| Freedom of Assembly is part of the Fundamental Freedoms program. You can find more information about it on its main program page. |
Freedom of Assembly
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
>> CCLA on Occupy:
By Communications on November 16, 2011
By Communications on November 15, 2011
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has been writing to mayors in cities across Canada to express its concerns about the management of the Occupy protests.
>> Read CCLA’s press release on Occupy >> Read our blog laying out our concerns with regards to threats of evictions
By Communications on November 11, 2011
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