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COVID-19 Updates

Stay up to date with all the latest work that CCLA is doing to monitor the response to COVID-19, ensuring it’s based on science and is not unnecessarily intrusive to our liberties.

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COVID Related Resources

We have compiled and produced reports, guides, and other resources to help you stay informed about COVID’s impact on your civil liberties.

Our Recent COVID Related Cases

View our latest work and activity.

Latest COVID-19 Updates and Briefs

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CCLA Granted Leave to Challenge Arbitrary Travel Restrictions Before the SCC

Arbitrary travel restrictions infringe on the mobility rights of Canadians. CCLA’s challenge of Newfoundland government’s…
April 26, 2024

Decision in Taylor v. Newfoundland Case

On May 11, 2020, CCLA sent a letter to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador…
August 17, 2023

Prison Pandemic Papers Documenting Impact of COVID-19 in Jails, Prisons & Penitentiaries Across Canada Launched

Today, the Prison Pandemic Papers were launched online, making available previously unpublished government records.
March 8, 2022

CCLA Reaction to the Revocation of the Declaration of Emergency

We welcome the government’s decision to revoke the proclamation of emergency – it is overdue.…
February 23, 2022

CCLA Reaction to Vote in the House

Abby Deshman, Director of Criminal Justice for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association made the following…
February 22, 2022

CCLA Will Fight Invocation of Emergencies Act in Court

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) announced today that it will pursue litigation to challenge…
February 17, 2022

Remarks From the Emergencies Act Press Release of February 2022

This week, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act – an extreme law that has…
February 17, 2022

CCLA Statement on the Emergencies Act

The Emergencies Act can only be invoked, according to its own terms, when a situation…
February 15, 2022

CCLA’s Statement on Quebec’s Tax Proposal

Cara Zwibel, Director of Fundamental Freedoms and acting General Counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties…
January 12, 2022

CCLA to Premier Legault: End the Curfew

The CCLA has written to Quebec’s Premier, Francois Legault, urging him to reconsider and rescind…
January 12, 2022

CCLA to Minister: Choosing not to be vaccinated should not disentitle you from employment insurance

CCLA has written to Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, urging…
November 2, 2021

Fear, Loathing and the Law: Pushing the Limits of Legislating “Good” Behaviour

CCLA Essay by Cara Zwibel, Director of Fundamental Freedoms and Brenda McPhail, Director of Privacy…
September 20, 2021
COVID Vaccine Passport

FAQ: Vaccine Passports

The lines are being drawn between those who support and oppose some version of a…
August 17, 2021

CCLA Responds to Toronto Ombudsman Report, Calls for Amnesty for Unfair COVID Tickets

Our two co-authored reports on COVID-19 and law enforcement, Stay off the Grass (June 2020)…
July 30, 2021

CCLA Seeks to Appeal Nova Scotia Anti-Protest Injunction

While the injunction is no longer in force in the province, we remain concerned about…
July 19, 2021

Statement on Toronto Ombudsman’s Report

This report is a robust affirmation of the issues we have been raising since the…
July 9, 2021

Ontario Government Agrees to Human Rights Groups’ Demands to End Police Access to COVID Database

June 28, 2021

Nova Scotia Attempting to Avoid Public Scrutiny

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is concerned the Government of Nova Scotia is attempting…
June 24, 2021

Reaction To New Vaccine Passport ‘Benefits’

As Manitoba announces new “benefits” to be conferred on the fully vaccinated, the questions we…
June 24, 2021

Letter to Manitoba re: Vaccine Passports

We are writing regarding the Manitoba government’s plan to provide individuals with proof of vaccination…
June 17, 2021

Letter to Nunavut re: Travel and Self-Isolation Requirements

At the outset of the pandemic, when much was unknown, governments took a number of…
June 7, 2021

City of Toronto Progress Reports on Homeless Shelters

Weekly Progress Reports, published by the City of Toronto, detailing the capacity, occupancy, and other…
May 31, 2021

