International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
28 février 2020
Open letter: Amnesty International visits Tyendinaga, urges Trudeau to act on reconciliation
Amnesty International Canada 25/02/2020 - We therefore call on you to take the following steps:
  • Ensure that land defenders are not criminalized and that people who have been arrested for defending the land and who have not engaged in acts of criminal violence are released unconditionally. 
  • Respond immediately to the December 2019 ruling of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, including suspending construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in the absence of the free, prior and informed consent of the Wet’suwet’en people and the withdrawal of the RCMP from their traditional territory.
  • Move immediately on longpromised legal reforms, notably a legislative framework for implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
  • Engage directly and personally in discussions with Indigenous chiefs, elected and hereditary, so as to demonstrate that you recognize that these are not simply matters of barricades and law enforcement, but are the very essence of a respectful and rights regarding nation-to-nation relationship.

Prime Minister, you face an unprecedented opportunity to break with decades of failure when it comes to the relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada. To do so means putting rights first, embracing the full complexity of reconciliation and making it clear to all Canadians that while the road ahead will not always be easy, it is the only path to a just and sustainable future for our country. Read more - Lire plus

Snipers and heavy police presence at Ottawa rally in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en nation, attempted to block the march


More info & ways to take action: Unistoten Camp + Gidimt’en Access Point + RAVEN Trust

Settler governments are breaking international law, not Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, say 200 lawyers, legal scholars
Written by  Beverly Jacobs, Sylvia McAdam, Alex Neve and Harsha Walia
The Toronto Star 27/02/2020 - As lawyers and legal academics living and working on this part of Turtle Island now called Canada, we write to demand an end to the ongoing violations of Indigenous nations’ internationally recognized right to free, prior, and informed consent — for example, with the Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink pipelines routed through unceded Indigenous lands, including Wet’suwet’en lands. Canadian law and legal institutions — from legislation like The Indian Act to court decisions legitimizing treaty violations with racist stereotypes — have long served as instruments of settler colonialism. And they continue to do so with the legal authorization of the violent dispossession, suppression, and criminalization of Indigenous land and water protectors.

“Think about everything that First Nations people have survived in this country: the taking of our land, the taking of our children, residential schools, the current criminal justice system,” as the late Mohawk legal scholar Patricia Monture-Angus wrote. “How was all of this delivered? The answer is simple: through the law.” Through Canadian Eurocentric Law, that is. Clearly, law is not synonymous with justice. While the Supreme Court has officially recognized that Canada was not in fact terra nullius (“nobody’s land”) before European colonization, Canadian courts and legal institutions continue to treat Indigenous territories as if they are so — enabling a wide scope of governmental and corporate infringement on unceded Indigenous lands, including Wet’suwet’en land, even in the face of sustained Indigenous resistance.

For example, recent research from the Yellowhead Institute at Ryerson University has found that injunctions are overwhelmingly ordered by Canadian courts in favour of development projects against Indigenous claims. While 76 per cent of injunctions filed by corporations against First Nations were granted, over 80 per cent of injunctions sought by First Nations against corporations and the government were denied. This pattern is perpetuated with the repeated issuance of injunctions — enforced with violence and threat of lethal force by the RCMP — against the Wet’suwet’en working against the Coastal GasLink project, authorized without the consent of the hereditary chiefs vested with jurisdiction over the decision.

The right of free, prior, and informed consent enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) logically flows from the recognition that Indigenous governmental, legal, and political orders have existed on this land from time immemorial, long predating the arrival of European settlers. [...] While Wet’suwet’en land and water protectors are being depicted as transgressors of the “rule of law,” they are in fact upholding Indigenous and international legal orders. The tactics wielded against them violate not only international and Wet’suwet’en laws, but are also in tension with aspects of Canadian law, such as the B.C. legislation implementing UNDRIP, which prohibits forcible removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands. Read more - Lire plus
RCMP Pensions Are Invested in Controversial Gas Pipeline Owner
Vice 26/02/2020 - The board that oversees RCMP pension funds has invested in the owner of the Coastal GasLink pipeline—and experts say it is a conflict of interest in light of the Canada-wide standoffs between police and pipeline opponents. Montreal-based Public Sector Pension Investment Board is a crown corporation that manages billions of dollars in retirement pension fund investments for the RCMP, the Canadian Forces, the Reserve Force, and the federal public service.

