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Gender is part of the Equality program. You can find more information about it on its main program page. |
Gender
By Communications on May 21, 2013
An Update on The Ashley Smith Inquest The inquest into the death of Ashley Smith continued this past week with testimony from health care employees who were employed at Joliette Institution in Quebec during her two short periods of incarceration there, a number of whom injected Ms. Smith with anti-psychotic medication without her consent. Video evidence which shows Ms. Smith being injected five times during a seven hour period on July 22, 2007 while restrained to a gurney as she is surrounded by guards in riot gear was also introduced. Since the beginning of the inquest into the young woman’s death in custody, the five person jury have heard testimony from front line correctional officers and health care professionals regarding Ms. Smith’s treatment throughout her eleven and a half months in federal corrections. Ms. Smith was transferred 17 times over her eleven and a half months in federal custody, spending time in correctional and psychiatric facilities run by or on contract with the Correctional Service of Canada. Throughout her custody in both the youth and adult correctional systems, she remained largely on segregation status (solitary confinement) with little or no opportunity for meaningful human contact. Jurors have heard evidence that Ms. Smith’s behaviour demonstrated many of the harmful effects documented in studies on prolonged solitary confinement. Extensive evidence was introduced regarding two alleged assaults perpetrated against Ms. Smith by correctional staff during her time at the Regional Psychiatric Centre (RPC) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A number of staff members, including Ms. Smith’s treating psychiatrist and the lead investigator into the incidents, noted their concerns that Ms. Smith would be subject to retaliation in response to the allegations. Shortly after the incident she was transferred out of RPC. Ms. Smith’s experience in the corrections system raises a number of serious civil liberties issues, including questions regarding the use of solitary confinement in modern penal systems, and the role that meaningful and transparent oversight mechanisms should play to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of inmates. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is participating in the inquest as a party to address these and other key civil liberties concerns and to ensure that there is a full public accounting of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Smith’s death and that meaningful recommendations for change in the Canadian corrections system are made. The inquest will continue until June 27th and will break in July and August for a summer recess period. Please stay tuned for further updates regarding the inquest on our website. CCLA is represented at the Inquest by Allison Thornton of Koch Thornton LLP. The inquest is open to the public and proceedings of the inquest are being broadcast live via webcam and are available at the following link. Click here to read more about our past work on this issue For media inquiries, please contact:Allison Thornton, special counsel for CCLA at the Inquest, a partner at Koch Thornton LLP email: allison.thornton@ktbarristers.com phone: 416-216-0225 (In the alternative, please contact Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Director of CCLA’s Equality Program, at mendelsohnaviv@ccla.org or 647-780-9802)
By Sukanya Pillay on March 25, 2013
This morning in Geneva, CCLA addressed State Delegations at a pre-session of the Universal Periodic Review (“UPR”), organized by the organization UPR-Info. CCLA’s intervention was to update States on our concerns about Canada’s ongoing human rights record, in anticipation of Canada’s Second Universal Periodic Review. Canada, like all member States of the United Nations, participates in the Universal Periodic Review process, in which States make recommendations to each other on steps to further adherence to international law commitments, and the State Under Review (in this case, Canada) has the option to “accept” or “reject” recommendations, and to undertake “voluntary commitments”. The purpose of the 2nd UPR of Canada incorporates examining progress on Canada’s commitments made during the first UPR in 2009. Nathalie Des Rosiers, CCLA General Counsel and Executive Director, addressed the State delegations this morning on behalf of CCLA. She was part of a delegation of Canadian NGOs who took the floor during the Pre-Session this morning. Later in the day, CCLA participated in a “working lunch” at the Canadian Permanent Mission to the UN, with other Canadian NGOs. To read CCLA’s statement to the UPR Pre-Session click here: STATEMENT OF CCLA – UPR 2013 Pre-Session For background information on the upcoming Second UPR of Canada click here: http://ccla.org/2012/10/09/ccla-submits-ngo-report-regarding-2nd-universal-periodic-review-of-canada/. To read a copy of CCLA’s WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS to the UPR Process please click here: click here.
