Last 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
Features Blog
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
The potential negative consequences cannot be overstated
Posted onLast week, Jim Bronskill with the Canadian Press reported on the findings in an annual review conducted by the CSIS inspector general, which he obtained via the Access to Information Act. According to that annual review (published in November 2010), … Read More
“Once you give the name to the Americans, that’s the end of the game.”
Posted onThis week, Neil Macdonald at the CBC has been reporting on WikiLeaks cables illustrating how Canada shares intelligence on Canadian citizens and residents with the United States. That CSIS routinely shares intelligence with the U.S. should come as a surprise … Read More
Can a bad reason be better than no reason at all?
Posted onOver the weekend, the New York Times, National Public Radio, and the UK’s Guardian released hundreds of documents profiling past and current detainees at Guantanamo Bay. These materials are part of the thousands of documents that Bradley Manning allegedly provided … Read More
Shake-up at the Military Police
Posted onYesterday, the Canadian Press reported that the Canadian Forces provost marshal — the head of the military police — will be granted more direct authority over all members of the military police. This is the result of a reorganization in … Read More
In solitary
Posted onWhile the BCCLA National Security Blog usually limits itself to commentary on Canadian conduct, we think it’s worth discussing the detention of Bradley Manning, the U.S. army private accused of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks. Manning — who has yet … Read More
Torture in the court
Posted onToday, an Ottawa judge permitted the use of handwriting evidence (evidence that he himself described as “problematic” and “confusing”) in support of France’s bid to extradite Canadian citizen Hassan Diab. Mr. Diab’s extradition has been sought by France for some … Read More
