MPs on the committee reviewing whether Toews had his privilege as a
parliamentarian breached when Anonymous put up the threatening videos will have
to decide whether to attempt to track down the person or people behind the
videos. That could involve calling in the RCMP or the intelligence unit
responsible for cybersecurity.
“I really don’t see how you will be able to figure out who uttered these
threats against the minister,”said Audrey O’Brien, clerk of the House of
Commons.
She told the committee that a search for the Anonymous poster could be “a
giant waste of time.”
That message from the Commons staff responsible for securing MPs on and off
Parliament Hill was received well by some members of the committee, but at least
one Conservative wanted the search to commence.
Conservative MP Laurie Hawn said someone needed to be held responsible for
the videos attacking Toews and demanding he withdraw the government’s
controversial online surveillance bill, and be held up as an example for others
who would consider doing the same thing.
“Anonymous is a coward,” Hawn said, adding he “had nothing but contempt” for
anyone who would abuse free speech.
“They’re like the Taliban. We’re never going to run out of them.”
Anonymous is a loosely knit group of online hackers with no central
organization, meaning that anyone can claim to be part of the collective and
disputes about tactics arise regularly.
The group is responsible for attacks against several high profile websites,
including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and, in Canada, the website for the Ontario
Association of Chiefs of Police.
Members of the group have been tracked down around the world in recent weeks,
with Interpol saying 25 suspected members of the collective were arrested in
Latin America as authorities in Europe and the United States charged six more
after they were outed by one of their own.
Meanwhile, House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer ruled that there may be a
case that MPs had their privilege breached during a visit last month from
Israel’s prime minister.
Security on Parliament Hill was heightened for the visit by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, so much so that parliamentarians were blocked at times from
walking around the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings. New Democrat MP Pat
Martin filed a complaint with the Speaker’s office and on Thursday, Scheer said
there may be a “prima facie” case that Martin and other MPs had their privilege
violated.
“Security measures cannot override the right of members to unfettered access
. . . free from obstruction or interference” Scheer said in his ruling.
That matter will now be referred to the House affairs committee for
review.
Postscript
When we checked a few minutes ago, the latest
Anonymous anti-Vic Toews YouTube video posted March 2 showed
7,174 visitors.
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