By Communications on March 13, 2013
The inquest into the death of Ashley Smith continued last week with testimony from a psychologist who worked with Ms. Smith at the Nova Institute for Women in Truro, Nova Scotia, during her two periods of incarceration there. Since the beginning of the inquest into the young woman’s death in custody, the five person jury have heard testimony from a number of correctional officers who worked directly with Ms. Smith and who were present the day she died. The jury has also heard testimony from Coralee Smith, Ms. Smith’s mother, who spoke of the anguish of losing her daughter and of the many financial, bureaucratic and logistical barriers she faced in attempting to maintain contact with her daughter during her incarceration. Ms. Smith was transferred 17 times over her eleven and a half months in federal custody and spent the majority of her custody in the youth and adult correctional systems in solitary confinement. Jurors have also heard evidence that Ms. Smith’s behaviour demonstrated many of the harmful effects documented in studies on prolonged solitary confinement. Ms. Smith’s experience in the corrections system raise a number of serious civil liberties issues, including questions regarding the use of solitary confinement in modern penal systems, and the role that meaningful and transparent oversight mechanisms should play to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of inmates. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is participating in the inquest as a party to address these and other key civil liberties concerns and to ensure that there is a full public accounting of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Smith’s death and that meaningful recommendations for change in the Canadian corrections system are made. CCLA has experience in advocating for adequate oversight of government and authorities, and accountability mechanisms, to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people, including the right to life. The inquest will resume on March 25th. Please stay tuned for further updates regarding the inquest on our website. CCLA is represented at the Inquest by Allison Thornton of Koch Thornton LLP. The inquest is open to the public and proceedings of the inquest are being broadcast live via webcam and are available at the following link. Click here to read more about our past work on this issue For media inquiries, please contact:Allison Thornton, special counsel for CCLA at the Inquest, a partner at Koch Thornton LLP email: allison.thornton@ktbarristers.com phone: 416-216-0225 (In the alternative, please contact Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Director of CCLA’s Equality Program, at mendelsohnaviv@ccla.org or 647-780-9802)
By Communications on January 21, 2013
The coroner’s inquest into the death of Ashley Smith resumed in Toronto on Monday January 14th, 2013. An earlier inquest was discontinued after the retirement of the first coroner. Ashley Smith died tragically at the age of 19 inside her cell at Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, after spending many months in segregation (solitary confinement). At the age of 13, Ms. Smith became involved with the youth criminal justice system. Prior to her death, she spent time in a number of federal and provincial correctional facilities and struggled with mental health issues while in jail. The young woman died after tying a ligature around her neck while guards, instructed not to intervene before she stopped breathing, watched. Public inquests are held when an inmate dies in custody and serve two important functions: to determine the facts surrounding an inmate’s death and, where possible, to prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is participating in the inquest as a party in order to ensure that there is a full public accounting of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Smith’s death. CCLA also has experience in ensuring that adequate oversight of government and authorities, and accountability mechanisms are in place to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people, including the right to life. Meaningful and transparent oversight is essential to ensure that prisons operate within the law. Please stay tuned for further updates regarding the inquest on our website. CCLA is represented at the Inquest by Allison Thornton of Koch Thornton LLP. The proceedings of the inquest are being broadcast live via webcam and are available at the following link: http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/DeathInvestigations/office_coroner/PublicInquest/OCC_inquest_stream.html Click here to read more about our past work on this issue. For media inquiries, please contact: Allison Thornton, special counsel for CCLA at the Inquest, a partner at Koch Thornton LLP email: allison.thornton@ktbarristers.com phone: 416-216-0225 (In the alternative, please contact Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Director of CCLA’s Equality Program, at mendelsohnaviv@ccla.org or 647-780-9802)
By Cara Zwibel on December 20, 2012
The Supreme Court has rendered its decision in the case of R. v. N.S., which considered whether a sexual assault complainant could testify in Court while wearing a niqab for religious reasons. One of the accused in the case argued that the niqab could not be worn as this would affect the ability of his lawyer to effectively cross-examine the complainant and impair the ability of the judge (and/or jury) to assess her credibility by observing her demeanour. The CCLA intervened in the case to argue that freedom of religion must be respected and that, where there is a conflict between this freedom and an accused’s right to a fair trial, these rights must be reconciled. However, CCLA’s submissions noted our ongoing concerns about the use and value of demeanour as an indicator of credibility and stated that allowing a witness to testify in accordance with her religious convictions promotes trial fairness. A majority of the Supreme Court has agreed that the religious rights of the complainant must be reconciled with the accused’s right to a fair trial. The decision provides a number of considerations that will be relevant to determining how this reconciliation can be achieved on a case-by-case basis, including the nature of the evidence the witness is expected to give and how crucial it is to the case. While we are pleased that the majority of the Court recognized the importance of reconciling rights, it remains to be seen how the decision will be applied in practice. It is likely that there will be very few cases where this issue will arise, but we are concerned that, when it does, individuals may be forced to choose between accessing the justice system and staying true to their religious convictions. The dissenting reasons of Justice Abella provide greater protection for freedom of religion, recognizing that while it is easier to assess demeanour if a witness’ face is not covered, there are many other indicators of demeanour that are not affected by the niqab. Absent a case where a witness’ face is at issue in the case (for example, when there is a question of identity), Justice Abella would not require a witness to remove her niqab in order to testify.