The $12.1 billion RCMP pension account is invested in a range of industries, including 4.5 percent in the global natural resource industry. Each year, PSP Investments receives millions more in transfers from the Canadian government toward pension accounts, with the goal of increasing that amount through investments. Earlier this month, PSP Investments reported ownership of CAD $106,899,441 worth of shares in TC Energy, also known as TransCanada Corporation—owner of the controversial CGL natural gas pipeline. [The Coastal GasLink pipeline is currently at the centre of ongoing protests and blockades across Canada.

Opponents of the pipeline say Coastal GasLink did not obtain proper consent to build through the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. The RCMP has had continuous presence on Wet'suwet'en traditional lands in northern B.C., where the enforcement of a court-ordered injunction to prevent people from blocking construction has resulted in numerous arrests, including 30 people in early February. Experts in the fossil fuel economy say that the connection between the RCMP and the CGL pipeline is too close for comfort.
“There is a definite conflict of interest,” said James Rowe, associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Victoria. “This pipeline is literally in the material interest of the retirement security of the RCMP.” Read more - Lire plus



Muskrat Falls protestors free of criminal charges
CBC News 26/02/2020 - Five protestors arrested for trying to stop the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project are now free of criminal charges related to the 2016 demonstration. For more than three years, Emily Wolfrey, a mother of two from Rigolet, had a breach of court order charge hanging over her head. Today, she's celebrating freedom. "It was a big relief," she said. "It was pretty stressful having it there for that period of time."

Wolfrey says she was in a designated "safe zone" when RCMP officers arrested her in October of 2016. She, and others, were accused of violating a court injunction ordering people not to trespass on the construction site, obstruct any traffic to or from the dam and they couldn't encourage others to do those things. Prosecutors only recently decided she shouldn't have been charged in the first place, dropping her charge after acquitting three others and previously withdrawing another, according to her lawyer, Mark Gruchy. Police on the scene that day were incensed by what she'd been yelling from the sidelines, she recalled. "They didn't like what I was saying and they violently arrested me. They threw me up against one of the vehicles," she said, describing being surrounded by officers, one of whom she says grabbed her hand so hard it left bruises on her palm, injuring her thumb. Gruchy said the Crown heard his concerns and "for its own reasons" chose to withdraw the charge against Wolfrey.

"Amongst all the cases that I've done, this has been one of the most emotional," he said, with everybody involved tied intricately to the land they wanted to protect from development. The Muskrat Falls cases echo sentiments felt across the country, he added, as blockades paralyze rail transportation in protest against police presence on Indigenous land in British Columbia. Those types of demonstrations — and the way the justice system deals with them — are now resembling a pattern for Gruchy. "We find ourselves in this situation where now injunctions are being vigorously deployed, usually by corporations," he said. "That's extremely dispiriting to me and sad."

Wolfrey, while relieved she escaped legal repercussions for what she and Gruchy believe was an unfounded arrest, still recalled her decision to protest with a mixture of defiance and disappointment. "I wasn't going to give in. I was going to stand my ground," she said. "I've done this for my kids, so they can grow up living the way I lived, the way my parents lived, my grandparents lived," by hunting and foraging, using land-based resources in the region. "But as of right now, we're getting poisoned," she said, referring to a projected rise in methylmercury levels in nearby waters caused by the Muskrat Falls project — a project she tried, in vain to stop. "They can't live the way we lived," she said. Read more - Lire plus
350 Canada's Emma Jackson on Jason Kenney's new Bill 1 against blockades
Twitter 25/02/2020 - alright alberta, bill 1 has officially been introduced and let's just say calling it draconian is putting it LIGHTLY. the penalties = $10,000 for a first offence and up to $25,000 for each subsequent day a blockade or protest remains in place + up to 6 months in prison.

the bill also makes it easier for police to make arrests without waiting for an injunction. it covers both publicly and privately owned infrastructure, including: pipelines; oil & gas production and refinery sites; highways; railways; utilities; telecommunications lines, towers, and equipment; and mines. the bill also includes the power to just arbitrarily expand the definition of critical infrastructure however they please in the future, if necessary. ironically, Kenney is rationalizing this incredibly harsh bill by claiming that blockades have "killed thousands of jobs, and jeopardized the livelihoods of Canadians," when his own government is responsible for thousands of PERMANENT lay-offs across the public sector. Source

Facial recognition app Clearview AI has been used far more widely in Canada than previously known
The Toronto Star 27/02/2020 - From Mounties and small-town cops to a Rexall employee hoping to bust shoplifters — a facial recognition tool at the centre of international controversy has been used far more widely in Canada than had been previously known.

