4 news February 29, 2012 - Over the Hdge INTERNET ACTIVISTS TARGET CANADIAN LEGISLATION Internet group Anonymous targets Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR he growing popularity and influence of hacker-activism has recently shown itself in Canadian politics. The hacker group Anonymous, whose supporters are known to show up in videos wearing Guy Fawkes masks and speak in ro- botic like voice overs, is spear head- ing an attack on the Canadian Bill C-30. The bill would allow police access to citizens’ computer or cell phone data without a warrant. Police officials claim the bill is meant to modernize police efforts against or- ganized crime and child pornography rings, but opposition suggest the bill would only build a state surveillance system in Canadian internet usage. Anonymous has taken action by targeting the bills main proponent Vic Toews, Canadian Public Safety Minister. Anonymous claimed to be giving Toews a taste of his own medi- cine when they created a twitter ac- count and blasted tweets concerning the details of his messy divorce and past political actions. One such tweet reads, “Over the last four years Vic has spent $6,622,502 of your money through his Minister’s Office Budget. #c30 #victoews #tellviceverything”. The group also posted a video to Anonymous at Scientology in Los Angeles YouTube in which they further chas- tise Toews. “Hello Mr. Toews,” the video begins.“We are Anonymous. we warned you not to force your ab- horrent spying legislation onto the Canadian people. You did not heed our warnings. Now you will be ex- posed for the hypocrite that you are: A man who believes registering a lethal weapon is an unfair invasion of privacy, but demands that the public’s information be logged for use by the authorities.” The group continues to person- ally attack Toews and continues, “a Comparing Canadian tuition rates globally Another look at Canadian Tuition HANNA PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR tudent tuition fees are a pain S for everyone. It can be hard for all students to make ends meet with the rising cost of living. But how bad is Canada? When Canada is com- pared to other countries tuition fees, a Canadian education seems like a steal. At UBC, for example, inter- man who declared marriage and the family to be sacred institutions, but commits adultery and impregnates his mistress, and then abandons his own child....A man as deceitful as yourself is bound to have many skeletons in his closet. Some of these have already been brought to light, and we have no doubt that this is only the tip of the iceberg rest assured, Anonymous will not allow a politician who allows his citizens no secrets to have any secrets of his own.” The twitter account has been deleted, and the original video had also been deleted but it has since national student fees can range up to $22,000 a year which is five time as much as domestic students pay, and yet it is still cheaper for some inter- national students to pursue their edu- cation in Canada. Not only is a Can- adian education cheaper as compared to post-secondary education in other countries (most notably the US, the UK, and Japan), but the education at Canadian publicly funded schools has continually been deemed excellent. Canada spends more than $20,000 a year on each post-secondary stu- dent which is 50% above the OECD average ranking us third among per- student expenditures, right after the U.S. and Switzerland. Government funding is the reason why a Canadian education is relatively affordable. Financial Programs such as the Can- ada Grant Program and Federal and Provincial Student Loans also assist accessibility for students in pursu- ing their post-secondary educations. The answer to American University accessibility is a hierarchy of prices ranging from Ivy league and expen- sive Liberal Arts colleges down to the cheaper state schools and commun- been re-uploaded by another user. Anonymous has been stirring up attention long before it tumed its eyes up north. Anonymous is essentially a decentralized online community act- ing anonymously in a coordinated manner. While the group has since be- come increasingly associated with in- ternet activism often undertaking pro- tests in retaliation against anti-digital piracy campaigns. In mid January when Megaupload.com, the one of the biggest file sharing sites, was taken down by U.S. officials and it’s founders arrested Anonymous retali- ity colleges. However, a hierarchy of Universities arranged along price points can also lead to a hierarchy of quality. Does the undergrad. attending a $50,000 a year Liberal Arts College get the same education as an under- grad at a state school? However, just because the Can- adian system may be more accessible than other systems does not mean it is not without its own flaws. While Canadians should be thankful they do not have to cough up as much as their American friends for a year of school, Canadian funding has nevertheless been slipping and tuition rising. In British Columbia tuition for domes- ated by briefly disabling several U.S. websites including the White House, FBI, Department of Justice, and others associated with Warner Music and Universal Music. Anonymous has also gained attention for intercepting a phone call between the FBI and Scotland Yard. The attack on Bill C-30 has been dubbed Operation White North by the group. While the RCMP have been asked to investigate threats against Toews, the bill has so far been sent to an all party committee for review. The bill may remain in limbo for awhile, but Anonymous will not give up cam- paigning for internet freedom anytime soon. They end their video against Toews by saying “Your actions will not stand. You cannot run. You cannot hide. For every one of us you arrest or imprison, a dozen more will emerge to take their place. You have under- estimated the power of the internet in the hands of the people. Tyrants have once again created the weapons of their own destruction. You will pry the internet, our most valued and precious weapon against oppression, from our cold dead hands.” tic students rose by 174 percent from $1,808 in 1990 to $4,960 in 2006. While this was not the highest hike during this time period among the provinces, B.C. has seen the most dra- matic increase in the last five years. The average fee has increased 96 percent, according to CBC’s Canada wide look at Student fees, which eas- ily out numbers all other provinces. Fees for International Students in the 1990-2006 period rose 676 percent from $1,891 to upwards of $14,681. Even though Canadian education is more accessible than most post- secondary systems there is still a cor- relation between family income and university participation rates. People from the top quarter of the income distribution are roughly twice as like- ly to go to university as those from the bottom quarter. Thus, while tu- ition rates and accessibility may look good on paper or compared to other systems, Canadian funding is still not without its flaws. It may be cheaper for American’s or Brits to come here, but it’s nowhere near an ideal.