RSS Newsfeed http://www.bccla.org The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is expressing concern that an RCMP officer who took a laptop was immediately removed from service and had to turn in his badge and gun, while an officer involved in a shooting gave a presentation to a Nanaimo community group on behalf of the RCMP in October, 2011, just five months after being charged with aggravated assault in relation to that incident. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12RCMP-oversight.html Feb 2 The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is questioning the independence and transparency of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP after a video of a controversial death in custody was removed from the internet. The BCCLA has reposted the video here, after obtaining a copy. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12Willey.html Feb 1 The BCCLA is congratulating the RCMP for suspending a partnership with an American police department currently being sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Justice. The partnership with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office involved “drug recognition expert” training for Canadian police officers. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12Maricopa.html Jan 29 The BCCLA is calling for a shake-up at the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP after the second shocking revelation about the oversight agency in the last two months. The latest development comes via notice that the CPC refuses to accept so-called “off duty” complaints involving RCMP officers. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12CPC.html Jan 24 Three prominent rights organizations in B.C. have joined to ask the Representative for Children and Youth to review the B.C. Government’s proposal to transport all girl prisoners across the province to the Burnaby youth prison. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12Prison-closures.html Jan 20 The BCCLA is issuing a report today that calls for legal protections to catch-up with advances in genetic technology. Genetic technologies have inherent risks because they provide highly sensitive information which can, or one day could, limit opportunities in employment, schooling and insurance matters. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12Genetic-privacy.html Jan 19 The Supreme Court of Canada will hear argument on whether or not “public interest” groups can file and argue complex constitutional litigation on behalf of vulnerable populations tomorrow. The BCCLA is an intervener in the case that has broad implications for access to justice in Canada. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/12Access-to-justice.html Jan 18 The BCCLA has issued a timely and comprehensive report on soon-to-be introduced “lawful access” bills to expand police surveillance powers. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Surveillance.html Jan 13 Micheal Vonn, Policy Director for the BC Civil Liberties Association, will speak at the Vancouver premiere of the mini-documentary (Un)Lawful Access? Canadian Experts on the State of Cyber-Surveillance. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Lawful-access.html Jan 12 The BCCLA is calling on Canada’s provincial and federal governments to support and facilitate a recently announced investigation of Canada by the United Nations. The Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action have announced that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) will be investigating the disappearance and murders of Aboriginal women in Canada. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11UN-investigation.html Dec 15 The BCCLA is calling on Canada’s provincial and federal governments to support and facilitate a recently announced investigation of Canada by the United Nations. The Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action have announced that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) will be investigating the disappearance and murders of Aboriginal women in Canada. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11UN-investigation.html Dec 15 On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, the BCCLA will argue before the Federal Court in Canadian Human Rights Commission v. Warman, et al., a case concerning the constitutionality of the hate speech provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The BCCLA is an intervener in the case. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Lemire-media-advisory.pdf Dec 12 The father of Alvin Wright has written an open letter to Richard Rosenthal, the head of the new Independent Investigation Office. He has requested that the BCCLA forward this letter to the media on his behalf. Alvin Wright was shot and killed by the RCMP in Langley, B.C. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Al-Wright.html Dec 8 The BCCLA has been advised that the B.C. government will be announcing the head of B.C.’s new civilian police accountability organization tomorrow morning (Dec 7) at 8:30 a.m. In the event the Province does announce the name of the head of the Independent Investigation Office (“IIO”), the BCCLA will be available for reaction to the announcement. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Reaction-to-new-IIO-head.pdf Dec 6 The BCCLA is disappointed by the evasive response of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP to a complaint filed by the BCCLA about the RCMP withholding sensitive files for more than a year. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11CPC.html Dec 2 The BCCLA has filed a complaint against the most senior members of the RCMP for undermining the RCMP complaints process in the most serious and sensitive investigations of the force. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP-complaints.html Dec 1 Plaintiffs in the BCCLA’s death with dignity case head to the B.C. Supreme Court tomorrow to challenge the laws that make it a crime for physicians to assist seriously and incurably ill people to die with dignity. It will be the first day of oral argument in the case. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11dignity-in-dying.html Nov 30 On the eve of World AIDS Day, the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network are calling on the STOP HIV/AIDS Project to stop disseminating misleading information about privacy protection in its public campaign to encourage everyone to have an HIV test. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11HIV.html Nov 30 On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, the BCCLA will hold a press conference with Gloria Taylor, a British Columbia woman with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, who is asking the BC Supreme Court for choice in dying. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Media-Advisory-Carter-Nov-29.pdf Nov 29 The BCCLA is congratulating the courage of B.C.’s professional association of public health physicians for calling for a national inquiry into Canada’s illicit drug laws and their efficacy. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Drug-laws.html Nov 29 A year to the day after the BCCLA first issued a press release announcing a secret audit done by the B.C. government of the RCMP, submissions are due in an inquiry into the government’s refusal to release the document. At the request of the BCCLA, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is investigating the continuing refusal of the provincial government to release the file. The BCCLA’s original FOI request for the document took place in October of 2010. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP-contract.html Nov 23 On Wednesday, November 23, 2011, Chief Justice Bauman will release his decision in the polygamy reference, determining whether Canada's anti-polygamy law is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Media-advisory-polygamy.pdf Nov 22 November 23 is the second anniversary of B.C.’s Solicitor General filing a complaint with the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (“CPC”) in relation to the 2003 death of Clayton Alvin Willey. At the time of the complaint, the Solicitor General called the investigation into the details of Willey’s death a matter of “confidence in the RCMP.” Two years later, the investigation by the CPC has not been completed. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Willey.html Nov 21 Ottawa – On Friday, November 18, 2011, the BCCLA will argue before the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Tse, a case concerning the constitutionality of warrantless wiretaps conducted by police under section 184.4 of the Criminal Code. The BCCLA is an intervener in the case. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Media-Advisory-Tse.pdf Nov 17 The BCCLA is calling on the Federal Government to fund a retired judge to look into complaints of harassment within the RCMP, and to set tight timelines for reporting back. The RCMP asked for an investigation of itself and how it treats female civilian and police employees following high profile sexual harassment allegations made last week. