UPCOMING EVENTS

The BCCLA is calling on the bodies that investigate police misconduct in B.C. to establish standardized rules around independent �use of force experts� relied on in making decisions about police conduct.The use of force expert in the Paul Boyd shooting, Bill Lewinski, obtained his psychology degree from a correspondence school, runs a police officer training business, and has been reported as saying that although research he produces could be used to prosecute the police, he doesn�t have time for that. The BCCLA has been unable to find a case where he testified that use of force by a police officer was inappropriate.....more

The BCCLA will be applying to court to unseal a search warrant executed by the RCMP against a blogger in an investigation for criminal �Defamatory Libel�. A warrant is usually sealed by the Court to protect confidential information related to informants; however, applications can be made for the Court to release the warrants where the public interest requires it.. ...more

The BCCLA has provided a written submission to Canada’s Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission emphasizing the importance of voter parity, namely that one vote has roughly the same amount of relative influence in electing officials across the country. ...more

The BCCLA is calling on the RCMP in Northern BC to get out of the editorial and media policy business. The BCCLA has received allegations that the Terrace RCMP are using RCMP letterhead to advance the business interests of a preferred local television news station, while cutting off their competition, a local news website, from press release distribution. ...more

On August 4, the BCCLA took to the streets as a masquerading marching troupe in the Vancouver Pride Parade. In addition to being a good time, this theme referenced an historical and ongoing practice of Pride parade participants wearing masks in regions where individuals risk persecution for their involvement and/or perceived queer sexuality. A masquerade was also a playful take on current policing trends seeking to criminalize mask wearing in public. Here are pictures of the BCCLA�s marching troupe at Pride >>

The BCCLA was delighted to host Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU and Director of the ACLU�s Center for Democracy for an early evening reception on Tuesday, August 14, at the Railway Club. Jameel Jaffer is the Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Director of the ACLU�s Center for Democracy, which houses the ACLU�s work on national security; human rights; and speech, privacy, and technology. He is particularly notable for the role he played in litigating Freedom of Information Act requests that led to the U.S. government�s release of over one hundred thousand pages of documents related to the torture of prisoners held by the U.S. at Guantanamo and elsewhere.