CCLA to Challenge Nova Scotia’s Protest Injunction

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
May 28, 2021

CCLA Taking Steps to Fight Nova Scotia’s Protest Injunction

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is taking steps to fight an injunction obtained by…
May 18, 2021

CCLA and PPMP Release New Report Examining Covid-19 Policing in the Second Wave

Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Policing the Pandemic Mapping Project released a new report…
May 11, 2021

Letter To NS re: Travel Restrictions

Nova Scotia’s current rules unreasonably restrict fundamental mobility rights invested in Canadian citizens and permanent…
May 11, 2021

Know Your Rights for Ontarians

Knowing your rights is an important tool to help you recognize when your rights have…
April 23, 2021

Update on CCLA’s Challenge to Ontario’s New Regulation

"We will take yes for an answer and put this legal challenge on pause, with…
April 17, 2021

CCLA to Challenge Ontario’s “Black Friday” Regulation

“We have today retained counsel and are preparing to go to court in the coming…
April 17, 2021

Letter to NB re: Travel Restrictions

In our view, New Brunswick's current rules unreasonably restrict mobility rights guaranteed to Canadians by…
April 8, 2021

Statement on Anti-Asian Racism

Misplaced fear and ignorance feeds racism, today and yesterday. Growing up in British Columbia, the…
April 6, 2021

Canadian Rights During COVID-19: Interim Report on COVID’s Second Wave

Who cares about laws and rights during a pandemic? We do at CCLA because the…
March 30, 2021

Premier Legault—It’s Time To Drop The Curfew

The CCLA is speaking out against Premier Legault’s unjust Quebec curfew.
March 23, 2021

CCLA and Partners Release Update on COVID-19 and Prison Settings

CCLA along with its organizational partners in the Prison Pandemic Partnership is calling upon federal,…
March 19, 2021

CCLA Calls Out Thunder Bay’s Unconstitutional COVID-19 Order

On February 8, 2021, Thunder Bay’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. DeMille, issued a Class…
March 8, 2021

Better Safe Than Sorry is the Motto of a Police State

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
February 19, 2021

Letter to Attorney General and Minister of Transportation re: Recently Imposed Travel Restrictions

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
February 8, 2021

Can an Employer Force an Employee to Get a COVID-19 Vaccination?

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
February 4, 2021

New Analysis of COVID-19 Infections Behind Bars Underscores the Need to Depopulate Prisons

CCLA, as part of its Prison Pandemic Partnership Project, is helping to track the spread…
February 3, 2021

National Coalition Calls on Government to Act to Protect Prisoners Against COVID-19

Yesterday, CCLA joined with a coalition of organizations to again call on the Canadian government…
January 21, 2021

CCLA on Ontario’s Stay-at-Home Order

“As the Ontario Government announced a 28-day stay-at-home order, what concerns us the most is…
January 14, 2021

CCLA Sounds Alarm as COVID in Prisons Reaches Unprecedented Levels

Preliminary findings released today by the Prison Pandemic Partnership, which includes the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, reveal…
January 12, 2021

CCLA Writes to David Lametti and Marc Garneau: Canadians Must be Allowed to Come Home

CCLA writing to the Government of Canada announcement of December 31, 2020 stating that, as…
January 6, 2021

Emergency Measures by Province

Public Health News in Canada: Issues and Updates
January 4, 2021

Public Health News: Emergency COVID Measures by Province

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has been granted permission to intervene in a case in…
January 4, 2021

CCLA Writes to BC Provincial Health Officer Regarding Religious Services

We are writing on behalf of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and the…
December 17, 2020

CCLA Debates Vaccine Passports on TVO.org: Our Letter that Sparked the Debate

We are writing you about the bad idea floated from an Ontario executive podium respecting…
December 14, 2020

Mandatory Vaccination Laws: What Laws?

