Today, the BCCLA wrote to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety about a recent government leak of purported intelligence information implicating two Canadians in a terrorist plot. The contents of the leak, the timing of it, … Read More
Features Blog
A hit, a very palpable hit
Posted onGood news from the Federal Court this morning. As those of you who have been following our work at the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) may recall, the Department of Justice filed a series of applications for judicial review in … Read More
Second verse, same as the first
Posted onLast week, the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) published a declassified version of its review into CSIS’s role in interviewing Afghan detainees. Shortly following media reports in early 2010 that CSIS was involved in interrogating prisoners captured by Canadian Forces … Read More
No complicity in torture
Posted onToday, the BCCLA sent a letter to Minister of Justice Robert Nicholson, urging him to ensure that Canadian citizens are protected against foreign prosecutions relying on evidence derived from torture. The issue arises in the context of the ongoing attempts … Read More
“Gentlemen at home, hoodlums elsewhere.”
Posted onLast week, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) issued an excellent judgment on the issue of extraterritorial application of human rights instruments in the case of Al-Skeini and Others v. The United Kingdom. (h/t Paul Champ) As readers may … Read More
From the media: coverage of Afghan detainee disclosures
Posted onWe here at the BCCLA National Security Blog have been anxiously awaiting the disclosure of materials from Parliament’s detainee document review, notwithstanding the fact that it was more than likely that the most relevant documents would be withheld from public … Read More
Meaning what you say, saying what you mean
Posted onLast Thursday, the Conservative government reintroduced its so-called anti-smuggling bill. The bill seeks to penalize asylum seekers who attempt to enter Canada through purportedly “irregular” means by creating two classes of refugee seekers based purely on their mode of arrival … Read More
Refuge
Posted onIn May, Erika Feller, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), addressed the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee to discuss the increasing criminalization of asylum seekers and the impact that fears of … Read More
Legitimizing torture
Posted onThis morning, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger signed a committal order for Hassan Diab’s extradition to France, based primarily on handwriting evidence that Mr. Justice Maranger himself described as “problematic” and “confusing”. As is usual in extradition proceedings, France’s … Read More
A lifetime of suspicion
Posted onYet another story has emerged in the wake of the recent WikiLeaks disclosures illustrating how Canada shares intelligence on Canadian citizens and residents with the United States. In today’s Globe and Mail, Colin Freeze reports on the story of one … Read More