Home / Media Advisory: Spying on Protestors – Press Conference Announcing Release of Secret Documents from CSIS Spying Complaint

Media Advisory: Spying on Protestors – Press Conference Announcing Release of Secret Documents from CSIS Spying Complaint

For immediate release

On Monday, July 8, 2019, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) will be publishing a trove of heavily-redacted documents disclosed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) regarding the alleged spying on peaceful protest and organizing activities of Indigenous groups and environmentalists who were opposed to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project. The documents will be released on Monday morning and made searchable on a website called the “Protest Papers”.

The complaint, filed in February 2014, alleged that CSIS was monitoring Dogwood Initiative, ForestEthics (now Stand.Earth), Sierra Club BC, Leadnow.ca, and the Indigenous #Idlenomore movement. The complaint further alleged that CSIS was sharing this information with the National Energy Board (NEB) and petroleum industry companies. The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), the body responsible for CSIS oversight, held secret hearings in 2015 to find out what really happened. A confidentiality order by SIRC prevented the BCCLA from making the decision and documents public, but this order has now been partially lifted.

The BCCLA is represented by lawyers Paul Champ and Bijon Roy, of Champ and Associates, Ottawa.

What: Press Conference on the release of Secret Documents from CSIS Spying Complaint.

When: Monday, July 8, 2019 at 9:30 am PT/ 12:30 pm ET

Where: BCCLA Headquarters at 268 Keefer Street (Room 308), Vancouver, BC.

Who:

  • Meghan McDermott, Staff Counsel (Policy), BCCLA
  • Alexandra Woodsworth, Campaigns Manager, Dogwood BC
  • Sven Biggs, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Stand.Earth
  • Caitlyn Vernon, Campaigns Director, Sierra Club BC

MEDIA CONTACT

Meghan McDermott, Staff Counsel (Policy), BCCLA at [email protected]
Alexandra Woodsworth, Campaigns Manager, Dogwood BC at [email protected]
Sven Biggs, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Stand.Earth at [email protected]
Caitlyn Vernon, Campaigns Director, Sierra Club BC at [email protected]
Logan McIntosh, Co-Executive Director, Leadnow at [email protected]

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