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Sex-harassment.html Nov 17 The BCCLA is supporting the right of School Trustee Candidates to campaign in public space, including distributing leaflets at the entrance to schools. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11right-to-campaign.html Nov 16 On Monday, November 14 at 9:30 a.m. the Supreme Court of British Columbia will hear expert evidence in Carter v. Canada, the BCCLA’s court case challenging the laws that make it a crime for physicians to assist seriously and incurably ill people to die with dignity. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Carter_hearings.pdf Nov 10 The Executive Director of the BCCLA will be speaking at a rally being organized by the family of Alvin Wright. Wright was killed by the RCMP in Langley. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Wright_family_protest.pdf Nov 10 The BCCLA is filing a complaint after the head of the Langley RCMP attempted to interfere with the independent review of the shooting death of Alvin Wright. Wright, who had no criminal record, and no history of violence, was alleged by Supt. Derek Cooke, head of the Langley RCMP detachment of attempting to attack a police officer with a knife when he was shot. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Alvin_Wright.html Nov 4 The BCCLA is congratulating the RCMP, Vancouver Police and the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner for pulling together an informal review process in relation to the police shooting of Alvin Wright. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11OPCC.html Nov 3 The BCCLA is demanding that the provincial government provide equality in oversight for residents who live in cities policed by the RCMP after a recent no-charge decision in the shooting of Alvin Wright. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Equal_oversight.html Nov 3 The BCCLA has joined with other groups and individuals critical of the federal government’s long-awaited Fair Representation Act.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Fair_representation.html Oct 31 The BCCLA’s position on “Occupy Vancouver” has been clear, notwithstanding misrepresentations of it in certain reporting on our recent press release. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Occupy2.html Oct 27 The City of Vancouver can lead the world in showing respect for freedom of expression and assembly by how it treats the “Occupy” global protest movement, says the BCCLA. The BCCLA is calling on the City and the VPD to show leadership in facilitating free speech on public property in relation to this demonstration and that of others.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Occupy.html Oct 26 Civil liberties groups from across Canada are gathering for the first time in more than forty years to respond to what they call unprecedented threats to rights and freedoms. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Civil_liberties_groups_Calgary.html Oct 20 The BCCLA is pleased that the B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed the B.C. government’s appeal of a finding that the provisions of Bill 42 relating to limits in the pre-election campaign period on third party election expenditures were constitutional.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Gag_law.html Oct 19 On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, the BC Court of Appeal will release its judgment in British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v. British Columbia (Attorney General). At issue is the constitutionality of third party election advertising restrictions in the British Columbia Election Act, and whether they unjustifiably infringe on freedom of expression. The BCCLA is an intervener in the case. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Media_Advisory_BCTF.pdf Oct 18 On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada will release its judgment in Crookes v. Newton, SCC 33412. At issue is whether hyperlinking to defamatory material – defamatory material hosted by someone else, elsewhere on the internet – amounts to publication for the purposes of a claim in defamation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Media_Advisory_Crookes.pdf Oct 18 The BCCLA and Amnesty International Canada are calling on Canada to convene a public inquiry into the Afghan detainee scandal following yesterday’s report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), documenting widespread and systematic torture in Afghan detention facilities. The BCCLA and Amnesty also wrote to the Minister of Public Defence, requesting that Canada confirm the actions it plans to take in response to the serious issues raised by the UNAMA. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Afghanistan_Amnesty_BCCLA_Public_Statement.pdf http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Afghanistan_MacKay_Letter.pdf Oct 11 Two of Canada’s leading human rights organizations have joined the growing list of groups who will not participate in the Missing Women Inquiry hearings. Today, Amnesty International Canada and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association announced that they would not be participating in the public hearings scheduled to start next week. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Missing_women_inquiry.html Oct 6 Following the withdrawal of two major Downtown Eastside Women’s organizations from the Missing Women Inquiry process, two of Canada’s leading human rights organizations will be holding a press conference on the topic of their participation in the Missing Women Inquiry on October 6, 2011 at 10:00 a.m., hosted by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11missing_women_release.html Oct 6 The BC Civil Liberties Association and the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association are raising the alarm over amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protect of Privacy Act introduced yesterday. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Less_privacy.html Oct 5 19 of the 21 non-government parties granted standing in the Missing Women Inquiry, along with the families of 17 of the missing and murdered women, have written to ask the Premier to intervene to save the Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry. The parties have all signed a letter that describes the Inquiry as being in “serious jeopardy.” http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Letter_to_Premier.html Sep 28 The BCCLA is again calling for an independent investigation after allegations against Williams Lake RCMP by local indigenous family. The mother of 17-year-old Jamie Haller says that her daughter was punched in the face by a local RCMP constable while handcuffed in the back of a police car after her daughter had called local RCMP for assistance. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Jamie_Haller.html Sep 27 The BCCLA is demanding the end of secret applications for standing and secret discussions between police, government and staff of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Missing_women_secret_discussions.html Sep 26 In a statement issued today, the BCCLA and other rights groups express their deep concerns about the government’s use of “most wanted” lists to enlist the public in tracking down individuals for deportation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Most_wanted.html Sep 20 In a letter sent today to Minister of Justice Robert Nicholson, the BCCLA calls on him to ensure that Canadian citizens are protected against foreign prosecutions relying on evidence derived from torture. The issue arises in extradition proceedings in Canada undertaken at the request of the French government in relation to Hassan Diab, a Canadian citizen. Mr. Diab has no criminal record in Canada. He has taught at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. His extradition is being sought in connection with a bombing in Paris in October, 1980. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11torture_evidence.html Sep 12 The BCCLA has written the Vancouver Police Department reminding it that young people are not criminals. Immediately after the Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver, the mayor and police chief were reported as putting blame where it belonged, saying: “We had a small number of hooligans, basically, on the streets of Vancouver causing problems.” More recently, in the wake of reports criticizing the deployment of adequate resources to that event, Vancouver’s Police Chief has suggested a ban on all major events that attract young people ought to be considered. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Young_people_not_criminals.html Sep 7 The BCCLA has confirmed that the police officer whose e-mail brought the Robert Dziekanski inquiry to a halt for months is now advising the provincial government on the formation of B.C.’s new police accountability body. Dick Bent, along with another senior RCMP officer Russ Nash, has been hired on a contract that will pay him as much as $70,000 over six months (including expenses) to “make recommendations on a strategic and operational framework” for the new Independent Investigation Office. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP_advising_accountability_body.html Sep 2 The BCCLA has been notified by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner that the audit of B.C.’s RCMP has not been given to Cabinet or to the Treasury Board, despite the fact that these bodies are on the verge of signing another 20 year agreement with the force. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP_audit.html Aug 25 The BCCLA is congratulating the government of British Columbia on amending and updating the province’s jury policy to improve aboriginal representation on juries. The move comes after the BCCLA raised concerns that the policy was outdated and was not followed by sheriffs, which could lead to aboriginal people not being included on jury lists. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Aboriginal_representation.html Aug 15 The BCCLA is thanking the RCMP for implementing a national policy that clarifies the rights and obligations of the force when conducting police dog training. The BCCLA supported local residents in Lantzville after Nanaimo RCMP used their backyards as part of a training exercise, allegedly without permission. Officers from the Nanaimo RCMP then made public statements that appeared to misstate Canadian law in relation to private property.   http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP_dog_training.html Aug 12 Today the BC Civil Liberties Association called for sweeping reforms to Health Canada’s Medical Marihuana Access Program (MMAP). Health Canada is preparing to amend the MMAP, but the BCCLA say its proposal is heading in the wrong direction. Health Canada’s proposal would have patients directly authorized by physicians to use medical marihuana and patients would have to purchase their medical marihuana from licensed commercial producers.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11medical_cannabis.html July 26 The BCCLA will be visiting several northern communities to present the findings of their Small Town Justice report on the RCMP. The report was compiled last summer and included information about what communities most appreciated and were most concerned about in relation to the national force. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11North_revisited.html July 12 The BCCLA has written letters to nine cities in B.C. and Corrections B.C. to ensure polling stations are set up for prisoners to vote in municipal elections taking place in October. The Local Government Act disqualifies from voting those persons who are prisoners serving more serious (indictable) offences and those who are being held in custody after being found not guilty on account of mental disorder. But prisoners who are awaiting trial in prison (remand) and those convicted of summary offences who are in prison have the legal right to vote.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Prisoners_right_to_vote.html July 7 The BCCLA will be visiting Prince George in mid-July to set up a volunteer chapter of the organization, the first in a decade. The Prince George chapter will be volunteer run and will consist of local lawyers, teachers, activists, and others interested in human rights and civil liberties issues in the area. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Prince_George.html July 6 Nearly two decades after Sue Rodriguez fought for the right to die with dignity, another British Columbia woman with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, has come forward to ask the court for choice in dying. Today, Gloria Taylor filed an application with the BC Supreme Court asking to be added as a plaintiff in the BCCLA’s death with dignity lawsuit. Gloria, 63, of Westbank, BC, is terminally ill with ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease with no known cure or effective treatment. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Dying_with_dignity.html June 28 On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the BCCLA will hold a press conference announcing that a British Columbian woman with ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, filed an application with the BC Supreme Court asking to be added as a plaintiff in the BCCLA’s death with dignity lawsuit. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Media_Advisory_Assisted_Dying2.pdf June 27 The BCCLA is calling on the federal government to withdraw back-to-work legislation that attacks the constitutional rights of workers at Air Canada and Canada Post. The laws interfere with and undermine the fundamental right of Canadians to bargain collectively with their employers over workplace issues. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Back_to_work_legislation.html June 16 The BCCLA is congratulating the Vancouver Police Department for their restrained and responsible reaction to last night’s riot in downtown Vancouver. Among other points, the BCCLA noted that the VPD refrained from mass arrests and “kettling”, use of the MRAD sonic gun, and used tear gas and pepper spray in moderation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Riot_reaction.html June 16 The BCCLA is congratulating the Burnaby school board for passing a policy designed to eliminate discrimination against gay and transgendered students. The BCCLA had written a last minute letter to the school board supporting the policy after news that a small parent group had been organizing to encourage board members to vote against the policy. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Burnaby_school_board.html June 16 Today the BCCLA will argue before the Ontario Court of Appeal in Bedford v. Canada (Attorney General) that the federal prostitution laws are unconstitutional. The BCCLA is an intervener in the case. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Prostitution.pdf June 16 The BCCLA is urging the federal government and opposition parties not to abandon the principle that seats in the federal parliament be assigned based on population. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Representation_by_population.html June 6 The BCCLA has received notice from B.C.’s Attorney General that he will investigate whether aboriginal people are adequately represented on B.C.’s jury pool list. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Jury_rolls.html June 3 The BCCLA has joined a national call welcoming and endorsing the Global Commission on Drug Policy’s report. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11End_drug_war.pdf June 2 The BCCLA is urging the provincial government and opposition to reject a private member’s bill that proposes court ordered HIV testing where emergency workers are exposed to body fluids. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11forced_testing.html June 2 The BCCLA is asking B.C.’s Attorney General to investigate whether or not current Sheriff policy is excluding on-reserve aboriginal communities from the jury pool. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11jury_lists.html June 1 The BCCLA will join grassroots downtown eastside groups at a press conference Wednesday to announce the formal response of community groups to the refusal of the Attorney General to fund the participation of survival sex trade workers and aboriginal people, among others, in the murdered and missing women inquiry. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Missing_women.pdf May 24 The BCCLA says that new amendments passed recently by the Province of B.C. to limit, and in some cases entirely remove, judicial oversight of property seizures likely won’t survive a court challenge. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Civil_forfeiture.html May 18 The BCCLA welcomed the news that the provincial government would be announcing long-delayed legislation ending the system of police self investigation in B.C. The legislation is expected this afternoon. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Self_investigation.html May 17 Ottawa – On Thursday, May 12 the BCCLA will argue before the Supreme Court of Canada in PHS Community Services Society v. Canada (Attorney General) and Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users v. Canada (Attorney General). The BCCLA is an intervener in the companion cases. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/PHS_SCC_advisory.pdf May 11 On May 11th, the BC Civil Liberties Association is recognizing Grand Chief Stewart Phillip for bringing critical attention to police accountability, equality, and addiction issues in both aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities across Canada. He has taken an active role in the defense of aboriginal title and rights by readily offering support to First Nations communities in need.