Yesterday, human rights lawyer and BCCLA Board Member Paul Champ stood with coalition members from across the country to present an open letter in the House of Commons calling for the government to launch a Commission of Inquiry into the transfer of … Read More
National Security Blog
Canadian human rights organizations: Bill C-51 has passed but serious human rights concerns have not gone away
Posted onWhen Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act 2015, was tabled in Parliament this spring, Canada’s leading human rights organizations called for the Bill to be withdrawn. Amnesty International, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian … Read More
FINTRAC: the national security conversation that’s flying under the radar
Posted onWhile eyes are focused on the rapid advance of Bill C-51, comparatively little light is being shone on some of the specific components of Canada’s national security and intelligence agencies that could be the subject of even further changes in … Read More
Bill C-51 submissions, redux
Posted onThis week, the Senate’s Standing Committee on National Security and Defence continues its pre-study of Bill C-51, while an amended version of the Bill proceeds to third reading in the House of Commons. The House of Commons Standing Committee … Read More
Wait… there’s more!
Posted onMuch of the public discussion about Bill C-51 has focused on its implications for rights to protest and dissent, and with good reason – between the proposed Security of Canada Information Sharing Act and the new “advocating and promoting … Read More
“Either you’re with us, or you are with the terrorists”
Posted onIn this post, the National Security Blog breaks the fourth wall to share with our readers some observations after a morning on Parliament Hill before the House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. Yesterday was the first day … Read More
8 things you need to know about Bill C-51
Posted onBy Alyssa Stryker, BCCLA Caseworker, and Carmen Cheung, BCCLA Senior Counsel A condensed version of this piece first appeared in The Tyee. At over 60 pages, Bill C-51 – the Anti-Terrorism Act – is both literally and figuratively a heavy … Read More
Accountability now
Posted onThis morning, a veritable who’s who of Canada’s leading jurists and public officials issued a powerful statement calling for robust national security review and oversight. This case for accountability comes from a group of former Prime Ministers, Ministers of … Read More
Reasons to worry about the new, unnecessary anti-terror bill
Posted onOn Friday, the federal government introduced Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act 2015, which will dramatically expand the powers of Canada’s national security agencies and violate the rights of Canadians without making us demonstrably safer. The Prime Minister admitted that … Read More
Shared Histories – the US, Canada and torture
Posted onThis week, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the declassified 499-page Executive Summary of its still-classified 6,700-page study on the CIA torture program from 2001 to 2009. For those who have followed the history of the so-called … Read More
