September was a busy month for CCLA and for its education programs through the Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust (CCLET). We launched a YouTube awareness campaign on the mandatory detention for certain groups of refugees claimants proposed by the government (Bill C-4), intervened in several high profile cases discussed below, and today we’re celebrating a victory at the Supreme Court of Canada.
We continue to need your support whether you can help us financially or through volunteering, by bringing issues to our attention and advocating for civil liberties and human rights in your own communities.
Thank you and stay in touch,
Nathalie Des Rosiers
In this issue:
- CCLA Reacts to the Omnibus Safe Streets & Communities Act
- Stop Bill C-4: CCLA Launches New Advocacy Campaign to Defeat “Anti-Smuggling” Bill
- RightsWatch 2011: CCLA’s Annual Conference to Be Held in Calgary October 21-23
- CCLA at the Supreme Court of Canada in Hate Speech Case
- CCLA Writes to the MNDMF Concerning KI Aboriginal Community’s Burial and Sacred Sites
- Osgoode Hall Law School Hosts Conference on Law and Ethics in Journalism
CCLA Reacts to the Omnibus Safe Streets & Communities Act
On September 20, Justice Minister Robert Nicholson tabled the Safe Streets and Communities Act, which bundles nine pieces of legislation from past sessions of Parliament together into a single omnibus bill. In the CCLA’s view, while the bill proposes some innocuous changes, it also has the potential to seriously undermine the Canadian criminal law system. Besides minimum prison sentences for minor marijuana offences, it diminishes significantly the ability of our criminal justice system to tailor punishment to the crime and to the offender. In our view, the criminal justice system will be less transparent, more rigid and complex and less likely to rehabilitate offenders if the Safe Streets and Communities Act becomes law.
The CCLA has asked to be heard at the Parliamentary Committee and will submit a series of proposed targeted amendment to minimize the potential for abuses. In particular, the CCLA will ask for changes to the list of aggravating factors which currently have the potential to disparately impact already-marginalized communities. CCLA’s submissions to the Parliamentary Committee will be posted on the website.
In the news
>> Critics Tough on Tory Crime Bill (Global News, September 20)
>> Harper Gov. Tables Comprehensive Crime Bill (National Post, September 20)
>> The cost of one Conservative Crime Bill for One Year: $458-million (Globe & Mail, September 28)
Stop Bill C-4: CCLA Launches New Advocacy Campaign To Defeat “Anti-Smuggling” Bill
Bill C-4 may well be Canada’s next dark chapter – one of those harmful situations which will lead future Canadians to apologize, pay reparations, and wonder at how this could have happened in our free and democratic society.
Bill C-4 creates mandatory imprisonment for certain groups of refugees (regardless of age, gender ). The length of detention without the opportunity to be heard by an impartial body would be at least 12 months. And for those whose refugee status is accepted, they must then begin a five year wait before seeking permanent residence status, travel papers, and family reunification. It creates a second class of refugee claimants completely at the Minister’s discretion.
In other words, some of the real effects of Bill C-4, if passed into law, would be to punish and lock up men, women and children who may have already suffered persecution; and to keep them separate from parents and children for many years.
The provisions of Bill C-4 are on their face unconstitutional . Its provisions also violate Canada’s international legal obligations. Nonetheless, and despite objections by many critics, the government is pressing ahead to pass this bill. Even as we speak C-4 is on the order paper for debates, at the conclusion of which it may well pass its second reading in our House of Commons.
The bill would then have to go to a committee and pass third reading and the Senate before becoming law. CCLA has already requested to appear at the committee and will continue to oppose the bill every step of the way. We will also continue to join with its many opponents in bringing its devastating effects to the attention of all Canadians.
>>To learn more about the bill and take action, go to: www.ccla.org/stop-c4
RightsWatch 2011: CCLA’s Annual Conference To Be Held In Calgary October 21 – 23
CCLA is pleased to announce its third annual RightsWatch Conference, to be held this year in Calgary, Alberta from October 21-23, 2011. The RightsWatch Conference will bring together law students, lawyers, and others interested in civil liberties issues for an exciting and dynamic event. This year CCLA is honoured to have Mr. Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court of Canada as our keynote speaker.
Justice Binnie will be speaking to the conference on Friday, October 21 at a cocktail reception at historic Lougheed House. On Saturday, October 22, conference participants will hear from experts on a variety of topical civil liberties issues including public order policing, free speech on campus, temporary foreign workers, mental health in prisons and selected privacy topics. Finally, on Sunday, October 23, students selected by Pro Bono Students Canada for the CCLA-PBSC RightsWatch Blog Project will receive training and an introduction to legal topics relevant to blogging including privacy, copyright and defamation. 
The RightsWatch Conference is open to the public and you can learn more about it and how to register at ccla.org/events/rightswatch2011/. General registration is only $50.00. Students and CCLA members can attend for only $20.00. Registration costs cover welcome reception, breakfast, lunch and refreshments during the conference, conference materials and access to all sessions. We hope to see you there!
CCLA at the Supreme Court of Canada in Hate Speech Case
On October 12, 2011 CCLA will intervene at the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v. William Whatcott. Mr. Whatcott distributed flyers which were seen by some as promoting hatred against homosexuals. As a result, he was the subject of a complaint to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. Mr. Whatcott argues that his flyers are protected by freedom of expression and freedom of religion. While the CCLA strongly disagrees with the content of Mr. Whatcott’s flyers, it will intervene at the Supreme Court to support freedom of expression and argue that the hate speech provisions of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code violate the Charter’s protection of freedom of expression. The CCLA believes that polemical statements of opinion, some of which may be offensive, are part of the protection for free speech. The best response to hateful speech is to denounce and counter it, not ban it. CCLA thanks Andrew Lokan and Jodi Martin of Paliare Roland Rosenberg and Rothstein who are representing CCLA in the case.
CCLA will also be intervening in two other hate speech cases in the coming months, one in the Federal Court of Canada and another in the Alberta Court of Appeal.
CCLA Writes to the MNDMF Concerning KI Aboriginal Community’s Burial and Sacred Sites
The CCLA has written to the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF) regarding a potential threat to traditional aboriginal burial sites and sacred lands that has resulted from a proposed mining and development project. In its letter, CCLA reminded the Minister of certain implications of Canada’s constitutional protection for freedom of religion, including the right to define the scope and manner of expression of spirituality, subject to reasonable limits. CCLA’s letter also sets out certain rights protected at international law, including the right of Indigenous peoples to maintain and protect manifestations of their cultures, including historical sites; and the right to access in privacy religious and cultural sites. To read a copy of CCLA’s letter, click here.
Osgoode Hall Law School Hosts Conference on Law and Ethics in Journalism
Original program featuring leading investigative journalists, media lawyers and academics from Canada, the US and the UK.
- Are bloggers and tweeters “journalists”?
- Global warming or chill in defamation law?
- Are ethical standards enough to hold the media accountable?
- How far should we go to protect confidential sources?
- How effective is access to information?
8 am to 4:30 pm, Friday October 14 – more details and registration here.