On Thursday, a dozen police forces and private businesses confirmed their officers or employees had used the technology, including nine forces from across the country that had previously told the Star they did not use Clearview AI. The U.S. company uses artificial intelligence to match people’s images against a database of billions of photos scraped from the internet, including social media sites, and has been called “reckless,” “invasive,” and “dystopian” by critics. Read more - Lire plus




Commissioners launch joint investigation into Clearview AI amid growing concerns over use of facial recognition technology
OPC 21/02/2020 - The privacy protection authorities for Canada, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta announced today they will jointly investigate Clearview AI and its use of facial recognition technology. The investigation will be undertaken by:

The investigation was initiated in the wake of numerous media reports that have raised questions and concerns about whether the company is collecting and using personal information without consent. Media reports have stated that Clearview AI is using its technology to collect images and make facial recognition available to law enforcement for the purposes of identifying individuals. The company has also claimed to be providing its services to financial institutions.

The four privacy regulators will examine whether the organization’s practices are in compliance with Canadian privacy legislation.

Privacy regulators in every province and territory have also agreed to work together to develop guidance for organizations – including law enforcement – on the use of biometric technology, including facial recognition. As this is an active investigation, no additional details are available at this time. Read more - Lire plus



The Star Editorial Board: We need a stop to ‘facial fingerprinting’ by police
Toronto Star 24/02/2020 - Some 600 police forces are already using the app, according to the company, although some cities, including San Francisco, have banned it. The potential for misuse is obvious. Anyone with access to such a tool could instantly find out all sorts of personal information about a person simply from an image captured in public. Not even a name would be needed to figure out a person’s movements, friends, employment history, associations, and so on.

Even Google, according to the Times, decided years ago that this was one area it wouldn’t venture into because the technology could be used “in a very bad way.” Appropriating that kind of personal information is also almost certainly illegal in Canada. Michael Bryant, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association,  explained in the Star this past week  that there must be “due process and and appropriate safeguards in place” before any kind of biometric information, such as DNA or fingerprints, are collected or stored. There must be “compliance with laws designed to recognize that biometrics are particularly personal, sensitive information.” And what could be more personal than your own face? It seems hard to imagine that the privacy commissioners will not conclude that the kind of “facial fingerprinting” system developed by Clearview AI runs afoul of federal and provincial privacy laws, especially in the absence of any guarantees against misuse.

What’s needed is a comprehensive framework for the use of any such technology, and a pause in its use while those rules are developed. Legislators are also going to have to do much better in keeping up with the constant innovations of the tech world, both for good and less-good. Canadian governments have been particularly slow to meet the challenges of Big Tech, and to update our laws to deal with new threats to privacy. In that regard, they should make sure that privacy commissioners have broader powers to enforce the law, by levying substantial fines if necessary on companies that violate or disregard it. Without that, our watchdogs may bark loudly, but they can’t bite hard. Read more - Lire plus
Carnival Cruises, Delta, and 70 Countries Use a Facial Recognition Company You’ve Never Heard Of
OneZero 18/02/2020 - For hundreds of government agencies around the world, NEC has become a gateway to facial recognition technology. In January, London police inked a deal with NEC to deploy a live facial recognition dragnet across the city. Among dozens of other projects, NEC’s facial recognition systems will be used to verify every athlete, organizer, volunteer, and member of the press at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics . The company offers agencies free facial recognition trials, according to over 1,000 pages of documents reviewed by OneZero. Municipalities can load mug shots and personal data into NEC’s software and try it out for a few months.