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/agm.pdf May 11 The BCCLA is supporting residents of the District of Mission who have launched a class-action lawsuit against the District for violations of their rights under the District’s Controlled Substance Property Bylaw. The bylaw permits safety inspectors to enter private homes to look for marijuana grow operations. However, many Mission residents have been found in violation of the bylaw despite having no marijuana grow operation. In 2010, the BCCLA made written and oral presentations to the Mission District Council about the numerous, highly credible reports of exorbitant inspection “fees”, revocation of occupancy permits on insufficient or spurious safety grounds, and a total lack of procedural fairness at various stages of the investigatory and hearing process.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Mission_class_action.html May 4 Vancouver – On Wednesday, May 4, 2011, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association will be holding a press conference announcing the launch of a class-action lawsuit brought by residents of Mission, BC who have been wrongfully charged with violation of the District’s Controlled Substances Property Bylaw.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Mission.pdf May 3 The BCCLA filed a lawsuit today to challenge the laws that make it a criminal offense to assist seriously and incurably ill individuals to die with dignity. The legal challenge will seek to allow mentally competent adults, who are suffering from serious illnesses that cannot be remedied, the right to receive medical assistance to hasten death under certain specific safeguards. http://www.bccla.org/dying/medically_assisted_dying.html Apr 26 Vancouver – On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, the BCCLA will hold a press conference announcing a legal challenge to the laws that criminalize medically-assisted dying for seriously and incurably ill individuals. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Political_structures.html Apr 25 The BCCLA is urging the City of Vancouver to apply to court for an extension of time to replace a bylaw that was struck down as unconstitutional by the BC Court of Appeal. This bylaw regulates “structures” and objects that are placed on sidewalks as part of demonstrations or events, like tables for petition-signing and display boards. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Political_structures.html Apr 18 The BCCLA welcomes the primary recommendations resulting from the independent investigation conducted by the provincial advocate for children and youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, into the problematic sexual testing of youth in the criminal justice system. The provincial advocate’s report was released today. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Sex_testing.html Apr 14 On Wednesday, April 13 the BCCLA will argue before the BC Supreme Court that Canada’s anti-polygamy law is unconstitutional. The BCCLA will argue that the law offends fundamental freedoms protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The BCCLA takes the position that individuals should be free to make the life choices they wish so long as those choices do not harm other people and they engage in them with free, informed and full consent. By intruding into adults’ decisions about the form of conjugal relationship that best meets their personal needs and aspirations, the law overextends the reach of the criminal law into individuals’ private lives, intruding into their most private relationships.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Polygamy_advisory.pdf Apr 12 The Vancouver Public Space Network and BCCLA are jointly calling on the City of Vancouver to reject proposed changes to the City’s Street and Traffic Bylaw. The amendments, outlined in a staff report on “Public Expression” would serve to constrain political activity in the City by requiring upwards of $1,200 in upfront fees and permitting costs for any political or non-commercial activity that utilizes a “structure, object, substance or thing” in the course of message making. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Public_expression.pdf Apr 6 The BCCLA has filed a policy complaint with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner following a Transit Police officer barring a Skytrain passenger who declined to remove a button that said “Fuck Yoga”. The passenger had been removed following a fare check. When the passenger purchased a fare and attempted to return, the officer would not let her return because she would not remove the button. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11yoga.html Apr 6 Every BC NDP leadership candidate has responded to the BCCLA’s request for their positions on key civil liberties issues in the province, and every candidate supports the end of police self investigation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11NDP.html Apr 1 The BCCLA and other rights groups are calling on the Minister of Public Safety to end the use of the Management Protocol program in women’s prisons. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Toews.html Mar 31 The BCCLA and other rights groups are calling on the Minister of Public Safety to end the use of the Management Protocol program in women’s prisons. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Toews.html Mar 31 The BCCLA has obtained internal government documents that allege that the first doctor in 30 years to act as Chief Coroner in B.C., Dr. Diane Rothon, was forced to leave her position by government compromising her “professional ethics and personal values.” She also accused government of “weakening” and “eroding” the coroner’s role. Media reports on Friday indicate that the former Chief Coroner was paid $128,000 in severance after just eight months on the job. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Coroner.html Mar 28 The BCCLA is endorsing the findings and recommendations of the recent legal aid report prepared by Len Doust, Q.C. for the Public commission on Legal Aid in B.C. The report, funded by several legal organizations in British Columbia, found B.C. lagging behind other provincial jurisdictions and that our legal aid system is “failing the most disadvantaged members of our community.” http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Legal_aid.html Mar 23 Ottawa – On Tuesday, March 22 and Friday, March 25 the BCCLA will argue before the Supreme Court of Canada in two different cases: Richard C. Breeden, et al. v. Conrad Black, et al. and Les éditions Écosociété Inc., et al. v. Banro Corporation. The BCCLA is an intervener in the cases. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Freedom_of_expression.pdf Mar 22 The BCCLA has discovered that as many as 85% of British Columbia’s adult population have “master name records” in the PRIME-BC police database. This database is used by police to prepare criminal record checks, including the controversial “negative police contact” section of those checks that can restrict access to jobs or volunteer opportunities. The BCCLA has written the Solicitor General to ask her to investigate. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Database.html Mar 22 The BC Civil Liberties Association is opposing Health Canada’s proposal to criminalize the herbal product Salvia Divinorum. Salvia is currently regulated under Natural Health Products Regulation and the BCCLA says that adding “Salvia” to Schedule III of the Controlled Drug and Substances Act would be highly counterproductive and harm the youth that Health Canada says they are hoping to protect. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Salvia.html Mar 21 The BCCLA has filed its final arguments in the B.C. Supreme Court hearing that will determine whether Canada’s anti-polygamy law is constitutional. The BCCLA argues that the anti-polygamy law offends fundamental freedoms protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11polygamy_law.html Mar 17 Today the media reports that the Correctional Service of Canada has publicly stated that it is “moving away” from a controversial solitary confinement program called the Management Protocol. The statement comes in the wake of a lawsuit the BC Civil Liberties Association launched last week that seeks to abolish the Management Protocol and long term solitary confinement in Canadian prisons. Under the Management Protocol, women can be held in solitary confinement for months and years at a time. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11solitary_action.html Mar 14 On behalf of 24-year old prisoner BobbyLee Worm, the BCCLA filed a lawsuit to end the practice of holding women in solitary confinement for months and years at a time in women’s prisons. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11solitary.html Mar 7 The BCCLA is releasing a report that raises serious questions about the reworking of Canada’s military justice system through proposed amendments to the National Defence Act. The Association says the amendments do not protect soldiers from being wrongfully convicted of criminal offences. