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| April Update 2009 | |||
| Mary B. McDonald
Memorial Essay Prize Submissions due June 1 |
Court of Appeal Refuses Attempt to Save Bill 42 |
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A prize of $500 will be awarded annually to one Canadian full-time post-secondary student who submits the best essay on any aspect of civil liberties or human rights that is a current focus of the BCCLA. The intent of this essay prize is to promote student interest in current civil liberties and human rights issues in Canada. Winning essays may be published by the BCCLA. |
The BCCLA is pleased that Mr. Justice Lowry of the BC Court of Appeal dismissed the application of the Attorney General of BC for a stay of the order that pronounced that pre-campaign third election expense limits were unconstitutional. The effect of the ruling is to allow election expenditures by third parties up until the writ is issued for the May 12, 2009 election. As a result, British Columbians are free to place election advertisements and to read and hear them until the writ is issued. Thereafter the limits imposed by the government on third party advertising apply to the 28 day election campaign period. This ruling reflects the strength of the value of freedom of expression enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. |
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| BCCLA Complaint, Coverage Leads to Policy Change and Apology | BC Government Fast-Tracks Costly E-Health System: Unprepared and Unequipped to Safeguard Privacy | ||
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The BCCLA thanked the Chief of the Vancouver Police Department for moving to clarify police policy around seizing cameras from the public and for apologizing in writing to a Province newspaper photographer.
“It was completely appropriate for Chief Jim Chu to apologize to Province photographer Jason Payne,” said David Eby, Executive Director of the BCCLA. “We congratulate the VPD in being able to recognize mistakes and moving quickly to correct policy. These are the hallmarks of a police department interested in accountability.” News release >> |
Despite posing a serious threat to every British Columbian’s constitutional right to privacy, the BC Government plans to roll-out its new “eHealth” system of integrated electronic healthcare records.
“Centralizing the health information of millions of citizens is a formula for disaster that has already been seen in those jurisdictions that have these systems. Governments assure citizens that the system will be secure and encryption will be of the highest level, but the global history of the security of large central databases of this kind is frankly terrible, and the costs almost invariably spiral out of control. As Ross Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge said about these systems: they cost billions of dollars, usually don’t work, and place citizens’ privacy and safety at risk when they do.” |
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| BCCLA Files Complaint Against CSIS For Using Torture-Derived Information | Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Property Seizure Law, Refutes BCCLA Arguments | ||
| The BCCLA has filed a complaint against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for using information it knows is derived from torture.
“Either the Public Safety Minister doesn’t know what CSIS is doing or CSIS doesn’t care what the Minister is saying,” said Gratl, “Either way we’ve got a serious problem.” |
The Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment in Chatterjee v. Attorney General of Ontario, upholding the constitutionality Ontario’s Civil Remedies Act, a law which allows the province to seize property believed to be the proceeds of crime and other unlawful activity. The BCCLA intervened in the case to address its concern that the law re-characterizes what are essentially criminal proceedings as civil matters, resulting in a lower level of procedural protections. Defendants must establish they did not gain the asset from unlawful activity, and cases are decided on the civil standard of proof rather that the more onerous criminal standard. |
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| Over 600 Days of Inaction Since Boyd Shooting by VPD | BCCLA Endorses Single Transferable Vote | ||
Over 600 days have passed since animator Paul Boyd was shot by members of the Vancouver Police Department, and an investigation by the BCCLA shows that no decisions have been made on criminal charges, or even on whether or not to hold a coroner’s inquest. In addition, the VPD professional standards investigation has not even begun.