The Charter of Rights would have something to say about a law mandating vaccinations, if…
December 10, 2020

Proof of Vaccination

Ontario’s health minister openly suggested that people who don’t have proof they’ve chosen to receive…
December 9, 2020

Ad Hoc Tribunals During Public Emergencies

We can be justifiably smug in Canada about our internationally renowned independent judiciary, in contrast…
December 4, 2020

BC Travel Restrictions Unconstitutional, No New Fines Needed

The Canadian and British Columbia Civil Liberties Associations are raising concerns about travel restrictions expected…
November 20, 2020

COVID-19 Fines Will Likely Make Pandemic Worse

On November 7, Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, held an unusual press…
November 20, 2020

A Civil Liberties Take on Canada’s Second Wave of COVID-19 Emergency Orders

During the first wave of COVID, we were quite critical of a number of the…
November 19, 2020

COVID Shines a Light on Need for Reform of Ontario’s Child Protection System

The pandemic has amplified many of the problems with our child protection system. There have…
November 19, 2020

Hybrid Classes Raise Privacy Risks

Our organization has received several calls from teachers in your Board expressing their feelings of…
November 18, 2020

CCLA Memorandum to Ministers Responsible for Human Rights

This memorandum sets forth the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s (CCLA) submissions for FPT Ministers responsible…
November 10, 2020

CCLA to NB: Do not Deny Students Access to Their Schools

Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) to object to the government’s unlawful treatment of students from…
November 10, 2020

Seeking Information About the Province’s Self-Isolation Order for Persons Entering Manitoba

The province of Manitoba currently has a self-isolation requirement for individuals entering the province from…
October 30, 2020

Why Mobility Rights Continue to Matter

Why we’re appealing the decision of the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court of a few…
October 28, 2020

Superior Court Rules that the City of Toronto failed to protect the homeless.

The Ontario Superior Court ruled that the City of Toronto failed to comply with a…
October 15, 2020

CCLA Says Governing by Press Release, Not by Law, is COVID Governance by Stealth

In a letter dated October 14, we wrote to the Attorney General of Ontario over…
October 14, 2020

Guess Who’s Coming to Thanksgiving Dinner, Quebec?

The Quebec government has put the police on the frontlines of the pandemic and placed…
October 12, 2020

Quebec Doubles Down on Its Punitive Approach to COVID

Quebec’s new COVID restrictions are simultaneously strict and bewildering. Millions of Quebeckers in the ‘red…
October 5, 2020

The City of Toronto Breached the Agreement to Protect Those Experiencing Homelessness

The City of Toronto breached the agreement to protect those experiencing homelessness, and we are…
September 30, 2020

Inaccurate, Unreliable, Dysfunctional: A Glimpse Into Ontario’s Now-Defunct COVID Database for Police

In the spring the Ontario government launched a database of COVID test results, with the…
September 30, 2020

City breached agreement to protect homeless

The City of Toronto is putting the lives of those experiencing homelessness as well as…
September 29, 2020

Statement to Select Special Public Health Act Review Committee, Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national, independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to furthering…
August 27, 2020

Ontario Government Revokes Emergency Order

The Ontario government has ended police access to a COVID-19 database after CCLA and partners…
August 17, 2020

Bill 195: Ontario’s Power Grab

The Ontario government is trying to end the legal state of emergency and simultaneously hold…
July 20, 2020

CCLA & Partners Launch Action to Stop Ontario Government’s Disclosure of COVID Status to Police

The CCLA has joined with Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS), the Black Legal Action Centre, and…
July 16, 2020

CCLA to Ontario MPPs: Resist the Premier’s Undemocratic Power Grab

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
July 10, 2020

Coalition Calls on Government to Release COVID Information on Ontario Jails

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
July 7, 2020

Homelessness Advocates Take City Back to Court over COVID-19 Shelter Crisis

Homelessness advocates are taking the City of Toronto back to court, to enforce the City’s…
July 6, 2020

Contact Tracing App in Canada: To Download or Not

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
July 3, 2020

On Mandatory Masks

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
June 26, 2020

Stay Off the Grass: COVID-19 and Law Enforcement in Canada

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting…
June 23, 2020

How Long Can We Live in a State of Emergency?

