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March 2007

Private Security Law Reform

Voter ID

The BCCLA continues to participate as a member of an advisory group to the BC Human Rights Coalition's Bias-Free Private Security Project. The BCCLA has been leading the charge to ensure that new private security legislation promotes the public interest by providing for adequate provisions for security personnel competence and accountability. After a review of the government's new bill, the Security Services Act, the BCCLA and our advisory group partners plan to advocate for important changes including the need for a Code of Conduct.

The BCCLA is planning to intervene once a
constitutional challenge is launched to amendments to
the Canada Elections Act. These amendments will require all voters to produce adequate identification. Those without a drivers' license or secondary ID will likely be disenfranchised from voting at a time when voter turnout continues to fall. Individuals who have trouble obtaining or keeping current ID, including the homeless, mentally ill, seniors, students, tenants and disabled, will be most affected by the changes. Dan Burnett of Owen Bird will represent the BCCLA.

Ian Bush Shooting Death 'Lost Canadians' and Age of Consent

The BCCLA was in court late in March to fend off a challenge by the Attorney General of Canada to dismiss our lawsuit against the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) for having upheld the RCMP's decision to terminate our complaint into the Ian Bush shooting death in October 2005 in Houston, B.C. Mr. Bush had been arrested during intermission of a local hockey game and was pronounced dead shortly after being taken into custody.

To ensure timely civilian and independent oversight of such in-custody death incidents, the BCCLA automatically files a complaint. The BCCLA is fighting to maintain the public's right to lodge more timely complaints. David Harris, Q.C., Michael Stephens and Jasmine MacAdam of Hunter Litigation Chambers are representing the BCCLA in Federal Court.

The BCCLA made two submissions to Parliamentary Committees in March. We appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to argue for due process protections for the 'Lost Canadians'. These are people who have lost their Canadian citizenship on the basis of outdated and discriminatory criteria and administrative misinformation. We urged the Committee to change the Citizenship Act to include a presumption of permanent citizenship which would be irrevocable except by renunication or substantial fraud.

We also appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on the topic of Bill C-22 which would raise the age of consent for sex. We argued against the bill, noting that young people are already protected from sexual exploitation under the Criminal Code. Our position is that raising the age of consent risks criminalizing healthy sexual relationships between young people and is likely to create barriers to providing sexual health information to youth.
Military Police Complaint
The BCCLA and Amnesty International filed a complaint with the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) about Canadian military police in Afghanistan handing prisoners over to Afghan authorities despite credible reports of Afghan authorities routinely torturing prisoners. The MPCC agreed to do an independent investigation of our complaint. The Defence Department threatened to tie us up in court for years challenging the authority of the MPCC to do the investigation. Undoubtedly pressured by the intense media coverage of the issue, the Defence Department chose not to pursue its attempt to block the Commission's investigation into our complaint.
Office Update

The BCCLA staff is undergoing major changes this spring. Our longtime Membership Secretary Lil Woywitka will be semi-retiring and our current Office Manager Jim Braunagel will be moving to full time. Best wishes to Lil and her family. Thanks to new funding from the Law Foundation of B.C., we have hired a new Caseworker and Articled Student. In June, we plan to welcome a new lawyer on staff who will focus exclusively on litigation.

 

 


Racial Profiling Conference

Tickets are going fast, so please act quickly to reserve your place at this historic conference!

A Special Invitation to a national conference on Racial Profiling to be held Saturday, May 12, 2007 at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver BC. Tickets are $25. Keynote Speaker: Professor Kent Roach (University of Toronto). In addition to Professor Roach, other confirmed speakers include:

  • Reg Whitaker (University of Victoria), Scot Wortley (University of Toronto)
  • Frances Henry and Carol Tator (York University)
  • Reem Bhadi (University of Windsor)
  • Barbara Jackman, QC (Immigration and Refugee Lawyer)
  • Jameel Jaffer and Reginald Shuford of the American Civil Liberties Union and
  • BC RCMP Chief Superintendent Richard Bent.

If you are interested in attending this important event, please contact Sarah at sarah@bccla.org or call 604.687.2919.

Every donation counts whether it is a cash or in-kind donation of securities!

Do you have mutual funds, publicly-traded shares or bonds? Did you know you can donate them directly to the BC Civil Liberties Association? Please keep in mind as you are doing year-end tax planning, that since May 2006 the Federal Government has made it more attractive to give the gift of securities by eliminating capital gains tax on donations of appreciated shares of publicly listed securities.

If you are considering a gift to the BCCLA and have shares that you may wish to donate, we recommend obtaining legal advice before making a donation. The BCCLA would be happy to arrange for a free legal consultation. Please feel free to contact Sarah Frew, Director of Development at 604-630-9750.

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.

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