News release and backgrounder >> |
The BCCLA endorses the Single Transferable Vote system, which will be considered by BC voters in the upcoming May 12 BC Electoral Referendum. The referendum will select one of two formulas to translate votes into seats in the Legislature. The referendum question asks: "Which electoral system should British Columbia use to elect members to the provincial Legislative Assembly?” Voters are then given a choice between “The existing electoral system (first past the post)” and “The single transferable vote electoral system (BC-STV) proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform”. "There are many different voting systems, all of which represent voter preferences to some extent,” says Tom Sandborn, executive board member of the BCCLA. “The BCCLA believes that STV strikes a better balance between local representation, proportionality and voter choice than first-past-the-post." |
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| BCCLA Demands Repatriation of Khadr in Wake of Federal Court Decision | RCMP Change Policy After BCCLA Complaints | ||
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“People are measured by how they treat the least among us. Omar Khadr has been caught up in wretched conditions in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Yet he is one of our own and, as the judge has just ruled, is owed a duty of protection by our government. The government has not fulfilled its responsibilities here for one of Canada’s children. Instead, Mr. Khadr has been subjected to mistreatment and illegal detention in another country,” said Holmes. “Canada’s violations of its international and domestic legal commitments to Mr. Khadr must come to an end.” |
Following a series of complaints made by the BCCLA about the RCMP ending in-custody death conduct investigations before the investigations were complete, the RCMP notified the BCCLA yesterday that it had changed its policy of early termination of these investigations. “We’re glad to hear that the RCMP is taking its responsibilities seriously when it comes to professional conduct investigations surrounding in- custody deaths,” said Robert Holmes, President of the BCCLA. “While we still believe that civilians should be conducting these investigations, we are glad to hear that at least these investigations are now happening.” Formerly, the RCMP policy was to terminate internal investigations of complaints made about officers’ conduct during police-involved deaths in the event a criminal or coroner’s investigation began. Now, the RCMP policy appears to be that they will continue their own internal investigations. |
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| The RCMP and Democracy | |||
David Eby, Executive Director of the BCCLA, will be presenting on the topic of The RCMP and Democracy this Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street. Admission is Free. |
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| Free to Speak Campaign | |||
SECRECY is a movie that poses questions such as: How much information should the government withhold for our own good? How do we balance our rights of freedom, privacy, and the good that flows from open knowledge against our collective desire for safety, security and effective government? “A documentary that illuminates, entertains and inspires” – Jonathan Cruel, San Francisco Chronicle. There will be a screening of the movie SECRECY at 7pm and 9pm. Trailer |
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| Spring Appeal | |||
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| Civil Liberties Update is a summary of some of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association's recent work. The Association publishes a newsletter, The Democratic Commitment, an annual report and posts its positions, submissions, legal arguments and news releases at www.bccla.org. | |||
To unsubscribe from the Update please contact us by e-mail. |
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This prize has been created to honour the memory of Mary B. McDonald, a director of the board and retired librarian, in recognition of her personal dedication to protecting civil liberties and human rights.
The BCCLA filed a policy complaint with the Vancouver Police Board and the VPD, saying that a string of incidents of alleged police interference with cameras and media, in particular during incidents that involved police shootings, suggested policy clarity was required. By the end of the day, a reformed policy and an apology letter had been received by the Province newspaper.
“While technology offers all kinds of benefits to healthcare, the centralization of electronic health
“Canada’s laws and international commitments say that we will never condone torture, no matter the public emergency,” says Jason Gratl, Vice-President of the BCCLA . “Canada must be unambiguous about opposing torture in all circumstances, or else we risk the greater use of torture by countries who believe Canada is not opposed to this repugnant practice.”
"Investigations into police involved deaths need to be timely,” says Robert Holmes, President of the BCCLA, who notes that the current BC Crown Counsel Act and the most recent Attorney General’s Ministry’s description of the role of Crown Counsel say nothing about timeliness. “Why should it take more than 600 days to decide whether to lay charges and have a public hearing? In British Columbia, police involved death cases drag on as the ball gets dropped from one agency to another. The Attorney General should commit to reform it all.”
The BCCLA has demanded immediate action from the Prime Minister’s office for the repatriation of child-soldier Omar Khadr in the wake of a recently released Federal Court decision. "The Federal Court has made the only decision that could be made under the Charter,” says Robert Holmes, President of the BCCLA. “This matter is an ongoing embarrassment to the Canadian public and the Canadian government. We demand immediate action from the Prime Minister’s office to bring Mr. Khadr home.” 
The 