Some provinces and territories took longer than others to declare a legal emergency, begging the…
June 19, 2020

The Canadian Contact Tracing Experiment Begins

A social experiment in technologically-assisted tracking for public health purposes is about to being in…
June 18, 2020

CCLA Writes to YT: Mobility Rights and Travel to Yukon

We are writing you regarding the constitutionality and impact of the Border Control Measures (COVID-19)…
May 28, 2020

A Crisis is a Terrible Time to Legislate

There are two kinds of emergency management legislation: those legislated after a crisis is over,…
May 27, 2020

No Mask, No Service? Not so Fast.

When the Premier of Ontario was asked last week on a teleconference whether merchants can…
May 27, 2020

Privacy, Access to Information, and You: The COVID-19 Edition

As we flounder about looking for ways out of the COVID-19 climate of fear, and…
May 26, 2020

CCLA Writes to NU: Mobility Rights and Travel to Nunavut

Regarding mobility rights, pursuant to section 6(2) of the Charter, individuals may take up residence…
May 26, 2020

“Immunity Passports”: a New Journey to Inequality

As we flounder about looking for ways out of the COVID-19 climate of fear, and…
May 26, 2020

CCLA Writes to NWT: Mobility Rights and Travel to Northwest Territories

Regarding mobility rights, pursuant to section 6(2) of the Charter, individuals may take up residence…
May 26, 2020

CCLA In The Supreme Court: Mobility Rights

Originating Application Before The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador
May 22, 2020

There Are No Provincial Borders in Canada

The COVID19 provincial and territorial border closures are proving Mackenzie King’s truism that “Canada is…
May 21, 2020

CCLA and Coalition Partners Help Toronto’s Homeless Population

The City of Toronto has finally committed to enforceable physical distancing standards across its shelter…
May 19, 2020

CCLA Writes to PEI: Mobility Rights and Travel to PEI

Regarding mobility rights, pursuant to section 6(2) of the Charter, individuals may take up residence…
May 19, 2020

CCLA Writes to NB: Mobility Rights and Travel to New Brunswick

We are writing you regarding New Brunswick’s recently renewed and revised Mandatory Order related to…
May 15, 2020

CCLA Writes to NL: Reconsider Travel Ban and Bill 38

Pursuant to a Special Measure issued by the Chief Medical Officer of Health (Special Measures…
May 12, 2020

CCLA and Partners File Legal Case Against the Correctional Service of Canada

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and its coalition partners have filed a constitutional challenge to…
May 12, 2020

Promoting Health, Not Authoritarianism

Hundreds of epidemics have afflicted humankind. Few rivaled smallpox, which was easily spread and often…
May 1, 2020

Government Censorship and Pandemic “Mis”Information

Canada can flatten the curve without flattening free speech. Government censorship is hardly a public…
April 28, 2020

Children and Parents Belong Together, Especially During a Pandemic

It has come to our attention that many Children’s Aid Societies have effectively cancelled all…
April 24, 2020

CCLA Defends Toronto’s Homeless Population

Toronto has failed to protect homeless people in its over-crowded shelter and respite system –…
April 24, 2020

CCLA Questions Ottawa Policing

Ignorance of the law is ordinarily an invalid defence. But nothing is ordinary about a…
April 24, 2020

CCLA to Ontario: Clarify How People Can Fight Fines

Two days ago we wrote to the Ontario government about the fact that people are…
April 24, 2020

CCLA and Partners Question Government on Decision to Share COVID-19 Test Results with Police

Last week police services across Ontario quietly got access to a new database – a…
April 23, 2020

CCLA to Ontario: Fix COVID Tix Process

Currently, under section 9 of the Provincial Offences Act, an individual is deemed not to…
April 23, 2020

Letter to Correctional Service of Canada

We express our deep concern regarding the health and well-being of the inmates and staff…
April 22, 2020

Too Many COVID Charges, Too Many Tickets, Too Many Fines.

