Passing it means 'death of freedom' writes Green leader Elizabeth May, 10 February 2015, TheTyee.ca

I remember the events of Oct. 22. While I was in lock-down on Parliament Hill, I remember who hid in a closet and who ran toward gun fire. The guy in the closet is now planning to concentrate the powers of the state in his own hands while converting the Canadian spy agency into a secret police with virtually unlimited powers.

Packing so many attacks on nature into one bill, Harper bets, will confuse citizens. Here's what's at stake. 10 May 2012, TheTyee.ca

Usually when the Harper Conservatives bring in a new law, there is a big roll-out. The prime minister or one of his heavy-hitters goes to a prime location, usually not Parliament Hill. A factory or a mall or a friendly backyard. Tens of thousands are routinely spent on a "branding" of the new act. There are banners and public relations firms to design the whole package.

Unlike the laws I used to study in law school, laws with names that sound like statutes, Stephen Harper's proposed legislation must go through focus group testing for the most "election-ready" phrasing.