Dear friends of CCLA,

The G20 summit served as a reminder of the fragility of civil liberties. With the largest mass arrest in Canadian history, it demands answers. Below, you will be able to read about our continuing efforts to obtain these answers.

I would also like to use this opportunity to invite you to “Who Belongs”, our conference on discrimination on the basis of immigration status in Canada. Finally, we provide you with an update on the Khadr case and our current work on police records.

We hope you will find this issue of the e-bulletin informative and useful. As usual, we welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Thank you for your support.

Nathalie Des Rosiers

CCLA General Counsel

Who Belongs: Rights, Benefits, Obligations and Immigration Status

The CCLA, in conjunction with the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, will be a hosting a conference September 23-25, 2010 at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. The conference addresses issues of discrimination on the basis of immigration status in a number of areas including employment, access to social benefits, relationship to the criminal justice system, and opportunities for political participation. This event will be of interest to members of the public as well as lawyers and community advocates. Conference speakers include those who work on the front lines with immigrant communities on a daily basis. The conference is part of the CCLA’s larger project, funded in part by the Maytree Foundation, to examine discrimination against immigrants in Canadian society. Read more.

G20 Follow-up

After incidents of vandalism occurred during the afternoon of Saturday June 26th during the Toronto G-20 summit,  civil rights  were systematically undermined: peaceful protests were disrupted, illegal searches were conducted and 1105 people were arrested, including peaceful protesters, journalists, human rights monitors and passersby.

It was as though acts of vandalism were all it took to suspend constitutional rights in Canada.  It was indeed a very sad weekend for civil liberties. CCLA had been instrumental in bringing media attention to the secret designation of the security perimeter under the Public Works Protection Act, done in order to give more powers to the police. CCLA  also drew attention to the civil rights violations that occurred during the weekend and published “Breach of the Peace”, a preliminary report of the findings of its human rights monitoring program on Tuesday June 28th.

Four weeks later, much work remains to be done:

• CCLA has filed 83 complaints to the Ontario Office of the Independent Police Review Director which has agreed to do a systemic review;
• An independent inquiry has been demanded by many groups; read Nathalie Des Rosiers’ op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette and Prism Magazine. The Toronto Star also ran an op-ed by A. Alan Borovoy, CCLA General Counsel Emeritus.
• Avenues for compensation for people illegally arrested or searched are being investigated as well.

We welcome your comments and will keep you abreast of developments.

Omar Kadhr

On July 5th, 2010, the Federal Court ruled that Canada failed to provide Omar Khadr with an appropriate remedy for the breach of his Charter rights, following the January 2010 Supreme Court of Canada decision.  The Supreme Court of Canada had ruled that Mr. Khadr’s Charter rights were breached when Canadian officials interrogated him when he was a minor at Guantanamo Bay, knowing he was subject to “improper treatment” and facing serious charges. The Supreme Court held that Mr. Khadr is entitled to a remedy for breach of his Charter rights, but stopped short of prescribing a remedy, finding that the government could devise the appropriate remedy.

Six months later, since Canada still had not been able to provide an adequate remedy for the violation of Mr. Khadr’s constitutional rights, Justice Zinn of the Federal Court found that Canada’s efforts had fallen  short and ordered Canada to provide a list of potential remedies, until a suitable remedy is found or all remedies are exhausted. Justice Zinn also reserved the right of the Federal Court to impose an appropriate remedy.  Canada announced it will be appealing the decision of Justice Zinn.

In the meantime, Omar Khadr will stand trial before a US Military Commission.  Pre-trial proceedings are scheduled to resume August 9th, 2010.  Mr. Khadr will be represented by US Military Commission-appointed lawyer, Lieutenant  Colonel Jackson.  Omar Khadr may be the first child soldier ever tried in the U.S.  In Canada, CCLA will continue to pressure the  federal government to obey the court’s ruling.  Seven levels of Canadian courts have now found that the Canadian government has breached Mr. Khadr’s rights.

