Area residents who oppose the federal government’s proposed anti-terrorism legislation, Bill C-51, are being invited to a rally in protest here on March 14.
Elora resident Jerry Prager is organizing a silent march around Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong’s office at 200 Patrick Street in Fergus this Saturday at 3pm.
“Chong, who supported this legislation during its first and second readings in the House of Commons, is expected to vote the way he has always voted, which is to say, he will do as he is told by Stephen Harper and support legislation that will gut most of the charter in the name of threats that have lower mortality rates among Canadians than running into moose or deer on our roadways,” stated a press release issued by Prager.
Prager said he is organizing the rally in support of similar events being held across Canada, organized through the Leadnow.ca civil action website.
“It won’t be a very large one I’m sure, but it will be part of a much larger body across the country. It all adds up.”
Local supporters are publicizing the event through posters and a Facebook page, said Prager.
“It’s just a kind of a word of mouth event; were not going to stop traffic in downtown Fergus or anything.”
Prager, who said on March 10 he had emailed Chong about the protest but hadn’t heard back, said he doubts dissenters will be able to stop the legislation, but feels it’s important to be heard.
“I’m pretty sure there’s no stopping them, but as long as they know that there’s going to be a lot of people watching what they do with it,” the event will serve its purpose he said.