While much of the current debate around facial recognition centers around American tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and, more recently, the smaller firm Clearview AI , facial recognition companies out of the spotlight such as Idemia, MorphoTrust, Gemalto, and NEC, continue to sign massive contracts with law enforcement agencies around the world. Over the past 10 years, NEC has quietly emerged as perhaps the world’s largest purveyor of the technology. “NEC is not a household name yet despite their prevalence in this space,” says Clare Garvie, senior associate at the Georgetown Center on Privacy and Technology. “Facial recognition is garnering so much attention now, but the NECs and MorphoTrusts of the world aren’t often associated with this technology. We see a lot of advocacy and reporting focusing on Amazon and other household names, which has meant that large facial recognition companies have largely been able to actually fly under the radar.”

Though the company keeps a relatively low profile in the United States, NEC is attempting to influence the U.S. government’s facial recognition policy. The company spent more than $600,000 on lobbying related to facial recognition and biometrics bills and appropriations in 2019 alone, according to lobbying records analyzed by OneZero. Benji Hutchinson, vice president for federal operations at NEC America, told OneZero that NEC has more than 1,000 biometrics deployments for public safety across the world, including operations in 20 U.S. states. NEC operates in more than 70 countries , with hundreds of biometric contracts that encompass facial recognition, fingerprints, iris scans, and voice recognition. Despite its global ambitions, the company’s biometric empire has not been profiled until now, and its expansive facial recognition contracts have never been tallied in one place. Read more - Lire plus

Privacy commissioner says RCMP ignored his investigators in complaint cases
The Canadian Press 25/02/2020 - The federal privacy watchdog has accused the RCMP of ignoring his office’s efforts to investigate complaints about the national police force’s failure to respond to information requests from the public. Under the federal Privacy Act, individuals can ask federal departments and agencies, including the RCMP, for records the agency might hold about them. Agencies are supposed to respond within 30 days, though they can take an extension of another 30 days.

In March 2018, Dale Cumming filed a Privacy Act request with the RCMP and he lodged a complaint with privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien four months later over the police force’s lack of response. Therrien upheld the complaint and advised Cumming he could pursue the matter further in Federal Court. A newly released court ruling in Cumming’s case reveals Therrien wrote RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki last May, citing 16 other complaints that alleged the RCMP had failed to respond within the time limit. Read more - Lire plus
N.S.A. Phone Program Cost $100 Million, but Produced Only Two Unique Leads
The New York Timesl 25/02/2020 - A National Security Agency system that analyzed logs of Americans’ domestic phone calls and text messages cost $100 million from 2015 to 2019, but yielded only a single significant investigation, according to a newly declassified study. Moreover, only twice during that four-year period did the program generate unique information that the F.B.I. did not already possess, said the study, which was produced by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and briefed to Congress on Tuesday. “Based on one report, F.B.I. vetted an individual, but, after vetting, determined that no further action was warranted,” the report said. “The second report provided unique information about a telephone number, previously known to U.S. authorities, which led to the opening of a foreign intelligence investigation.”

The report did not reveal the subject matter of the one significant F.B.I. investigation that was spurred by the Freedom Act program, and it did not divulge its outcome. But the high expense and low utility of the call records collected sheds new light on the National Security Agency’s  decision in 2019 to shutter the program  amid recurring technical headaches , halting a counterterrorism effort that has touched off disputes about privacy and the rule of law since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The information surfaced as Congress was weighing whether to allow the law that authorizes the agency to operate the system — the USA Freedom Act of 2015 — to expire on March 15, or whether to  accede to the Trump administration’s request  that lawmakers extend the statute, so the agency could choose to turn the system back on in the future.

The House Judiciary Committee will meet on Wednesday to  consider a draft bill that would adjust surveillance law in several ways , including terminating the program’s authority. Separately on Tuesday, Attorney General William P. Barr met with Republican senators to urge them to extend three other investigative powers also set to expire on March 15. The privacy board is an independent agency created by Congress on the recommendation of the commission that studied the Sept. 11 attacks. A declassified, partly censored version of the board’s 103-page report was obtained by The New York Times. In an interview, the board’s chairman,  Adam I. Klein , praised the National Security Agency for deciding last year to suspend the program — not only because of its high cost and low value, but because of continuing problems in which telecommunications companies kept sending the agency more people’s phone records than it had legal authority to collect. Read more - Lire plus
Environment and animal rights activists being referred to Prevent programme
The Guardian 21/02/2020 - Environmental and animal rights activists have been referred to the government’s controversial anti-radicalisation programme, the Home Office has admitted. Responding to a freedom of information request, the Home Office provided a breakdown of reasons behind referrals of individuals to its Channel programme, an arm of Prevent, for “other types of radicalisation.’’ Environmental and animal rights were among types of “concerns” identified among individuals referred, as well far-left extremism, Northern Ireland-related extremism, “anti-Isil” and Sikh-related extremism. Commenting on the inclusion of environmental and animal rights activism, Rosalind Comyn, Liberty policy and campaigns officer, said: “This reinforces long-held concerns that the government’s staggeringly broad definition of extremism enables the police to characterise non-violent political activity as a threat, and monitor and control any community they wish.

