Hundreds of Canadian artists warned in an open letter this week that the country’s recently passed anti-terrorism law has a “chill” effect and “directly attacks the creative arts and free expression.”

The signatories include author Margaret Atwood, musician Raffi, and filmmaker Paul Haggis.

The bill, C-51, passed in June, and has been criticized for its vast expansion of powers to spy agencies without accountability, and the BC Civil Liberties Association denounced it as “representing[ing] a massive threat to the freedoms of Canadians, without making us any safer,” adding that it “violates key constitutional rights.”

“This bill was rammed through Parliament by the Harper Conservative government, despite a huge public outcry and without due consultation,” the letter states. “As many experts have pointed out, this bill allows the government to silence dissenting voices without oversight or accountability. It criminalizes ‘advocating or promoting the commission of terrorism offences in general,’ which, because of this vague wording, could be interpreted in some very stupid ways. In effect, it gives the government carte blanche to suppress any voice they don’t like,” the authors write in their letter.

They ask if it constitutes “terrorism” if they

• write a spy novel about an assassination plot?
• record a song questioning our government’s agenda?
• paint a mural about the conflict in Syria?
• produce a documentary on security threats in Canada?
• put on an art show critical of the oil sands?
• make a film with an environmental theme?

David Christopher writes at Ricochet Media that the letter “is sure to remind voters of just what’s at stake over the coming weeks. Our core democratic principles are under threat, and only a complete repeal of this irresponsible bill can safeguard our rights and freedoms.”

Commenting on the massive public outcry the bill has sparked and how it’s an issue in the election next month, Christopher continued, “Tens of thousands have taken part in nationwide rallies, with thousands more writing to their MPs, senators, and local newspapers. Months after C-51 was forced through Parliament, it’s now become a major election issue. Finally, on Oct. 19, every Canadian voter will now have a chance to deliver a decisive verdict on the bill.”

The open letter appears in full below:

Dear Party Leaders,

We are Canadian artists. We have been blessed to be part of a country that does not send poets to gulags, that does not behead people for saying things a government considers critical of it, and that does not murder dissidents and journalists wholesale.

But we know that totalitarian and repressive regimes always try to shut down artists, along with any other independent voices. We are alert to the possibilities: we, and all who wish a free and open society, must strongly oppose such tendencies when they arise.