National Security
“On the one hand stands the manifest evil of terrorism and the random and arbitrary taking of innocent lives, rippling out in an ever-widening spiral of loss and fear. Governments, expressing the will of the governed, need the legal tools to meet this challenge.On the other hand stands the need to ensure that those legal tools do not undermine the values that are fundamental to our democratic society — liberty, the rule of law, and the principles of fundamental justice — values that lie at the heart of the Canadian constitutional order and the international instruments Canada has signed. In the end, it would be a Pyrrhic victory if terrorism were defeated at the cost of sacrificing our commitment to those values. Parliament’s challenge is to draft laws that effectively combat terrorism and conform to the requirements of our Constitution and our international commitments.” R. v. Suresh, (2002), Supreme Court of CanadaPost 9/11 national security measures have resulted in complicity in torture, arbitrary and indefinite detentions, secret evidence, racial profiling, and denial of due process and fair trial rights. These measures violate our Constitution and Canada’s international legal obligations. CCLA calls for national security measures which comply with our Charter and international law, upholding our commitments to human dignity, life, liberty, the rule of law and fundamental justice. Through litigation and advocacy, CCLA works for accountability and compliance with Canada’s legal obligations. The key issues in our national security work are:
- Privacy & National Security
- Fair Trial & Due Process
- Absolute Prohibition Against Torture
- Security Certificates
>> Read CCLA’s Afghan detainees case fact sheet |
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- Surveillance Methods Cannot Compromise Fundamental Rights
By Sukanya Pillay on June 11, 2013 Recent reports of access to mass amounts of personal information via metadata obtained from telecommunications service providers are of serious concern to CCLA.
This week reports emerged that the Canadian Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), the agency responsible for gathering signals intelligence, has been involved in procuring metadata, following on the heels of reports last week that [...]
Category: National Security, News Highlights, Privacy, Privacy and National Security, Public Safety - LIVE BLOG: From local to international, Challenging Canada’s human rights record at the UN
By Dora Chan on April 29, 2013 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.
Category: Activities, Charter Rights, Discrimination, Equality, Multimedia and Features, National Security, News Highlights, Public Safety - Canada’s Universal Periodic Review
By Cara Zwibel on April 25, 2013 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 [...]
Category: Activities, Announcements, National Security, News Highlights, Op-Ed
Features & Multimedia
Canada’s Universal Periodic Review
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 [...]
AUDIO: CCLA’s NGO Report To The UN For Canada’s 2nd UPR Review
CCLA’s Sukanya Pillay, Director of the National Security Program, speaks to RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda about CCLA’s recent report to the UN – the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant workers, the right to peaceful protest, and the number of Aboriginal women in Canadian prisons, are some of the issues raised by CCLA as part [...]
CCLA Holds Conference Assessing Global Counter-Terror Initiatives
On Friday, October 19th, 2012, nearly 100 attendees gathered at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law for a one day symposium entitled “The Social Cost of National Security: Assessing the Impact of Global Counter-Terror Initiatives on Canadian Society”. The conference was a partnership between the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Arab Institute [...]
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