Canadian Civil Liberties Association » Liberty and Due Process

CCLA before Ontario Court of Appeal on police background checks, fairness and presumption of innocence

Abby Deshman — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:26:48 +0000

On Tuesday May 15 the CCLA will appear before the Ontario Court of Appeal in J.N. v. Durham Regional Police Service, a case that will examine the procedural protections and constitutional rights owed to individuals with non-conviction records that are retained and disclosed by local police forces. Read the CCLA’s factum.

Police run hundreds of thousands – [...]

CCLA intervenes at Ontario Court of Appeal to argue for effective access to medical marijuana

Abby Deshman — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:45:13 +0000

CCLA appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal in R. v. Mernagh to argue that the government must ensure that ill patients who would benefit from the use of marijuana for medical purposes have practical access to the drug.

The government’s current regulatory regime, set out under the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations, allows ill Canadian [...]

A one-day Symposium on Prison Crowding and its Implications for Human Rights

Communications — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:06:49 +0000

The John Howard Society of Canada

In collaboration with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Centre for Global Challenges, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, and the National Associations Active in Criminal Justice

Presents

A one-day Symposium on Prison Crowding and its Implications for Human Rights

Objective: [...]

Racial Profiling – CCLA Calls on Police to Prohibit Unwarranted Stops and Questioning

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:50:18 +0000

At Thursday’s meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board, CCLA’s Equality Program Director Noa Mendelsohn Aviv addressed the Board over the documented practice of racial profiling by the police. CCLA’s submissions expressed concern not just with “carding” – the recording of names and identities of black male youth – but also with unwarranted stops by [...]

Supreme Court Rules on Fairness in Aboriginal Sentencing

Abby Deshman — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:02:29 +0000

On March 22nd, the Supreme Court released their decision in R. v. Ladue (read the decision here), a case about sentencing Aboriginal offenders (read CCLA’s factum here). Over a decade ago, the Supreme Court recognized that racism against Aboriginal people within Canada had “translated into systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system,” with the result [...]

Media Advisory: Human Rights Groups Protest Draconian Refugee Bill

Dora Chan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:59:38 +0000

TORONTO March 15, 2012 - In response to Bill C-31 – an act that would penalize refugees, undermine Canada’s refugee claim process, and could lead to the deportation of permanent residents – several prominent human rights organizations have come together to call for the withdrawal of this bill.

The newly formed Justice for Refugees and Immigrants Coalition is comprised [...]

CCLA to appear before Supreme Court in jury-vetting cases

Abby Deshman — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:41:07 +0000

Between 2006 and 2009 about one third of Ontario Crown offices asked police to conduct background checks on potential jurors by searching confidential police databases. Often the information they obtained was used to inform the prosecution’s jury selections and was not disclosed to defence counsel. In a 2009 report the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner [...]

CCLA applauds repeal of Public Works Protection Act, calls for government apology for G20 ‘secret powers’

Abby Deshman — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:04:36 +0000

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association applauds the government’s repeal of the Public Works Protection Act (PWPA), the Second World War-era law used to drastically curtail individuals’ civil liberties during the Toronto G20 Summit, and welcomes the limited scope of the intended replacement legislation. The CCLA was involved in consultations with the Ministry of Community Safety [...]

CCLA appears before Senate on C10, the Omnibus Crime Bill

Abby Deshman — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:36:24 +0000

CCLA’s general counsel Nathalie Des Rosiers testifies before the Senate Committee considering Bill C10, the omnibus crime bill. Listen to the hearings live on Thursday February 16, 2012, from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm EST. Links to archived video will be posted as soon as it is available. Find out more background on [...]

Supreme Court to Consider Issue of Niqab in the Courtroom

Cara Zwibel — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:20:52 +0000

The Supreme Court of Canada will consider an appeal which looks at the issue of whether a sexual assault complainant may testify in Court while wearing a niqab for religious reasons. The case, on appeal from the Ontario Court of Appeal, arose when one of the defendants in a sexual assault case claimed that his [...]