“If you’re passionate about climate change or animal rights you’re at risk of being labelled extremist and having your details passed to and stored by the police. “While this news is alarming for all environmental and animal rights activists, the effects of Prevent are not evenly felt. It has disproportionately targeted Muslims and people of colour for over a decade, sowing distrust and alienation into our communities.” The revelation comes after a series of reports by the Guardian exposed counter-terrorism interest in environmental groups such as Extinction Rebellion, as well as other non-violent campaign groups including Peta and Stand Up to Racism . A range of guidance documents drawn up by the counter-terrorism policing network and featuring environmental groups were sent to teachers, doctors and other public sector workers, encouraging them to refer concerns to Prevent . Read more - Lire plus
Revealed: how teachers could unwittingly trigger counter-terror inquiries
The Guardian 21/02/2020 - Teachers, doctors and other public-sector workers could unwittingly spark counter-terrorism inquiries when they seek advice about the government’s controversial Prevent strategy , sensitive documents seen by the Guardian reveal. A heavily redacted copy of the official policy framework for Prevent, the strategy designed to catch those at risk of committing terrorist violence, was released to the human rights group Liberty under the Freedom of Information Act and shared with the Guardian. The guidance, marked “Official, sensitive”, states that when public sector workers, who are legally bound to report concerns, contact Prevent staff for advice, “this may result in a referral” to the anti-radicalisation programme.

Counter-terrorism policing headquarters (CTPHQ), which composed the document, confirmed that it does not seek approval or consent to refer an individual, which could include school pupils or medical patients, to Prevent from those who contact them for advice. Critics of Prevent said the revelations provide further evidence that the strategy is for monitoring potential extremists rather than safeguarding vulnerable people from radicalisation. But CTPHQ insisted that the processes in place for handling advice and referrals were designed to protect the public as well as individuals at risk of harm. Rosalind Comyn, Liberty’s policy and campaigns officer, said: “The Prevent strategy is designed to co-opt public sector workers like teachers to monitor and report on people in their care. The revelation that those workers could be unwittingly handing children to the police, not knowing the consequences of simply raising a query, reinforces concerns about how Prevent is eroding what should be trusted relationships.

“The government’s definition of extremism is so staggeringly broad, it can be used to demonise thousands of people based on what they are perceived to think or believe – adding to the confusion and pressure public workers face. If you are a Muslim, or person of colour, the perils of Prevent are all too familiar, and it has only served to create further discrimination and division in our communities.” The disclosures come with the independent review of Prevent, a commitment to which was written into legislation, mired in crisis. The review’s chair, Lord Carlile, was forced to step down nine weeks ago over allegations regarding his lack of impartiality and the government is yet to appoint a replacement. The strategy has faced renewed scrutiny following revelations in the Guardian that counter-terrorism policing had produced documents used as Prevent resources, which featured nonviolent groups like Extinction Rebellion alongside far-right extremists such as the banned terror group National Action. Some documents have been withdrawn, while others are to be amended .

