This June, we will be marking one year since the G20 summit took place in downtown Toronto. One year since we witnessed the biggest mass arrest in Canadian peacetime history and widespread violations of civil liberties and fundamental freedoms. As you know, we have been working hard on this issue, in terms of bringing political and police accountability, and in ensuring that this never happens again.
CCLA will be marking the anniversary throughout the week of June 20th. In particular, I’d like to draw your attention to three special events that week:
- Celebrating Canada – Fundraising gala – June 21st
- G20: Lessons Learned, Message Lost – A Public Forum – June 23rd
- G20 Redux – Rally in Queen’s Park – June 25th
You’ll find some details below, but stay tuned for announcements!
We’re continuing our work in other areas, too, including monitoring the proposed North American security perimeter, which we have mentioned to you before. We’re also busy tracking the new legislative initiatives put forward by the government, and familiarizing ourselves with their agenda and priorities.We’re also participating in the inquest into the Ashley Smith case that involves the death of young woman while incarcerated and raises general issues about treatment of mentally ill persons in jail. We are providing regular updates via our website. Make sure you visit www.ccla.org as well as our social media sites for regular updates!
As always, thank you for your support
Nathalie Des Rosiers
General Counsel
In this issue:
- Celebrating Canada
- G20 events in June
- Coming Soon: Sweeping Crime Legislation
- North-American Security Perimeter Update: Submit Your Concerns!
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Click images to view full-size The Canadian Civil Liberties Association believes that Canadian freedom is worth celebrating. What better way than honouring individuals whose achievements make our democracy more vibrant,rich, and diverse? On June 21st, CCLA will be hosting an exclusive event to celebrate Canadian freedom and excellence. Each table of guests will be headed by one of our honourees, including filmmaker Deepa Mehta, journalist Steve Paikin, Olympic medalist Joannie Rochette, and advocates such as the President of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Roberta Jamieson and Amnesty Canada Secretary-General Alex Neve. |
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Coming soon: Sweeping crime legislation |
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| During the recent general election campaign, the Conservative party pledged that it would introduce multi-pronged omnibus crime legislation if it formed a majority government. Consistent with this promise, the newly formed government is now poised to table such legislation shortly after the next session of Parliament begins in early June. This omnibus crime bill will reportedly bundle together at least 11 pieces of legislation which the previous minority government had not succeeded in passing due to a lack of support from opposition parties.
Many of the criminal law reforms expected in the omnibus legislation raise significant civil liberties issues. Notably, new mandatory minimum sentences will be proposed for several offences, including some drug offences. This inflexible approach to sentencing has long been opposed by the CCLA, due to its tendency to result in injustices and undermine the individualized assessment of moral blameworthiness that is at the root of our criminal justice system . An expansion of police search and seizure powers in relation to internet and other electronic communications is also expected. These “cyber surveillance” powers will make it easy for police to obtain without warrant subscriber’s internet protocol addresses and will ease the requirements to obtain a warrant for certain electronic communications records. Canadians should be concerned about the privacy implications of these reforms The CCLA will be actively responding to the many civil liberties issues that this sweeping legislation will raise as it moves through the legislative process. |
| North American Security Perimeter Update – Submit your concerns! | |
| Canada-US plans for a North American Security Perimeter are moving forward. Both countries have appointed members to a Working Group, whose mandate includes drafting an “Action Plan” on implementation. The Working Group is currently seeking public input to produce an Action Plan by the fall 2011.
CCLA met with the Working Group on May 13th, 2011, and we share with you a summary of that meeting. The Working Group explained the Security Perimeter has “four pillars”: (i) early screening for threats; (ii) promoting economic growth and trade; (iii) integrated law enforcement and border security, and (iv) critical infrastructure and cyber-surveillance. CCLA highlighted some of its main concerns. These include ensuring that the privacy rights of Canadians are protected, particularly in the context of the proposed “sharing and pooling” of information with US and foreign agencies. CCLA is asking for procedural guarantees and transparent processes for the “early screening” of individuals and effective appeal measures for people who believe they are wrongly identified as a threat. In addition, there must be appropriate procedural safeguards for the identification of “approved travellers” in order to prevent discrimination. The CCLA stated the importance of ensuring that Charter rights are upheld in all arrangements affecting Canadians. CCLA will be providing written comments to the Working Group by June 3rd, 2011. CCLA General Counsel Nathalie Des Rosiers, plans to meet with the Canadian members of the Working Group in Ottawa, in June, to discuss CCLA’s concerns. CCLA encourages you, members of the public, to express any concerns you have about the Security Perimeter, directly to the Working Group as soon as possible (the last day to submit your concerns is June 3rd) By email: rcc-ccr@tbs-sct.gc.ca The CCLA believes that the Security Perimeter raises serious issues that will affect the daily lives of Canadians. We encourage to share your questions and concerns with the Working Group, so that Canadian voices are heard on these issues. The CCLA will continue to monitor the developments of the Security Perimeter, and will take every possible opportunity to ensure that the civil liberties of Canadians are protected. |
