WHEREAS On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, the committee adopted the following motion:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of six meetings regarding the protection of freedom of expression and the means the government should have at its disposal to ensure its exercise.
Ga Grant, Litigation Staff Counsel, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
Hello, and thank you for having us. The BCCLA is Canada’s oldest and largest civil liberties organization. While we have many concerns about the state of freedom of expression in Canada, I will focus today on two urgent human rights aspects.
Because for civil liberties to be real for everyone, we must fight not only for the rights of the privileged, but also for those who are most marginalized in our society.
While the Charter guarantees everyone freedom of expression, including protest as democratic participation, this right is not applied equally. Evidence shows that certain communities are disproportionately surveilled and targeted by Canada, suppressing their freedom of expression.
First, the BCCLA has long raised concerns about Canada’s targeting and criminalization of Indigenous land and water protectors.
We’re one of over 60 Indigenous and civil society organizations calling for the dismantling of the RCMP’s paramilitary united called the “Critical Response Unit” (CRU), formerly the “Community-Industry Response Group”.
Amnesty International’s 2023 report highlighted the ongoing human rights violations against Wet’suwet’en land defenders opposing the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The CRU has used unlawful surveillance, disturbing excessive force, harassment, and dispossession, despite the Wet’suwet’en’s legal right to oppose projects on unceded land without consent. Similar violations occurred at the Fairy Creek blockade, where their arbitrary and illegal exclusion zones violated Charter rights including freedom of expression of the media.
Disturbing recordings played in court revealed CRU officers referring to Indigenous land defenders as “orcs” and “ogres” while mocking missing and murdered Indigenous women. All these actions contradict Canada’s commitments to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and has been condemned by UN Special Rapporteurs.
The CRU is currently subject to over 500 citizen complaints, serious lawsuits, and an outstanding investigation by the Chairperson of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC).
The CRU is now collaborating with local police to target Palestine solidarity demonstrations, without public transparency.
This brings me to the second pressing issue: the extreme chill and political suppression we are witnessing on free expression in solidarity with Palestinian human rights or critical of the state of Israel.
This year, the International Court of Justice ruled Israel is likely committing genocide in Gaza, as well as committing ongoing apartheid and illegal occupation of Palestine. The UN Special Committee now found Israel’s warfare consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as weapon of war. Yet Canada continues to support and provide arms to Israel.
We have written numerous letters to police and Crown prosecutors regarding unconstitutional or disproportionate criminal charges and police repoonse against protestors. For example, the CRU labeled Palestine solidarity protests as “pro-Hamas” and terrorist-supporting, an untrue smear that fuels anti-Palestinian racism. Such language has also been used by many politicians and police.
Recently, the Ministry of Heritage recently published the “Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism”, which advocates for implementation in policing and across society. This deeply problematic and controversial definition of antisemitism goes beyond fighting antisemitism proper, a goal we all share, to conflate political critique of Israel with Jewish people, promoting anti-Palestinian racism.
The BCCLA stands alongside many international and national human rights organizations and Jewish groups such as Independent Jewish Voices, the United Jewish People’s Order, and the Jewish Faculty Network. Such a conflation of Jewish people with the state of Israel is itself antisemitic, and oppresses Jewish freedom of expression. The IHRA definition and handbook has disturbing censorious consequences and needs to be immediately revoked.
Dr. Ge’s testimony before this committee is but one example of the regular calls we receive from people who are loosing their jobs, facing discipline, harassment, or unjust police charges for exercising their Charter rights.
I myself personally feal fear speaking publicly here on this subject. But as a person who is both half Jewish and half Lebanese, I believe deeply that the human rights and liberation of all people is never opposing, but interconnected. Suppression of one groups’ rights leads to suppression of everyone’s rights.
Controversial debate is essential and healthy for democracy. A true democracy is measured by how it handles dissent, particularly when that dissent challenges the government or entrenched political interests. We call on Canada to work towards freedom of expression for all :
- 1) Abolish the CRU, improving police accountability, respect the rights of Indigenous people
- 2) Stop political and policing efforts to suppress expression in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and revoke the IHRA definition of antisemitism (by the Ministry of Heritage)
Thank you.