Too many COVID charges, too many tickets, too many fines. It’s a public health crisis,…
April 21, 2020

CCLA with Coalition Warns Legal Action Against City of Toronto for Failure to Support Homeless People

Toronto has failed to protect homeless people in its over-crowded shelter and respite system –…
April 21, 2020

Data Surveillance by Canadian Governments as COVID Response: CCLA’s Privacy Protection Prescription

We are writing you about the use of technologically-mediated surveillance as a public health response…
April 20, 2020

CCLA to Northwest Territories Chief Public Health Officer

We are concerned in particular with the prohibitions on public and private outdoor gatherings contained…
April 20, 2020

The Albertan Government Covers its Tracks and Grabs Power in Bill 10

The Albertan government has capitalised on the confusion of the coronavirus crisis to cover up past mistakes and to grant…
April 14, 2020

CCLA to Nunavut: Concerns Restricting Gatherings

We have grave concerns that the order is unconstitutional. While we appreciate that public health…
April 8, 2020

Pandemic Policing Has Taken a Punitive Turn in Ottawa

Being a mature democratic country with a constitutional bill of rights means that instant, mass…
April 7, 2020

CCLA to Ottawa: Stop Overpolicing During a Pandemic

Firstly, we are receiving a large number of reports from the public that your police…
April 6, 2020

CCLA to Attorney General: Concerns About Carding Under Emergency Order

As you know concerns about carding, racial and social profiling led to a serious crisis…
April 3, 2020

Physical Distancing Shouldn’t Preclude Public Dissent

Remember protest and dissent? It is hard to believe that just six weeks ago the…
April 3, 2020

CCLA to Provinces & Territories: Drastic Action Needed Now

CCLA to Provinces and Territories: CCLA has written to government ministers across the country to…
April 2, 2020

CCLA to CACP: Transparency in Emergency Police Powers is Needed

I am writing to urge that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police take an…
April 2, 2020

Freedom Fighting During a Pandemic

Go read Leonard Cohen’s “Moving Into a Period” in his Book of Longing. Cohen foresaw…
April 2, 2020

CCLA’s Urgent COVID Response for Toronto Homeless Population

We are writing you about actions and omissions by the City of Toronto with respect…
March 29, 2020

CCLA to Federal Attorney General and Federal Governor General

I am writing about the failure of Canada to disclose its Governor in Council orders…
March 26, 2020

Emergency Powers and Transparency

For civil libertarians, invoking emergency legislation is usually considered no-no. As a civil rights watchdog…
March 25, 2020

Public Health, Pandemics and Privacy

Technology can be used as a tool to support human health and dignity, or to…
March 20, 2020

Democratic Hygiene Amid Tough Talk by NFLD Health Minister

On 18th March 2020, Newfoundland Health Minister John Haggie, held a press conference to announce…
March 19, 2020

Update on Air Travel Restrictions for Canadians Returning Home

CCLA asked the feds for more timely transparency by releasing their interim Cabinet orders for…
March 19, 2020

Emergency Orders Declared Across The Country

Emergency management orders can be made by federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government, where…
March 19, 2020

Protecting the Forgotten During Canada’s Response to Coronavirus: The Jailed

Canada must protect those who are often forgotten in a crisis: legally innocent people held…
March 19, 2020

Balancing Public Health with the Rights of Canadians

CCLA speaks to various media outlets across the country to discuss the importance of upholding…
March 19, 2020

CCLA Wants to Bring Canadians Home. Now.

The federal government announces that symptomatic Canadians stuck abroad will be able to come back…
March 19, 2020

What are the Human Rights Implications of Quarantine Orders?

Public officials must ensure that the quarantined have adequate living conditions and the effective right…
March 19, 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Quarantine Law

This post discusses the civil liberties implications of the coronavirus quarantines taking place in 2020…
March 12, 2020

Protecting Your Civil Liberties During a Pandemic

Help us fund all the latest work that CCLA is doing to monitor the response to COVID-19, ensuring it’s based on science and is not unnecessarily intrusive to our liberties.

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