NACDL

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 sparked security concerns the world over and led to a dramatic legislative reform to combat the scourge of terrorism. One of the ways in which Canada responded was by convening a Special Senate Committee to amend the Criminal Code.¹ The result was the newly enacted Part II.1 of the Criminal Code, legislation specifically designed to protect Canadians and prevent terrorism.² While most terrorist activity (hijacking, hostage taking, political assassination, etc.) had been criminalized by way of UN Convention and the resulting criminal enactments prior to the promulgation of Part II.1, this addition to the Criminal Code has granted the federal government sweeping powers to deal with the support of terrorism. Much of Part II.1 attempts to suppress and control the peripherals of terrorism, specifically the financing of terrorist endeavours. While there is no doubt that this is a laudable goal for a western democracy in a post 9/11 world, the broad