Dear friends of CCLA,

The G20 summit served as a reminder of the fragility of civil liberties. With the largest mass arrest in Canadian history, it demands answers. Below, you will be able to read about our continuing efforts to obtain these answers.

I would also like to use this opportunity to invite you to “Who Belongs”, our conference on discrimination on the basis of immigration status in Canada. Finally, we provide you with an update on the Khadr case and our current work on police records.

We hope you will find this issue of the e-bulletin informative and useful. As usual, we welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Thank you for your support.

Nathalie Des Rosiers

CCLA General Counsel

Who Belongs: Rights, Benefits, Obligations and Immigration Status

The CCLA, in conjunction with the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, will be a hosting a conference September 23-25, 2010 at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. The conference addresses issues of discrimination on the basis of immigration status in a number of areas including employment, access to social benefits, relationship to the criminal justice system, and opportunities for political participation. This event will be of interest to members of the public as well as lawyers and community advocates. Conference speakers include those who work on the front lines with immigrant communities on a daily basis. The conference is part of the CCLA’s larger project, funded in part by the Maytree Foundation, to examine discrimination against immigrants in Canadian society. Read more.

G20 Follow-up

After incidents of vandalism occurred during the afternoon of Saturday June 26th during the Toronto G-20 summit,  civil rights  were systematically undermined: peaceful protests were disrupted, illegal searches were conducted and 1105 people were arrested, including peaceful protesters, journalists, human rights monitors and passersby.

It was as though acts of vandalism were all it took to suspend constitutional rights in Canada.  It was indeed a very sad weekend for civil liberties. CCLA had been instrumental in bringing media attention to the secret designation of the security perimeter under the Public Works Protection Act, done in order to give more powers to the police. CCLA  also drew attention to the civil rights violations that occurred during the weekend and published “Breach of the Peace”, a preliminary report of the findings of its human rights monitoring program on Tuesday June 28th.

Four weeks later, much work remains to be done:

• CCLA has filed 83 complaints to the Ontario Office of the Independent Police Review Director which has agreed to do a systemic review;
• An independent inquiry has been demanded by many groups; read Nathalie Des Rosiers’ op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette and Prism Magazine. The Toronto Star also ran an op-ed by A. Alan Borovoy, CCLA General Counsel Emeritus.
• Avenues for compensation for people illegally arrested or searched are being investigated as well.

We welcome your comments and will keep you abreast of developments.

Omar Kadhr

On July 5th, 2010, the Federal Court ruled that Canada failed to provide Omar Khadr with an appropriate remedy for the breach of his Charter rights, following the January 2010 Supreme Court of Canada decision.  The Supreme Court of Canada had ruled that Mr. Khadr’s Charter rights were breached when Canadian officials interrogated him when he was a minor at Guantanamo Bay, knowing he was subject to “improper treatment” and facing serious charges. The Supreme Court held that Mr. Khadr is entitled to a remedy for breach of his Charter rights, but stopped short of prescribing a remedy, finding that the government could devise the appropriate remedy.

Six months later, since Canada still had not been able to provide an adequate remedy for the violation of Mr. Khadr’s constitutional rights, Justice Zinn of the Federal Court found that Canada’s efforts had fallen  short and ordered Canada to provide a list of potential remedies, until a suitable remedy is found or all remedies are exhausted. Justice Zinn also reserved the right of the Federal Court to impose an appropriate remedy.  Canada announced it will be appealing the decision of Justice Zinn.

In the meantime, Omar Khadr will stand trial before a US Military Commission.  Pre-trial proceedings are scheduled to resume August 9th, 2010.  Mr. Khadr will be represented by US Military Commission-appointed lawyer, Lieutenant  Colonel Jackson.  Omar Khadr may be the first child soldier ever tried in the U.S.  In Canada, CCLA will continue to pressure the  federal government to obey the court’s ruling.  Seven levels of Canadian courts have now found that the Canadian government has breached Mr. Khadr’s rights.