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11soldiers.html Mar 1 The BCCLA notes with concern the Federal Court’s recent ruling that the position taken by the government in a case involving a Tamil migrant from the MV Sun Sea would result in the abuse of judicial process, and calls on the government to observe due process and stop using endless appeals to keep migrants in detention. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Sun_Sea.html Feb 22 The BCCLA is extremely concerned that a new proposal to amend citizen’s arrest rights in Canada opens the door to privatized 911 services. The provision would allow a property owner or someone they appoint to arrest someone within a “reasonable” time following the commission of an alleged offence. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Citizen_arrest.html Feb 17 The BCCLA’s support of a complainant in Victoria has resulted in discipline of Victoria’s police chief by their police board. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Graham.html Feb 14 The BCCLA is calling for B.C. Corrections to provide a prisoner with dentures as the man has lost a dramatic amount of weight after a prison dentist pulled his remaining teeth. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11teeth.html Feb 13 The BCCLA is underwhelmed by a lack of response to a policy survey sent to B.C. Liberal party leadership candidates in January. In early January the BCCLA contacted all Liberal leadership candidates with a survey to inform voters of their positions on important civil liberties issues. Candidates were asked to send responses by January 31st. To date not one survey has been returned. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11LIberal_candidates.html Feb 11 Following the RCMP’s senior public relations officer questioning the accuracy and usefulness of the BCCLA’s most recent report on the force, senior management of the RCMP have now told the BCCLA and the public that they will be taking the report seriously and investigating trends and allegations in the report. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP_newtune.html Feb 10 After a week to review the BCCLA’s report on RCMP activities in rural and northern communities, the RCMP has issued a press release announcing that it is dismissing the report and any changes in policy that could be drawn from it. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP_response.html Feb 9 On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association will be holding a press conference to release their report on the RCMP in rural and northern British Columbia. The report contains feedback collected from the public in 14 centres across interior and northern B.C. on what people like, and don’t like, about the RCMP in their communities. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11RCMP_report_advisory.pdf Feb 8 The BCCLA is supporting a complaint by Mark and Rosemarie Surakka that the RCMP are improperly withholding an audio recording of a 911 call the couple already has a transcript of. The 911 call includes conversation between RCMP Constable Mike White and 911 dispatcher Theresa Ness. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11audiotape.html Feb 7 The BCCLA and Amnesty International Canada filed its final written submissions to the Military Police Complaints Commission, which has been investigating conduct related to the transfer of prisoners by the Canadian Forces to risk of torture by Afghan security forces. BCCLA lawyers will be in Ottawa next week for oral arguments. http://www.bccla.org/othercontent/10MPCC_Submissions.pdf Jan 28 The Supreme Court of Canada will release decisions in two cases that could revolutionize media access to courthouses. The Court addresses for the first time the validity of rules restricting the media's ability to interview, photograph and film in courthouses' public hallways, as well as the validity of rules altogether prohibiting the media from broadcasting recordings of public court proceedings. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11media.html Jan 28 RCMP spokespersons released unsupported allegations that Buddy Tavares, who was recorded on video being kicked in the head by an RCMP officer, was involved in a "domestic violence situation". http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Tavares.pdf Jan 24 The BCCLA has issued a survey to provincial Liberal leadership candidates to find out where they stand on key issues. The candidates’ answers will be published without editorial response from the BCCLA to allow voters to understand which candidate will best protect civil liberties values. A similar survey will be sent to NDP leadership candidates in February. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Candidates.html Jan 11 The BCCLA is calling for a special prosecutor to review the decision not to lay criminal charges against the Vancouver Police Department officer involved in the Paul Boyd shooting. Boyd was shot eight times during the incident on Granville Street in August of 2007 and the inquest into his death concluded last week. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Boyd.html Dec 22 The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is asking B.C.’s Ombudsperson’s office to investigate the sudden resignation of the province’s Chief Coroner. The Association is concerned that political interference in the independent Coroner’s office may have led to the resignation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Ombudsperson.html Dec 22 Ottawa – On Tuesday, December 7, 2010, the BCCLA will argue before the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Crookes v. Newton that the owners of websites generally should not be held legally liable for hyperlinking to defamatory sites on the internet. The BCCLA is an intervener in the case. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Crookes_advisory.pdf Dec 6 In a letter sent to Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay, the BCCLA and Amnesty International Canada call on the Department of National Defence to take immediate action to bring its policies and practices regarding children apprehended in course of military operations in Afghanistan into compliance with international law. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10child_detainees.html Dec 2 The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has announced a public hearing will review Mr. Yao Wei Wu’s complaint against two Vancouver Police officers for an alleged assault when the two officers attended at his home, mistakenly, months ago. The BCCLA had filed a complaint in relation to the incident, and demanded a public hearing in response to a flawed investigation report by the Delta Police department.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Wu.html Dec 1 The BCCLA says that a North Vancouver woman who alleged that she was assaulted by an RCMP officer was further victimised by an RCMP press release. The release misstated several key facts, including that the assault happened “during an arrest” while the officer was “conducting a liquor act investigation.” The officer has been charged with assault. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10RCMP_apology.html Dec 1 The BCCLA was in Ottawa to make a presentation to the Standing Committee on Transport opposing a bill that will allow Canadian air carriers to provide passenger information to foreign countries. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Police_audit.html Nov 24 A group of non-profit organizations, along with police, health authorities, first responders and housing groups will be at a meeting convened by the BCCLA to discuss how to save the lives of those who are arrested for being drunk, high or otherwise intoxicated in public. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Sobering_centres.html Nov 29 The inquiry by the Military Police Complaints Commission into whether military police failed to investigate if commanders illegally ordered the transfer of detainees to a known risk of torture in Afghanistan will hear the final witnesses next week.“The evidence we’ve heard has been overwhelming. It shows that the argument that senior members of the Canadian Forces did not have enough information to launch an investigation into the issue is simply not credible,” says Grace Pastine, Litigation Director. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10MPCCNov.html Nov 26 The BCCLA has discovered that the province of B.C. completed a secret audit of the RCMP’s performance under the controversial untendered 20-year policing contract signed in 1990. As the province prepares to sign on with the RCMP for another 20 years, the BCCLA is calling for the immediate disclosure of the audit and its results. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Police_audit.html Nov 23 The BCCLA is calling Canada’s polygamy law discriminatory and an inappropriate use of the criminal law as it launches its participation in B.C.’s historic constitutional reference. