| Freedom of Assembly is part of the Fundamental Freedoms program. You can find more information about it on its main program page. |
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Freedom of Assembly
By Communications on May 16, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CCLA Demands Accountability for G20 Rights Violations in light of Scathing OIPRD Report into G20 Police ConductCalls for Immediate Action from Chief, Police Services BoardTORONTO, May 16 2012 – The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) today released its systemic review into policing during the 2010 Toronto G20. The Report confirms the position that Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has held from the outset: that mass violations of fundamental rights occurred throughout the downtown Toronto core over the G20 weekend. These rights violations were the result of systemic planning and training failures leading up to the G20, and specific orders and statements made by senior commanding officers during that weekend. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association calls on the Ontario government and police services to commit to a full and immediate implementation of the OIPRD recommendations, issue an unconditional apology, proactively pursue disciplinary measures for officers implicated in misconduct, and pursue criminal charges where appropriate. The Chief and the police services board need to take action against senior command officers responsible for the decisions that violated the civil liberties of hundreds of Canadians on June 26th and 27th. CCLA continues to believe that, given the severity of the rights violations that occurred on the G20 weekend, full political and police accountability is vital to rebuilding public trust in law enforcement and democratic institutions. “We know what happened during the G20. We know that there were rights violations on a massive scale. What we need now is accountability,” said Abby Deshman, Public Safety Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “Transparency without accountability is unacceptable. We have multiple reports documenting in detail massive rights violations over that weekend. The individuals who were in charge need to accept responsibility and be held accountable. The Toronto Chief of Police needs to acknowledge what has happened, and apologize. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association calls on all police services to proactively pursue meaningful disciplinary measures for all officers implicated in misconduct that weekend. The Chief and the police services board need to take action against senior command officers responsible for the decisions that violated the civil liberties of hundreds of Canadians on June 26th and 27th.” -30-
By Communications on May 16, 2012
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has written to the Mayor of Montreal, and to city councillors, to express its concerns regarding the City of Montreal’s proposed adoption of amendments to a bylaw that would make it illegal to wear a mask during a public demonstration, and that would require demonstrators to provide prior notification to police authorities of their meeting place and route.
By sheetal on April 19, 2012
The CCLA has written a letter to the Université du Québec en Outaouais to communicate our concerns related to the arrest of Professor Thibault Martin earlier this week, and to invite the University to do everything in its power to ensure that charges brought against faculty and student participants in peaceful protests be dropped. The CCLA believes that universities have a positive obligation to protect freedom of expression, which includes facilitating its exercise and minimizing any possible impediment to it. Read a CTV News article about the issue here.
By sheetal on April 17, 2012
CCLA has written to Western University to express concern over its apparent banning of two community members from campus. Media reports suggest that two London protestors have been banned from the university campus for one year for “participating in a prohibited activity” – that is, attending a protest on campus that was peaceful, but was not “approved.” CCLA is concerned that Western unduly limits the ability to protest on its premises, and is punishing individuals and denying them access to the campus on the basis of participation in a peaceful protest. Especially concerning is that one individual may have been acting in a journalistic capacity at the time. A fundamental role of universities is to provide settings in which ideas and opinions can be freely expressed in order to further public discourse, not to limit it. In exercising their power to deny entry to campus, universities should be guided by principles of fairness, due process, and the protection of fundamental liberties, including freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and the press. Read CCLA’s letter to the President of Western University here.
By Cara Zwibel on January 20, 2012
The UN’s Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association has invited countries, national human rights institutions and NGOs to complete a questionnaire on best practices in the protection of freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The CCLA has submitted a response to the questionnaire that aims to address the positive protections that exist in Canada and also highlight concerns around instances where these freedoms are not adequately protected. Concerns around the Toronto G20 and the use of municipal by-laws to evict Occupy protestors from public spaces are noted in the CCLA’s response. Read the CCLA’s response to the Special Rapporteur’s questionnaire here.
By Communications on January 16, 2012
By Cara Zwibel on December 16, 2011
On November 10, 2011 some students at McGill University occupied an administration building and a larger protest took place outside the building on campus. Riot police were called to the scene and dispersed the crowd using pepper spray. There are also allegations that protesters and passersby were struck with batons. Student protests have long been an important part of a variety of social movements and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly on campus are core values that should be protected and defended by all members of a university community. The presence of riot police on a university campus is particularly concerning and the events leading up to this presence, as well as police conduct on campus, should be thoroughly investigated. CCLA has written to McGill’s Principal expressing concerns about the manner in which the protest was handled and urged the Principal to make a complaint to the Police Ethics Commissioner so that the actions of thep olice can be appropriately investigated and addressed. Read the CCLA’s letter here.
By Communications on November 25, 2011
In the late night/pre-dawn and throughout the day of November 23, 2011, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association had teams of independent monitors on hand at St. James Park, Toronto, to witness the ‘eviction’ of Occupy Toronto. CCLA Monitors observed mostly professional conduct on the part of Toronto Police both before and during the clearing of the Occupy structures. Although Monitors were not able to witness all interactions between protesters and law enforcement, based on first hand but limited CCLA observations, the eviction appears to have been a done generally in compliance with legal safeguards. In its intervention in the injunction heard before Justice Brown last week, CCLA argued for a positive duty on the part of municipalities to facilitate and accommodate various forms of protests and to find practical solutions to reconciling the multiple interests involved without curtailing completely the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. CCLA continues to monitor the situation in other cities across Canada.
By Communications on November 18, 2011
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