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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 Canada
Post 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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- CCLA Position on Security Certificates
By Sukanya Pillay on February 22, 2012 February 2012
CCLA Concerned About Lack of Constitutional Safeguards in Security Certificate Process
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association continues to be concerned that Canada’s Security Certificate process unjustifiably impairs key constitutional rights, including due process and compliance with the principles of fundamental justice.
We are concerned that Named Individuals continue to be unaware of the full details of [...]
Category: Fair Trial and Due Process, National Security, National Security Privilege and Disclosure of Evidence, Torture - Why We Believe Torture Does Not Work
By Sukanya Pillay on February 8, 2012 The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is very concerned by reports that Public Safety Minister Victor Toews approves the use, by CSIS, of information procured by torture.
Reportedly, the Minister said that CSIS may “share the most complete information available at the time with relevant authorities including information based on intelligence provided by foreign agencies that may [...]
Category: National Security, News Highlights, Torture - 5 Trends to Watch in 2012
By Communications on December 31, 2011 The Canadian Civil Liberties Association looks ahead to the issues that Canadians will face in 2012:
1. The Cybersurveillance Bill
The government has promised that it will re-introduce its lawful access legislation without any major changes. Previous versions of these bills gave law enforcement more powers [...]
Category: Equality, Fundamental Freedoms, National Security, News Highlights, Public Safety
Features & Multimedia
Op-ed: Let’s Renew Our Commitment to Civil Liberties
This op-ed was originally published on September 6, 2011 on Canada.com
Canadians have an opportunity to reflect on how the 9/11 terrorist attacks ten years ago, changed our country.
Prior to the attacks, we demonstrated a high level of commitment to certain core values — rule of law, due process, equality, habeas corpus, presumption of innocence, and [...]
CCLA on The Agenda – Securing Cyberspace
Last week, we invited you to sign a petition to ask the government to not pass legislation that would severely weaken Canadians’ online privacy, legislation that every single provincial privacy commissioner has stepped up to criticize this legislation. On Friday, CCLA’s Sukanya Pillay participated in The Agenda, on TVO, to discuss cybersecurity. You can [...]
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