Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Press Release: CCLA to Address Toronto Catholic District School Board on Proposed Motion to Ban Gay-Straight Alliances in Schools

Dora Chan — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:48:04 +0000

Media contact: Noa Mendelsohn Aviv 647-780-9802 mendelsohnaviv@ccla.org www.ccla.org

Canadian Civil Liberties Association to Address Toronto Catholic District School Board on Proposed Motion to Ban Gay-Straight Alliances in Schools

MAY 23, 2013 – The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will address the Toronto Catholic District School Board this evening expressing its concerns regarding a motion by Trustee Garry Tanuan proposing to ban [...]

Update on the Ashley Smith Inquest – May 2013

Communications — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:16:48 +0000

Ashley Smith died tragically at the age of 19 inside her prison cell after tying a ligature around her neck, while prison guards – instructed not to intervene before she stopped breathing – watched. This took place in 2007 at Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener. There is an inquest into her death. Public [...]

May 2013 E-bulletin

Dora Chan — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:50:39 +0000

Dear CCLA supporters,

Welcome to the May edition of the CCLA e-bulletin. In this month’s edition, we first want to invite you to our Celebrating Canada Gala on May 29th in Toronto where we will celebrate the courage of Canadians who stand for civil liberties. It is our main fundraising event. Please come with your friends [...]

LIVE BLOG: From local to international, Challenging Canada’s human rights record at the UN

Dora Chan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:57:59 +0000

Can’t make it to our “From Local to International: Challenging Canada’s Human Rights Record at the UN” event? We’ll be live blogging the event today – check it out below! More information about the event can be found here, and more info about CCLA’s submissions to the UPR Process can be found here.

Canada’s Universal Periodic Review

Cara Zwibel — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:37:16 +0000

On April 26 Canada will undergo its second Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a unique global accountability process that allows all members of the UN Human Rights Council to review Canada’s compliance with international human rights law. CCLA believes this is an important process and was pleased to participate in a pre-session with states allowing us [...]

CASE FOR EXCEPTIONAL TERRORISM PROVISIONS REMAINS UNCONVINCING

Sukanya Pillay — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:34:51 +0000

Yesterday the Government resumed debate about reinstating two sunsetted provisions relating to preventive arrest and investigative hearings — which are included in Bill S7 (Combatting Terrorism Act).

CCLA is supportive of the Government’s legal duty to take every lawful measure to protect Canadians from the threat of terrorism — but we are not supportive of Bill S7. In [...]

CCLA Supports Repeal of Controversial Montreal Protest Bylaw

Cara Zwibel — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:23:50 +0000

CCLA has written to Montreal Councillor Alex Norris who planned to introduce a motion to repeal Montreal’s controversial bylaw: P-6. The bylaw requires individuals to provide prior notice to police of their meeting places and demonstration itineraries regardless of the size of the planned protest and without making any exceptions for spontaneous assemblies. The bylaw [...]

CCLA before Supreme Court to promote meaningful police accountability and oversight

Abby Deshman — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:48:15 +0000

The CCLA is before the Supreme Court today, arguing that police officers involved in an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) into the use of force resulting in death or serious injury to a civilian are not entitled to the assistance of legal counsel in the preparation of their duty notes of the incident. [...]

Toronto Event: FROM LOCAL TO INTERNATIONAL Challenging Canada’s Human Rights Record At the UN

Dora Chan — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:59:40 +0000

The United Nations Human Rights Council is now conducting its comprehensive review of Canada’s compliance with international human rights laws – its Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

A delegation of Canadian civil society groups was in Geneva last month, March 2013, to attend a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council – to tell the Council the [...]

Supreme Court ruling reinforces integrity of police complaint system, civil claims

Abby Deshman — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:20:17 +0000

The Supreme Court has released its decision in Penner v. NRPSB, a case that examined whether a finding by the police complaints system can effectively terminate an ongoing or subsequent civil action. The Supreme Court affirmed that, due significant differences between the two legal procedures, it would be a “serious affront to basic principles of [...]