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Polygamy.html Nov 22 The RCMP released figures that confirm the B.C. Civil Liberties Association’s findings that B.C. has more than twice as many police deaths as Ontario. RCMP figures show that on a per capita basis B.C.’s police-involved death rate is 2.5 times higher than Ontario’s rate. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Police_deaths_BC.html Nov 11 The BCCLA has set dates and locations for three province-wide speaking events to launch their report on Deaths in Custody. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Death_in_custody_lectures.html Nov 5 The BCCLA has released a new report that says B.C. has more than twice as many jail and police-involved deaths as Ontario, even though Ontario has three times the population. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Police_deaths.html Oct 27 On Thursday, October 28, 2010, the BCCLA will host a special event at UBC Law School to launch its report on the UN’s 1267 Regime – an international blacklist Canada has adopted that is held out to be targeting alleged terrorist affiliates of the Taliban and al Qaeda. Canada’s use of this blacklist has serious legal implications for Canadians and troubling constitutional implications under Canadian law.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10_1267.html Oct 25 On Friday, October 8, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in three companion appeals which concern the rights of criminally accused to speak with their lawyers: Willier v. HMQ, Sinclair v. HMQ, McCrimmon v. HMQ. The BCCLA was an intervener in the cases. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Sinclair_advisory.pdf Oct 7 In a letter issued today to Attorney General Robert Nicholson, the BCCLA calls on the Department of Justice to ensure that a strong rule is maintained against evidence derived from torture being used in proceedings here in Canada or in proceedings abroad to which persons in Canada may be extradited. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Torture_derived_evidence.html Oct 6 The BCCLA is calling on the RCMP in Prince George to move an allegation of sexual assault made by Jennifer Alexander, a local aboriginal woman, against several officers from the Prince George detachment to an external police force or at the very least, a major crimes investigator from a separate RCMP detachment. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Prince_George.html Oct 5 Following a court ruling from Ontario that found the Criminal Code prohibitions on sex work are unconstitutional, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association called on B.C. to abide by the ruling and reform employment law accordingly. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Sex_work.html Oct 4 The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is pointing to three videos of problematic encounters between aboriginal people and Williams Lake RCMP, a local business owner’s complaint about racism that was apparently never investigated, and the actions of the detachment head in cutting off a local media outlet that tried to tell a story about the issue as evidence of a major problem in the community. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Williams_Lake2.html Sep 30 The Military Police Complaints Commission is set to resume its inquiry into the conduct of the military police in transferring detainees captured by Canadian forces into Afghan custody in the face of reported risks of torture in Afghan prisons. The Commission was adjourned earlier this year while it awaited further production of documents from the Canadian government. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10MPCC.html Sep 7 The BCCLA is seeking an independent review into how three men could die in a period of just ten months in police cells in Saskatoon, a city of 257,000 residents. In comparison, Vancouver, which is twice as large as Saskatoon, has had no deaths in its cells to the knowledge of the Association since the death of Daniel Serbeh on December 7, 2007. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Saskatchewan.html Sep 1 Following news of allegations of voyeuristic activities by male RCMP and civilian guards at the RCMP lockup in Kamloops, the BCCLA is calling for improved conditions in the women’s cells in the city, including basic things like female guards for female prisoners, running water and access to showers. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Kamloops.html Aug 30 With a boatload of up to 500 Tamil migrants expected to land in British Columbia, the BCCLA is calling on the Canadian government to ensure that their fundamental human rights are respected. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Tamil.html Aug 13 The BCCLA is making a submission to Health Canada calling for medical marijuana pharmacies (compassion clubs) to be sanctioned under the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Compassion_clubs.html July 8 The BCCLA is making a submission to Health Canada calling for medical marijuana pharmacies (compassion clubs) to be sanctioned under the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Compassion_clubs.html July 8 The BC Civil Liberties Association is supporting the call for a public inquiry into alleged widespread violations of the right to peaceful protest, the right to access counsel after arrest, the right to reasonable conditions in jail, the right to be free from excessive police use of force, the right not to be arbitrarily detained, the right to basic police protection, and the right to free assembly during the recent G8/G20 summit in Toronto, Ontario. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10G20.html July 5 The BCCLA is calling on the Victoria Police Board to stop Victoria police officers from conducting illegal searches this Canada Day. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Canada_Day.html June 29 The BCCLA is pleased to note that all of Canada’s major political parties with elected members have agreed to open their Member of Parliament expense accounts to the Auditor General. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10MPexpenses.html June 21 The BCCLA celebrated the announcement by B.C. Provincial Solicitor General Mike De Jong that the Province would end the practice of police investigating themselves by establishing a new civilian investigation body. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Police_investigation.html June 21 On Friday, June 18, 2010, the Ministry of the Attorney General will release the final report into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport. Following the release, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association will respond to the report at a press conference. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Braidwood_advisory.pdf June 17 On Thursday, June 17, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in Ministry of Public Safety and Security (Formerly Solicitor General), et al. v. Criminal Lawyers' Association, a case concerning the right of the public to access government information. http:/www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Access_to_info.pdf June 16 The BCCLA is supporting the call for a public inquiry into the death of Raymond Silverfox who died in the custody of Whitehorse RCMP in 2008 after vomiting 26 times over the course of 13 hours. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Silverfox.html June 8 Canada’s participation in the U.N.’s anti-terrorism sanctions regime, also known as the “1267 Regime”, is being challenged in Federal Court by the BCCLA and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10UN_blacklist.html June 7 Quebec police shut down three medical cannabis dispensaries, also known as “compassion clubs” today, arresting all staff on site for trafficking. The Quebec closures follow a raid on a compassion club in Nunavut in February, in Toronto at the end of March, and in Guelph in May. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Cannabis.html June 3 The BCCLA is calling for Member of Parliament expense accounts to be opened to the Federal Auditor General. The call comes in the wake of news that an all party committee refused to allow Ms. Fraser to audit those expenses. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10MP_expenses.html May 26 The BCCLA intervened in the case where the B.C. Court of Appeal struck down provisions of British Columbia’s Safety Standards Act that allowed municipal electrical and fire inspectors to demand entry into anyone’s home to do an electrical safety inspection if they suspected the home was being used for marijuana-growing. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Arkinstall.html May 21 Today the B.C. Court of Appeal struck down provisions of a provincial law, British Columbia’s Safety Standards Act, that allow municipal electrical and fire inspectors to demand entry into anyone’s home to do an electrical safety inspection if they suspect the home is being used for marijuana-growing. The Court ruled that the provisions that authorize warrantless entry and inspection of homes violate section 8 of the Charter, the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. The case, Arkinstall et al v. Surrey et al, was brought by residents of Surrey. