Canadian Civil Liberties Association » National Security

Watch Canada Live Before the UN CAT

Sukanya Pillay — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:36:46 +0000

On Monday May 21, 2012 and Tuesday May 22, 2012, Canada will be appearing before the UN Committee Against Torture. Canada will engage in a constructive dialogue with Committee Members, regarding Canada’s implementation of, and compliance with, the UN Convention Against Torture.

To watch Canada’s appearance before the UN Committee Against Torture LIVE click here http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/

Canada [...]

CCLA Appears Before UN Committee Against Torture

Sukanya Pillay — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:55:59 +0000

Geneva:

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association today made a presentation to members of the UN Committee Against Torture, at the United Nations Palais Wilson in Geneva. The Committee is comprised of ten legal experts from around the world, charged with overseeing how State Parties implement the Convention at home.

CCLA presented highlights from our report to [...]

Happy Birthday Charter of Rights and Freedoms!

Communications — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:06:25 +0000

“There is a song by Jean-Pierre Ferland that romanticizes that it is at 30 that women are beautiful. Before, so the rhyming goes, women are only pretty. Is the Charter beautiful at 30? Has its features grown harmoniously? Does it project an air of maturity without cynicism or a sense of capabilities without [...]

CCLA Applauds Canada’s Actions Seeking to Stop Execution of Canadian Citizen in Iran

Sukanya Pillay — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:12:37 +0000

Canada has publicly urged Iran not to execute 44 year-old Canadian-Iranian Hamid Ghassemi-Shall. Mr. Ghassemi-Shall is being held in the notorious Evin prison. While on a family visit to Iran in 2008, he was arrested by Iranian authorities and accused of being a spy. Since then, Mr. Ghassemi-Shall has been imprisoned and unable to return [...]

CCLA Condemns Condoning Torture: i.e. Before or After it Happens

Sukanya Pillay — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:36:53 +0000

The Canadian Press recently published a document obtained through an access to information request. The document is a Directive to CSIS, from the Minister of Public Safety, dated July 28, 2011, and deals with torture.

The Directive, entitled “Information Sharing with Foreign Entities”, essentially permits two types of information sharing:

(1) CSIS is permitted in certain circumstances to share [...]

CCLA Position on Security Certificates

Sukanya Pillay — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:53:04 +0000

CCLA Concerned About Lack of Constitutional Safeguards in Security Certificate Process

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association continues to be concerned that Canada’s Security Certificate process unjustifiably impairs key constitutional rights, including due process and compliance with the principles of fundamental justice.

We are concerned that Named Individuals continue to be unaware of the full details of the [...]

Why We Believe Torture Does Not Work

Sukanya Pillay — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:40:56 +0000

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is very concerned by reports that Public Safety Minister Victor Toews approves the use, by CSIS, of information procured by torture.

Reportedly, the Minister said that CSIS may “share the most complete information available at the time with relevant authorities including information based on intelligence provided by foreign agencies that may [...]

5 Trends to Watch in 2012

Communications — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:35:18 +0000

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association looks ahead to the issues that Canadians will face in 2012:

1. The Cybersurveillance Bill

The government has promised that it will re-introduce its lawful access legislation without any major changes. Previous versions of these bills gave law enforcement more powers [...]

Press Release: CCLA Reacts To Canada-U.S. Border Deal Statement; Concerned About Implications For Privacy Rights

Communications — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:53:54 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE