OpenMedia.ca has launched a citizen-made online video educating Canadians about the true cost of the government’s online spying legislation C-30 and the threat it poses to personal privacy.

If passed, Bill C-30 will force Canadians to pay for a range of authorities to invasively access their private data, at any time, without a warrant.

Despite media coverage suggesting Bill C-30 has been shelved, last week, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews proclaimed that the government is still “intent on proceeding” with its unpopular, warrantless online spying bill. It has also been revealed that Toews has quietly set aside millions in taxpayer dollars to pay for this costly online spying plan (see links below for details).

“It’s amazing that despite unprecedented public outcry, Toews is pushing forward with the government’s costly and invasive online spying plan. Canadians will not be satisfied until the Minister commits to removing warrantless access to private information or to pulling the legislation altogether,” says OpenMedia.ca Executive Director, Steve Anderson.

Over 135,000 people have signed OpenMedia’s StopSpying.ca petition and tens of thousands have joined the conversation through the Twitter hashtag #TellVicEverything.

Micheal Vonn, Policy Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, says: “Canadians know that the fight is on for a free Internet and citizens have drawn a line in the sand at the proposal to turn our everyday systems of communication into a giant surveillance dragnet.”

OpenMedia.ca invites Canadians to share the video at: http://openmedia.ca/stand

Media outlets and citizens are free to download and use the video as they wish. The video can be downloaded at: http://openmedia.ca/sites/openmedia.ca/files/SOS-Stand_PSA.mp4