Jesus Would Have Voted For Bill C-51, Implies A Conservative MP

    Wai Young said the government is doing the Lord's work by passing the controversial surveillance bill.

    Paul McLeod
    by Paul McLeod

    BuzzFeed Political Editor, Canada

    For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, for whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but get elected to the Canadian House of Commons and vote in favour of a bill that gives police sweeping new intelligence powers.

    Blair Gable / Reuters

    That was the lesson Conservative MP Wai Young delivered in a sermon to the Harvest City Church in Vancouver last month.

    Young said the government was doing Jesus' work when it passed C-51, the most controversial piece of legislation debated in Canada this year.

    As first reported by Press Progress, Young said the government is acting in the vein of Jesus by doing not what is popular but what is right.

    She opened her remarks to the congregation by saying it's dicey to mix religion and politics. Then she launched into into a speech that hit on Vladimir Putin, the gruesome murder of a hockey mom, drunk driving, ISIS beheadings and the assassination of a sentry in Ottawa teaching Canada "we need to now grow up and acknowledge that we need to protect ourselves."

    To lighten things up, she also talked about tax breaks introduced by her government.

    Young also said that she doesn't read newspapers anymore because "most of the facts in there are not factual." Then she moved on to Jesus. Young said that sure, Jesus saved, but he took action as well.

    “That’s why we still study the bible and study Jesus, because we see that he has done these incredible things. So I want to share with you what I think about what our government is doing in the same vein," said Young.

    And before long #CPCJesus was trending across Canada.

    The Perfidious PM @perfidiousPM

    CPC's last supper #CPCJesus #cdnpoli

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    Luke Savage @LukewSavage

    "And lo the Lord said 'Go forth and spy on thy citizens, for that is my will. Read not the press.'" - Romans, 4:12 #CPCJesus

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    William Owen @Bill_Owen

    Our lord Harper said, "Let the little children come to me, but do a background check and search them first." #CPCJesus

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    christo aivalis @christoaivalis

    #cpcJesus Blessed are the Capitalists, for they create shareholder value

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    CC @canadiancynic

    "He that is without sin, cast the first omnibus bill." #CPCJesus

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    Greg Mills @Gritty_Greg

    "Now in those days a decree went from Caesar that a non-mandatory census be taken of all the inhabited earth" Luke 2:1 #CPCJesus #cdnpoli

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    Young also claimed in her speech that if C-51 had been in place 30 years ago the Air India bombing, which killed 329 people and was the worst terrorist attack in Canada's history, would have been prevented.

    Chris Wattie / Reuters

    C-51 does many things, from outlawing propaganda that promotes terrorism, to expanding the amount of time a person can be held behind bars without charges, to giving spies the power to directly intervene in possible terrorism plots.

    One thing it does is allow 17 government agencies to share an individual's private information amongst themselves if that person is deemed a threat to national security. It's a controversial measure. The government says it a necessary modernization while privacy advocates have argued this is an over-reach that will lead to sensitive information being inappropriately passed around.

    Young said this would have prevented Air India. She said Canada's spy agency CSIS knew about there was a bomb on the plane but wasn't allowed to tell the RCMP, who could take the bomb off:

    “If Bill C-51 had been in place 30 years ago Air India would never have happened. Those some 400 lives would have been saved. And that is because CSIS knew or heard that there was a bomb onboard this plane. But because of the strict laws government department departments have they cannot share information between departments," she said.

    “Because they couldn’t share that information with the RCMP, the RCMP could not act to take that bomb off that plane. Today with C-51 they will be able to share that information.”

    Young's account is inaccurate in several ways.

    Via en.wikipedia.org

    In fact, when CSIS was created in 1984 it was specifically mandated to share information with the RCMP. The two agencies signed an agreement wherein CSIS promised to share, either voluntarily or when asked, "information concerning any threat to the security of Canada" that would be relevant to the duties of the RCMP.

    Both CSIS and the RCMP knew of threats before the Air India bombing — though not that there was a bomb on that specific plane — and had taken steps to prevent such an attack. However, many of those steps were not followed and communication between the agencies fell apart. An inquiry concluded in 2010 found "inexcusable" mistakes and a "cascading series of errors" occurred.

    Young's Christian beliefs have popped up previously in the House of Commons. In 2012 during a debate over a sex exhibit at a Canadian museum, Young castigated a younger NDP MP for not being a mother. She later apologized.