Security: Canada’s Front Line” is currently on season two and has not yet been cancelled. Thankfully, though, the common sense of others won out in regards to one particularly exploitative episode.

The filming of a March 13 Vancouver construction site raid and the arrests of eight migrant workers will not air as part of the series. Also, there are now restrictions on where cameras are allowed. Filming is done away from the border and kept on the inland enforcement of those with “serious criminality.”

A memo from CBSA cites, “negative public response may continue,” as the reason for the episode’s cancellation. Such negative public response includes: Amnesty International, BC Civil Liberties Association, LeadNow, Council of Canadians, No One Is Illegal and the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), all of which have spoken out against the series, and wish for its cancellation. Thompson’s petition on change.org has over 24,000 signatures and an open letter addressed “To Force Four Entertainment, Shaw Media, Global BC, National Geographic, Canadian Border Services Agency, and all other producers, financiers, and broadcasters of Border Security: Canada’s Front Line,” has garnered 250 signatures from media professionals.

Diana Thompson, wife to Tulio Renan Hernandez , a worker who has been deported to Honduras told the activist group No One is Illegal: “We all feel extremely relieved by the news and are grateful to everyone who spoke out. We want this episode and the whole show cancelled.”

Picture from Diana Thompson's Change.org petition

The show, which follows CBSA, has been criticized for exploiting the confusion and language barriers of people. Or as the Border Security site says, “From confused visitors to phony immigrants.” National Geographic gets more dramatic while describing this trashy TV, “Passengers react in a variety of unpredictable ways—they lie, argue, play the victim, plead ignorance and even threaten legal action.  But they are no match for the investigative tactics of the CBSA officers.  After all, the law is on their side.”

Concerns about the show regard harming not only the dignity of fellow human beings but in some cases putting them further in harm’s way. A letter addressed to Toews from the CBA explains that those seeking refuge for themselves and their family may be endangered further, having their faces filmed for television. The letter also says what many are worried about: “We question whether those foreign nationals participating in the filming can be considered to have provided free and informed consent.”

Though people are asked to sign a waiver, they are filmed first, then asked while they are detained. Language barriers, confusion and fear that not signing will affect their release factor before signing.

Force Four Entertainment released a statement after the raid, saying they were being mis-characterized and that the show was not exploitative tabloid television but a documentary about the CBSA. However the letter originally sent to Toews for approval wasn’t trumpeting education but sensationalism calling the project a, “documentary-style reality television series.” The letter, fit for Tory propaganda continues, “It would be a valuable opportunity to promote important messages about Canada’s commitment to border security to give profile to the agency as a professional and effective law enforcement organization.” And so the show was approved and funded by our federal government.

Josh Patterson, executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association also appealed to Parliament Hill at a Vancouver news conference in March, “The federal government must respect the rights of every person it deals with, regardless of their immigration status.”

The show airs Mondays at 8 and 8:30 on the National Geographic Channel. For now.