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Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s hallmark anti-terror bill was passed by a distracted Senate Tuesday.

As members of the red chamber grappled with the fallout from a scathing audit report into their expenses, they nonetheless found time to push through Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act.

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The omnibus bill expands the mandate and power of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS); criminalizes promoting and advocating terrorism; and requires airlines to help stop extremists from flying to overseas battle zones.

It also allows more than 100 departments and federal agencies to share Canadians’ personal information more easily and makes it simpler for police to arrest and detain individuals without charge as suspected national security threats, among other measures.

“This legislation demonstrates our government’s leadership in the global fight against terrorism,” said Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney in a statement.

The bill is a centrepiece in the government’s attempts to deal with the threat of terrorism, and was pushed through in the final weeks before Parliament is set to rise for the summer. Late Tuesday, it awaited royal assent.

An election will be held in the fall.