Post-9/11 security measures have sparked fears that the West is violating the very civil rights it strives to protect. Debates centre on the United States, but how have the politics of security influenced the commitment to freedom in other liberal democracies? Addressing security certificates to the war in Afghanistan to the detainment of Abdullah Almalki, Colleen Bell’s wide-ranging analysis demonstrates that Canada’s counter-terrorism practices are not a departure from liberal governance but rather a reconfiguration of its structures with an emphasis on security. She traces how the logic and practices of security are increasingly coming to define our rights and freedoms.