Dr Rob Faure Walker, a former secondary-school teacher who completed a PhD investigating the impact of counter-extremism discourses in educational settings, said: “Prevent teams do not know the children referred to them, so to learn that the consent of the teacher who does know the child might not be sought is a further indication that Prevent is not designed in the best interests of children. “This confirms that efforts to brand Prevent as safeguarding are a cynical move to hide the imposition of surveillance on our most important civic institutions.” Walker, who is currently working on a project called Corridors of Power at Soas University of London, which aims to bring expert briefings to parliament on a range of policy issues, said: “The tragedy of Prevent is that casting teachers and doctors as informants prevents their students and patients from having the conversations that could otherwise act as a pressure release for legitimate grievances. Read more - Lire plus
Russian Orthodox Church Steps Up Surveillance Under Government Anti-Terrorism Orders
The Moscow Times 26/02/2020 - The Russian Orthodox Church has begun installing video surveillance cameras at its Moscow churches to comply with government anti-terrorism orders, Interfax reported Tuesday. The Moscow Patriarchate’s move follows a September 2019 decree signed by then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev requiring all religious organizations to install security and surveillance systems as part of the government’s anti-terrorism campaign.

The cameras will only be installed in Church buildings with a capacity higher than 500 people, Ksenia Chernega, a nun who heads the Moscow Patriarchate’s legal department, told Interfax. They will not be placed at altars or in places of confession, she added. Commissions led by bishops will decide to place cameras in their own churches based on whether the church’s activities warrant heightened security measures, Chernenga said.
Individual church heads can also opt for the cameras to be turned off during personal ceremonies like weddings, baptisms and funerals, she said. Read more - Lire plus
Egypt: Eight men put to death in mass execution
Amnesty International 24/02/2020 - Amnesty International has received confirmation that the Egyptian authorities executed eight men in the early hours of this morning in Borg el-Arab prison in Alexandria. The men were among 17 defendants who were sentenced to death by a military court in October 2018, in relation to deadly attacks on three churches and a police checkpoint that killed 88 individuals.

“The attacks on Coptic Christian churches and a police checkpoint in 2017 were appalling, and the perpetrators should be held to account for their crimes. But a mass execution is no way to deliver justice. These men were executed following an unfair military trial and amid allegations that they were subjected to enforced disappearances and torture. Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, regardless of the charges that they are facing,” said Phil Luther, Amnesty International’s MENA Research Director.

“Since 2013, death sentences have soared in Egypt, with the authorities often putting people to death in grossly unfair trials marred by torture allegations. We call on Egypt to halt this alarming trend. The other defendants accused of involvement in these horrific crimes must be retried in a civilian court in proceedings that comply with international human rights law and fair trial standards.” According to a joint report issued by the Egyptian Front for Human Rights and Committee for Justice, several defendants in the case told prosecutors that they were subjected to enforced disappearance and torture, based on the casefile of the case. Read more - Lire plus

WHAT WE'VE DONE IN 2019
2019 has been very busy, and we are looking at a busy year 2020! Before giving you the summary of what we've been up to in the second half of 2019, here are a few things we will do in 2020:

  • We will continue to call for justice for Dr. Hassan Diab’s case and for the reform of the Extradition Act.


  • We will monitor the implementation of the National Security Act, 2017 (formerly Bill C-59), especially around mass surveillance and immunity for CSIS employees, in order to protect our civil liberties.

  • We will continue to push for a strong and effective review mechanism for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

  • We will continue advocating for the repeal of the Canadian No Fly List, as it violates mobility rights and due process, and for putting a stop to the use of the US No Fly List by air carriers in Canada for flights that do not land in or fly over the US, as it violates both our rights and Canada’s sovereignty.


ACTIONS & EVENTS
Saudi Arabia: Free jailed activists
In Saudi Arabia, human rights violations are legitimized through the ‘Specialized Criminal Court’. The past 2 years have seen an unprecedented crackdown on Saudi activists, and this court acts to legitimize this oppression. Now is our chance to put pressure on King Salman to end grave human rights violations.

Sign the petition and demand that the King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman immediately and unconditionally releases all those who have been imprisoned for peacefully protesting.
All-in-one action page: Stop Mohamed Harkat's Deportation to Torture
Call PM Trudeau, write a letter to Public Safety Minister & your MP, and sign Sophie Harkat's petition to stop the deportation of Moe Harkat.

If sent back to Algeria, Moe faces detention, torture and death.

No one should be deported to torture. Ever.
Release Yasser Albaz from arbitrary detention in Egypt
It's been more than a year since Yasser has been detained without charge - take action now!

