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| April 2008 | |||
| TASERS | RCMP Complaint System Terribly Broken | ||
| The BCCLA filed a complaint with the Police Complaints Commissioner for B.C. over the use of the Taser by SkyTrain Police. Incident reports recently made public show officers are using the Taser to gain compliance from nonviolent and nonthreatening individuals.
New BCCLA President Rob Holmes said: “The fact that Tasers are being used in situations that border on debt collection by the government is outrageous. The public has every right to be concerned that there is a lack of proper control over the use and application of these devices. A full investigation is required.”
Letter to the Police Complaints |
The BCCLA is calling for the creation of a new federal agency to enhance accountability of and public confidence in the RCMP. In a submission to Paul Kennedy, Chair of the Commission for Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC), the BCCLA reveals that it has made 14 death-in-custody complaints involving the RCMP since 2005. None of the complaints has yet been resolved.
Shirley Heafey, former Chair of the CPC and a member of the BCCLA board: “How many more people have to die in RCMP custody before the government stands up for Canadians and establishes a credible civilian oversight process? We want an answer.” Submission to Paul Kennedy, Chair, Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP >> |
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Electronic Health Care Records and |
BCCLA Urges Privacy Commissioner to Protect Students |
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The BCCLA has joined an informal coalition of health and privacy groups protesting the government's new e-health bill. Bill 24 allows the government to collect an unprecedent amount of our personal health information into designated databases but provides absolutely no guarantee that we will have any say over who gets to see it. In the proposed law, the Minister and the Cabinet can decide if and when we are allowed to control the use of our medical information. The BCCLA has been consulting on e-Health privacy with the government for over a year and half and the failure to enshrine the right for patients to decide who gets to see their information was a "deal-breaker" for the Association. We continue to press the government to introduce the necessary amendments to safeguard the privacy rights of patients. |
The BCCLA filed a complaint with the BC Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis that contends that the 2008 Safe School and Social Responsibility Survey violates the privacy rights of students. Students are asked in the Safe School survey —administered by the BC Centre for Safe Schools and Communities at the University College of the Fraser Valley— to admit to various criminal activities, and although the survey claims to be confidential and anonymous, there are no protections for students should law enforcement officials want access to these admissions. An agreement was reached to protect students’ anonymity by stopping the practice of tracking individuals. To the surprise of the BCCLA, the agreement with the Research Ethics Board was not honoured. BCCLA Vice-President Jason Gratl: “This is not one of the delicate cases involving a tension between research and intrusiveness. This is a case in which proper safeguards could easily be put into place to anonymize survey data but the University College is stubbornly refusing to put them in place.” News release >> |
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| BCCLA Heads to Court to Challenge Criminalization of Safe Injection Facility | BCCLA Sues City of Powell River | ||
| The BCCLA will appear as an intervenor at the B.C. Supreme Court in two cases involving a constitutional challenge to federal drug control legislation that could criminalize the operation of the supervised injection facility, Insite, in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
Grace Pastine, Litigation Director for the BCCLA: “The BCCLA has a long-standing commitment to advocating for safe and sensible drug policies. Public health mechanisms are the strongest methods for reducing the harms associated with addiction. The biggest problem with using criminal prohibitions as the primary means of controlling illegal substances is that they are largely unsuccessful, and lives are needlessly lost in the process.”
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The lawsuit arises out of public criticism of the City of Powell River and its officials over the way in which they managed the approval process for a proposed harbour project. As a result of public comments, three citizens – new City Councillor Patricia Aldworth, Winslow Brown and Noel Hopkins – were sent cease and desist letters from the City’s solicitors threatening to sue for defamation and demanding a retraction and apology. BCCLA board member John Dixon: "Bringing a constitutional lawsuit against the City of Powell River is a serious step, and as our letter to the Mayor and Council made clear, we would have preferred a more congenial outcome. But the Mayor has made it clear that the City’s unlawful threat to sue the Powell River Three will not be withdrawn, and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association must now seek a remedy through the courts. |
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| What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? A Public Forum on Radio Frequency Identification and the Future of Humanism | |||
Radio Frequency Identifications and the Future of Humanism >> Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 7:30 pm You are invited to a dynamic panel discussion about the impact of RFIDs (electronic chips) that are increasingly embedded in our lives. This event, sponsored by the BCCLA and the Sheldon Chumir Foundation, is moderated by David Loukidelis, Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC and features a panel of some of Canada's most compelling and interesting privacy researchers: Jacquelyn Burkell, Ian Kerr and Valerie Steeves. Please register for this free public event by emailing sarah@bccla.org. |
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| DOXA Documentary Film Festival | |||
World Premiere Film Screening: Dirt |
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| Civil Liberties Update is a summary of some of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association's recent work. The Association publishes a newsletter, The Democratic Commitment, an annual report and posts its positions, submissions, legal arguments and news releases at www.bccla.org. | |||
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