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Arkinstall_media_advisory.pdf May 20 The BCCLA is opposing the Quebec government’s attempt to restrict the wearing of the niqab through Bill 94. Although equality rights include the right to access employment, education and health services without discrimination, the proposed law would deny women who wear a face veil access to services available to the general public. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10face_veils.html May 18 The BCCLA welcomes the news that a Vancouver parent is launching a class action lawsuit against the Province following revelations that B.C. had been secretly storing 800,000 DNA records without consent. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10DNAclass_action.html May 16 The BCCLA has made a submission to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly urging that a new bill on video surveillance in schools be dropped. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10CCTV.html May 14 Recent revelations that B.C.’s health authorities are secretly storing and testing children’s DNA without parental consent, combined with provisions of Bill 11 that allow B.C.’s Minister of Health to gather information like these DNA records without notice or consent, have resulted in a call from the BCCLA for the government to retract the bill and the health authority to destroy the records. The new law and the records combined may create the largest DNA database in Canada.  http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10DNA.html May 12 The BCCLA wrote to the Solicitor General of British Columbia to object to changes in B.C.’s drinking and driving laws that allows police to give roadside fines of up to $3,500 and 90 day driving suspensions. The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act limits appeal to the “Superintendant of Motor Vehicles.” While the BCCLA is resolutely opposed to drinking and driving, for steeper penalties an accused needs access to judicial oversight to prevent abuse of this power by police. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Drinking_driving.pdf May 10 On Friday, May 7, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in The National Post, et al v. Her Majesty the Queen, a case concerning freedom of the press. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10National_Post.pdf May 6 BCCLA executive board member Megan Vis-Dunbar presents today in Whitehorse, Yukon, to a citizens'; group there opposing proposed civil forfeiture legislation. The proposed law would make it easy for the territorial government to seize the property of private citizens alleged to be involved in criminal activity, even without a criminal conviction. Vis-Dunbar, a Vancouver lawyer, has first-hand experience working with clients subjected to a similar law in British Columbia. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Whitehorse.html May 6 On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) will hear expert witnesses Professor Craig Forcese, of the University of Ottawa, and Professor Marco Sassoli, of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. The Military Police Complaints Commission asked Professor Forcese and Professor Sassoli to prepare papers that consider whether international and domestic criminal law provisions apply to Canadian Forces commanders who ordered detainees in Afghanistan to be transferred to Afghan Authorities. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10MPCC_advisory.pdf May 5 Youth Protecting Youth (YPY), a pro-life student club at the University of Victoria, has initiated a legal action against the University of Victoria Student Society in B.C. Supreme Court. The lawsuit seeks relief from a protracted campaign of censorship and discrimination against the club, in which the Student Society has deprived YPY of official club status and withdrawn its funding to punish it for expressing pro-life views. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10UVIC2.html May 3 The BCCLA is presenting to the federal Public Safety Committee in Ottawa today on no-fly lists and the dangers of this so-called anti-terrorism measure to the rights of Canadians. The BCCLA has long opposed punishing people in the absence of a criminal charge or conviction by preventing them from accessing air travel. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10No-fly.html Apr 29 The BCCLA is opposing a federal law that would move Canada from first in the world in guaranteeing a criminal charge within 24 hours of detention, to a position behind the United States, South Africa, New Zealand and Germany, by holding people for up to three days without charge simply by labeling an investigation a “terrorism” investigation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10C17.html Apr 29 The BCCLA is pleased to be the community sponsor of a documentary on Canada’s anti-terrorism laws and the need for reform. Ghosts, presented at the DOXA film festival this year, examines the accounts of three Arab-Canadians and their experiences during Canada’s war on terror. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Ghosts.html Apr 29 Micheal Vonn, privacy expert and Policy Director with the BCCLA has won an AccolAIDS award for her work with the HIV/AIDS community on medical record privacy, anti-discrimination initiatives and legal rights. She has also recently been nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction award. The Women of Distinction award ceremony takes place next month. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Vonn.html Apr 27 The BCCLA is pleased to make our popular Citizenship Handbook available online in simplified Chinese thanks to the support of the Law Foundation of B.C. and the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus. This newest version of the Handbook, along with the English version, is available for free download. http://www.bccla.org/citizen/Citizenship_Handbook_Chinese.pdf Apr 21 Media availability: Afghan detainee lawyer, award winner, in Vancouver April 19 http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Paul_Champ.pdf Apr 13 Commission set to begin probe of Afghan detainees, BCCLA heads to hearings. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Afghan_detainee_hearing.html Apr 5 A mural that a Vancouver Fire Department spokesperson said was removed because it was “inappropriate,” “definitely not acceptable,” and left the Chief of the Fire department “a little red in the face,” has been reinstalled at Firehall #2 in Vancouver. The mural depicts the Firehall’s mascot as death with a syringe as a scythe, and calls the Downtown Eastside, the community served by the fire hall the “skids.” http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Mural.html Apr 5 The BCCLA is pleased to announce that Paul Champ, legal counsel for the BCCLA and Amnesty International on the Afghan detainee litigation, is this year’s winner of the BCCLA’s Reg Robson award for civil liberties and human rights. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Reg_Robson.html Apr 1 BCCLA opposes relaxing police accountability rules. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10coroner_rules.html Mar 31 The BCCLA joined with other concerned groups to express grave concern regarding the pervasive use of solitary confinement in Canadian prisons, particularly where it concerns those with mental illness. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10solitary_confinement.html Mar 23 An allegation that a Victoria Police Department police officer has been ordered not to discuss harm reduction at an upcoming drug policy conference has caused the BCCLA to file a policy complaint with the Victoria Police Board. The complaint asks the Board to define an off-duty speech policy for officers in line with Charter free speech values. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10police_freespeech.html Mar 2 The BCCLA has asked the Vancouver Police Department to stop bringing semi-automatic military weaponry to demonstrations in Vancouver, even where demonstrations present public order issues. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Military_weaponry.html Feb 19 BCCLA Renews Its Call For the Repatriation of Omar Khadr. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Harper_Khadr.html Feb 17 BCCLA calls on Canadian Border Services to explain their “inland” patrols. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Border_services.html Feb 16 Uniformed members of the Vancouver Police Department and two uniformed members of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) walked through the ground floor of an independent Olympic media centre and tried to enter private offices in the back before being asked to leave by building management. