WHAT: BCCLA to intervene in Alford v Canada to argue for the protection of parliamentary privilege to uphold accountability and transparency
WHEN: November 5 – 6, 2025, at 6:30 am PST
WHERE: Supreme Court of Canada
Ottawa, ON / unceded Anishinabe Algonquin Territory – The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) will present oral arguments as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada on November 5-6, 2025, in Alford v Canada. This appeal challenges the constitutionality of section 12 of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act (“NSICPA”), which potentially threatens parliamentarians with imprisonment for exposing abuses by organizations like the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
NSICPA was passed in 2017, creating a committee of parliamentarians who would review national security issues. The law also made it an offence for committee members to reveal secret information they would receive in the course of carrying out their duties, and stipulated that parliamentary privilege cannot be used as a defence if charged. Ryan Alford, a law professor at Lakehead University, challenged the law on the basis that it was not within Parliament’s jurisdiction to limit the constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech and debate in Parliament without using the amending provisions of the Constitution. His challenge was initially successful at trial but later overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal.
BCCLA argues that accountability and transparency are at the core of the constitutional protection of parliamentary privilege, and that these purposes should inform the Court’s decision in this case, especially given the context of national security review and oversight. Members of Parliament should not face potential imprisonment for acting as whistleblowers if they expose serious wrongdoing on the part of Canada’s national security apparatus.
Vibert Jack, Litigation Director for BCCLA, says:
“Meaningful oversight of our national security and intelligence organizations is critical for the protection of everyone’s rights in Canada. With the government’s recent efforts to drastically expand the powers of police and CSIS through Bill C-2, it is more important than ever to have transparency and accountability.”
BCCLA is represented by Michael Fenrick and Mannu Chowdhury of Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP.