Since February 2012, CCLA has been monitoring a freedom of expression case out of New Brunswick, in which a local blogger, Charles Leblanc, had been charged with criminal libel under Section 301, a contentious provision of the Criminal Code, for comments he made about a Fredericton police officer. CCLA wrote to the Fredericton police chief several times over the course of the past few months to express its concern about the use of a provision of the Criminal Code that has been found unconstitutional in several jurisdictions.
Watch Nathalie Des Rosiers, CCLA General Counsel, speak about concerns regarding lawful access legislation, as part of a project is a response to the serious threats to privacy, free speech and civil liberties raised by proposed lawful access legislation. To understand what is at stake in this invasive and costly bill, the (un)lawful access project brings together Canada’s leading privacy and surveillance experts offer their analysis in the hopes of stirring debate on these critical issues.
To coincide with the opening of Parliament, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has launched a photo-advocacy campaign to help spread the word and attempt to stop Bill C-4.
Bill C-4 would amend Canada’s immigration and refugee law. The government is trying to pass this bill into law, which could lead to gross civil liberties and human rights violations against people coming to this country.
People who have suffered the traumas of war, persecution or torture could arrive in Canada and be subjected to detention and discrimination at the hands of Canadian officials. Innocent people could be locked up for months – including children, seniors and people with disabilities.
In September 2010, CCLA hosted a major international conference to explore discrimination and immigration status in Canadian society. The two-day conference at the University Toronto examined variety of issues including the rights of migrant workers, immigrants and political participation, access to social services and health care, and the intersection of criminal law and immigration law. The videos below allow you to access every session of the conference in full.
The UN Resolution 1267 seeks to fight terrorism – specifically Al Qaida and the Taliban. It uses sanctions targeting individuals, which are meant to stifle terrorism financing and mobility, and as such, place people on an international no-fly list, freeze their assets, and make it a crime for anyone to assist them in travel or financing. For years the process has been denounced as Kafkaesque because targeted persons had no way of knowing how they got on the list, and it remains very difficult to get off the list. Following intense pressures that highlighted the intense lack of due process, the Security Council has agreed to appoint an Ombudsperson, Canadian Kimberly Prost.
We were absolutely delighted that she could come to Toronto to exchange with Canadian, American and European practitioners as she begins her mandate. The tensions arising out of the mandate were well discussed during the meeting: will she be able to get the information she needs from governments? Will her recommendations be accepted by the Security Council? Will people affected finally have some justice? A lot is riding on Kim Prost’s shoulders: certainly the fate of the thousands on the UN Resolution 1267 list whose assets are frozen and are unable to work , but also the human rights credibility of the Security Council. Listen to her description of the challenges ahead:
Alan Borovoy, who was the general counsel for CCLA from 1964 to 2009, discusses the October Crisis and the invocation of the War Measures Act. What happened during Canada’s constitutional crisis? How did the Canadian Civil Liberties Association react at the time? What were the consequences for the country? In a fascinating interview, Borovoy talks about his personal memories of the time and how his organization was at the forefront of preserving Canadians’ civil liberties.
Graeme Norton, CCLA’s Public Safety Project director, attended a meeting held by the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) on Tuesday, September 14. During this public meeting, the TPSB announced the terms of reference for the independent reviewer to be appointed by the Board to lead their inquiry into what went wrong during the G20 weekend. Norton says that “the terms of reference as set out by the Board are very broad. They will allow whoever is chosen as the independent reviewer for this process to have a great deal of leeway to conduct this investigation as they see fit. From the CCLA’s perspective, this is a good thing, because from the outset we do not know what may or may not be discovered, and the process may need to evolve as it unfolds. It’s important that the person in charge of the process has the authority to pursue whatever avenues he or she believes need to be pursued.”
Norton added that, given it limited mandate, “the independent civilian review by the TPSB will, however, not accomplish what needs to be accomplished in the wake of the G20.” The inquiry will probe and review the actions of the Toronto Police and the Board, but will not look at any other government agencies at the provincial or federal levels.
“It has been and continues to be the CCLA’s position that a full-blown federal public inquiry is necessary to probe and further unpack exactly what happened during the G20, and to ensure that, in the future, events of this nature and magnitude are dealt with in a fashion that is more respectful of civil liberties.”