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Police_visit.html Feb 15 The BCCLA is pleased by a Supreme Court of Canada decision that the Government of Canada violated the Charter rights of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Khadr_decision.html Jan 29 The Supreme Court of Canada will issue its decision on Friday, January 29, 2010 in the case of Omar Khadr. The court will decide whether the Government of Canada must obey a Federal Court order that would force the government to ask the United States for the return of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Khadr.html Jan 28 The BCCLA thanked the transit police for revising an Olympic security publication that was distributed to businesses along Skytrain lines that appeared to equate free expression activities with criminal activity worthy of police investigation. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Transit.html Jan 26 The BCCLA today condemned violence as a protest tactic following an incident where a PETA protester apparently threw a “tofu cream pie” hitting the federal fisheries minister squarely in the face. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Pie.html Jan 26 Activists backed by the BCCLA in a lawsuit to protect their free speech rights against Olympic bylaws passed by the City of Vancouver have officially withdrawn their case as a result of amendments made to the bylaw by the City of Vancouver.CCLA called for the investigation of the matter to be undertaken by an independent police department. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Activist_lawsuit.html Jan 25 Following unsubstantiated allegations by representatives of the Vancouver Police Department that a man beaten by VPD officers in a case of mistaken identity had “resisted,” and then a retraction of those comments the next day, the BCCLA called for the investigation of the matter to be undertaken by an independent police department. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10VPD_external_investigation.html Jan 22 The BCCLA will appear in the BC Court of Appeal on Thursday, January 21 and Friday, January 22, 2010, to intervene on behalf of Sex Workers United Against Violence (SWUAV). SWUAV is challenging the constitutionality of Canada’s laws against prostitution. SWAV is appealing a BC Supreme Court decision that they do not have legal standing to bring their case forward. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Prostitution.pdf Jan 22 The BCCLA is welcoming national and international experts in police-involved and in-custody deaths to Vancouver for a free public forum on in-custody deaths January 21. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/10Deaths_in_custody.html Jan 7 The BCCLA endorsed a key recommendation that the RCMP no longer investigate itself in today’s report by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09CPC.html Dec 8 The BCCLA announced its general support for a series of recommendations issued today by the 2010 Olympic Civil Liberties Advisory Committee today, but added that the recommendations ought to go further to ensure free speech and free assembly rights are protected in and around the Winter Games venues and corridors between them. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09CLAC.html Dec 2 The BCCLA is demanding that the Coroner call an inquest into the death of Paul Boyd at the hands of the Vancouver Police Department. Recent media reports have suggested that the Coroner is not certain whether or not Paul Boyd was in police custody or not, and therefore whether or not a coroner’s inquest is required. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Boyd_coroner.html Nov 30 The BCCLA joins the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and several other aboriginal organizations in demanding a coroner’s inquest into the death of homeless aboriginal man Curtis Brick. Witnesses alleged improper and degrading treatment of Brick by emergency first responders. http://www.bccla.org/othercontent/09Brick.pdf Aug 24 BCCLA seeks compliance with order of the Federal Court directing the federal government to seek the repatriation of Omar Khadr to Canada. http://www.bccla.org/othercontent/09Khadr_Harper.pdf Aug 17 If the BCCLA and Pivot get their way, more than 100 pairs of eyeballs will be on the streets of Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics watching for rights violations by the more than 7,000 police officers, 5,000 private security guards and 4,500 members of the Canadian armed forces. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Olympic_observer2.html Sept 15 B.C.’s new Solicitor General has introduced proposed changes to B.C.’s police act that, disappointingly, still have the police investigating themselves, even in cases of in custody deaths. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09police_act.html Sept 17 The Vancouver Public Library is inappropriately restricting free speech by preventing a right to die group from discussing suicide methods with members of the public says the BCCLA. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09VPL.html Sept 21 The BCCLA has uncovered four documents that suggest the provincial government is in the final stages of preparing legislation to compel the homeless to remain in homeless shelters during the 2010 Olympics. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Homeless_shelters.html Sept 21 According to recent media reports, B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman is reversing plans that he endorsed as recently as Monday to arrest homeless people who refuse to report to the nearest homeless shelter during inclement weather. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Housing_policy_reversal.pdf Sept 22 RCMP Superintendent Wayne Rideout, a key witness in the inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, became the latest high profile individual to endorse civilian investigation of police involved deaths for policy violations or criminal issues. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09RCMP_civilian_investigationl.html Sept 23 The BC Civil Liberties Association will be presenting to the Vancouver Public Library Board this evening on the issue of Exit International wishing to hold a workshop in the library’s meeting rooms based on Exit’s Peaceful Pill Handbook. The BCCLA will be asking the Library Board to overturn the Chief Librarian’s decision not to permit the room booking. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09VPL_%20room_policy.pdf Sept 23 In a surprising about face yesterday, B.C.’s municipal police chiefs along with representatives from the RCMP joined in a press conference to declare that the current system for investigating criminal allegations against police officers, and in custody deaths, is broken and needs provincial intervention to restore public confidence in the police. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Police_accountability.html Sept 24 Following a presentation from the BCCLA last night, the Vancouver Public Library Board has agreed to revisit a decision by VPL management to bar the pro-choice group Exit International from presenting in library meeting rooms. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09VPL_decision.html Sept24 The BCCLA is supporting two activists in challenging the constitutionality of the City of Vancouver’s recently passed Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games By-law. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Olympicfreespeech.html Oct 7 The Vancouver Public Library Board confirmed the decision of library management to ban a scheduled discussion on assisted suicide at the VPL main branch. Australian group Exit International had booked a room to present a workshop based on their bestselling book The Peaceful Pill Handbook. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09VPL_ban.html October 20, 2009 A press release and a letter to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association show that the City is working hard to avoid having controversial anti-free speech bylaw provisions get to Court before the Olympics. Two activists, Chris Shaw and Alissa Westergaard Thorpe, in partnership with the BCCLA, have filed a lawsuit challenging the bylaws. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Olympic_bylaws.html October 20, 2009 The Vancouver Police Department has responded to BCCLA demands that it refrain from using their newly acquired LRAD sonic gun as a weapon against protesters by disabling the device’s weapons feature. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09LRAD.html November 17, 2009 RCMP has agreed to release the videotape and investigation file of the in-custody, Taser-related death of Clayton Alvin Willey, following a public demand by the BCCLA and UBCIC. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Willey_video.html November 17, 2009 The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, the BCCLA, and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation sent a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell today calling for the return of BC Ferries to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/09Ferries.html November 17, 2009