By Dora Chan on July 3, 2012
On Friday, June 29th, CCLA was proud to join the trans community and its allies in Toronto for the Trans March and Rally. As Toronto Pride describes it, the trans spectrum “refers to anyone whose gender identities do not match the bodies they were born with.” Since 2009, the Trans March and Rally has provided a safe space for people to gather in solidarity and stand up for trans rights. The crowd gathered for the Trans Rally was so big that it was spilling out of Norman Jewison Parkette and onto the surrounding streets. A decade ago, it would have been unimaginable to have a gathering of such size assembled in support of the Trans community, and yet on Friday the crowd was easily in the hundreds. It was a joy to see such a diverse group – the full spectrum of sexualities, genders, skin colours, ages, physical abilities and cultural backgrounds – there to celebrate the freedom to live, love, and be true to yourself.
By Communications on March 26, 2012
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association generally supports the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal. The CCLA believes the decision goes some way towards making the lives of prostitutes safer. Specifically, CCLA agrees with the decision to strike down the common bawdy house provision. The evidence before the Court of Appeal was clear that persons engaged in prostitution are safer working indoors than on the street. CCLA also generally agrees with the Court of Appeal’s decision to read into the living on the avails provision an exception for non-exploitative commercial relationships between prostitutes and bodyguards, drivers and other persons who could assist prostitutes to remain safer. However, CCLA agrees with the minority decision of Justices MacPherson and Cronk that equality values should inform the analysis of gross disproportionality with respect to the communicating provisions. CCLA strongly supports the view that persons, especially vulnerable persons who face pre-existing disadvantages, should be able to protect themselves. This is especially true of street-based prostitutes who the minority recognized have “very few alternative means of protecting themsevlves” from violence (para. 360). The safety of especially vulnerable persons engaged in prostitution greatly outweighs the government’s objective of limiting social nuisance. Finally, CCLA is pleased that the Court of Appeal accepted its submission that in the case of legislation which interferes with a person’s life, liberty or security of the person, there is no need to prove causation directly. That is, the applicant need not show that the impugned law directly caused the harm to the applicant’s life, liberty or security of the person.
By Noa Mendelsohn Aviv on November 18, 2011
CCLA has written to the Minister of Health of Prince Edward Island expressing concern about the lack of abortion services in the province. In its letter to the Minister, CCLA urges him to reassess the lack of access in light of the actual costs involved and the impact on girls and women who need this service. CCLA also urges the Minister to remove the procedural barrier facing girls and women who seek funding for out-of-province abortion – the requirement of doctors’ referrals. To read CCLA’s letter to the PEI Minister of Health, click here.
By Noa Mendelsohn Aviv on December 16, 2010
A private member’s bill aimed at creating a new offence around abortion (the crime of “coercion”) was defeated at second reading on December 15, 2010. The Bill was defeated by a vote of 178 against to 97 in favour. The Bill would have criminalized the act of “coercing” or attempting to “coerce” a female person into getting an abortion.
By Cara Zwibel on June 8, 2010
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association will present arguments before the Ontario Court of Appeal regarding whether a Muslim woman, who is a complainant in a sexual assault case, must remove her niqab in order to testify. A niqab is a garment, often worn for religious reasons, that covers the facial features below the eyes. Although the right to a fair trial is a fundamental right which the CCLA supports vigorously, it does not usually encompass permitting a defendant to prescribe how a witness may be dressed, seated or made comfortable in the context of trial proceedings. Scientific evidence indicates that facial cues are unreliable predictors of credibility – particularly in the context of cultural differences. CCLA will argue that, absent objective threats to fair trial rights, individuals should not be required to choose between following their religious beliefs, and accessing justice. |
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