On February 18, 2019, my dad, Yasser Albaz, was stopped at Cairo airport, his Canadian passport was confiscated, and he was kidnapped by Egyptian State Security. My dad remains in the notorious Torah prison where he is forced to sleep on cold, concrete floor. He has not been charged and continues to receive 15-day extensions to his arbitrary detention.

Sign to tell PM Justin Trudeau to do everything in their power to bring this Canadian citizen home to his family.

Canada must act to end Islamophobia in Xinjiang, China
There is credible evidence that up to one million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other mainly Muslim groups in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are being detained in secret internment camps. Detainees are brainwashed, tortured and are forced to renounce their religion and culture.


And send a message to Chrystia Freeland demanding that Canada actively support an independent and unrestricted international fact-finding initiative to Xinjiang.
Send a letter opposing cameras in the ByWard Market
Send a letter in support of CAMS Ottawa's response to Mayor Watson. While we share concerns about ongoing violence in the Market, installing surveillance cameras is not an appropriate solution. The very premise that CCTV can deter violent crime is highly doubtful. Video surveillance also raise significant concerns regarding the treatment of marginalized members of our community. We urge you to take the above problems and the following evidence into consideration and reconsider implementing such an ineffective, costly, and intrusive system.
Your phone is not safe at the border
Canada’s border agents can search your phone and laptop at borders and airports, including looking through your private photos, personal messages, and call history.

These ‘digital strip searches’ are allowed because our laws are incredibly out of date. But politicians are refusing to update them for our digital age.

Fight back with us: demand updated laws , learn more about your rights, and make a complaint if your privacy has been violated at the border.
Stop CSIS from targeting everyday citizens & community groups
A recent report revealed that CSIS, Canada’s spy agency, collected over 8,000 pages of documents, spying on citizens like you, people who exercise their democratic rights by attending a community meeting at a local church or taking peaceful action for what they believe in. And CSIS shared this info with Big Oil corporations.

Sign this petition to tell the govt to stop using taxpayer money to unconstitutionally spy on Canadians part of peaceful community groups.
Stop Facial Recognition in Canada
Facial recognition is invasive, biased and unreliable. But Canadian agencies and law enforcement have started using the tech despite the huge controversies.
Canada’s out-of-date privacy laws don’t yet cover facial recognition tech, leaving our government free to experiment on us with no oversight or regulations. We need to slam the brakes on the spread of this dangerous technology before it’s too late. Demand a moratorium on the use of facial recognition technologies and a full review of our privacy laws — before it becomes entrenched as a surveillance method in Canada.
OPP must be held accountable for violent repression of land defenders
The terrifying incident happened in April 2008 during a land occupation and road blockades by members of Tyendinaga Mohawk Nation, near Belleville, Ontario. Although the road blockades involved only a small number of community members – none of whom were armed -- the Ontario Provincial Police sent more than 200 officers, including the Tactics and Rescue Unit (TRU), tasked with responding to “the most serious threats to peace and order”. The UN Committee against Torture called on Canada to launch a thorough and impartial review to ensure accountability.
Five Eyes: Save encryption
Ministers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. have gone public with their plans for a huge attack on our personal security.

They want to force companies to crush the encryption that protects our private data and messages. But ordinary people need and use encryption every day, in everything from online banking to personal messaging in apps like WhatsApp.

Tell ministers to stop their attacks, and commit to protecting our privacy and security.
Call on Justin Trudeau to ensure justice for Abousfian Abdelrazik
In September 2003, Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik was arrested in Sudan, while he was back in the country visiting his ailing mother. Over the next three years he was imprisoned for nearly 20 months and was held under house arrest for 12 months. He was denied a lawyer, and was never charged or brought before a judge. During that time he was badly tortured in three different prisons. Not only did Canada fail to take steps to protect him, CSIS officials frequently obstructed efforts to secure his release.
Make January 29 a National Day
On Jan. 29, 2017, a lone gunman entered a mosque in Quebec City and opened fire on dozens of Muslim-Canadian worshipers. By the time the shooting had ended, six had been tragically killed, and 19 more injured. 

 W e, citizens and residents of Canada, call on the government of Canada to henceforth designate January 29th as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia and other forms of religious discrimination or a National Day of Action against Hate and Intolerance .
MORE NEWS - AUTRES NOUVELLES
Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement les positions de la CSILC - The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG.
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