14/05/2014 - La Coalition pour la surveillance internationale des libertés civiles (CSILC) et le Conseil canadien pour les réfugiés (CCR) sont déçus de la décision de la Cour suprême du Canada dans l'affaire Harkat qui maintient un processus fondamentalement injuste s'appuyant sur des preuves secrètes pour décider d'expulser un non-citoyen, potentiellement vers un risque de torture. Dans sa décision, la Cour suprême confirme la constitutionnalité du régime des certificats de sécurité, affirmant que les avocats spéciaux peuvent adéquatement compenser la non-divulgation aux personnes concernées de certaines preuves utilisées contre elles. La CSILC et le CCR regrettent que cette décision affirme l'inégalité de la protection des droits fondamentaux offerte aux non-citoyens. Lorsque ces droits sont en jeu pour les citoyens, comme dans les procédures pénales, nous ne tolérons pas l'utilisation de preuves secrètes. Les non-citoyens méritent une chance égale de connaître les preuves utilisées contre eux, et d'y répondre. La Cour ne s'est pas prononcée sur les aspects discriminatoires de ces dispositions. La Cour a également omis de se référer au droit international relatif aux droits humains, qui devrait servir de cadre essentiel pour le droit canadien.

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Canoe 15/05/2014 - Hassan Diab, un ancien professeur d'Ottawa soupçonné d'un attentat terroriste en 1980 à Paris, a été débouté en Cour d'appel de l'Ontario dans sa requête pour éviter son renvoi en France. Il a toutefois l'intention de continuer de se battre. «C'est un triste jour», a déclaré M. Diab, parlant de «déni de justice». «Une telle décision signifie que tout citoyen canadien peut être détenu et extradé simplement sur des preuves confuses et douteuses», a-t-il ajouté. Des témoins auraient identifié un homme ressemblant à Hassan Diab sur les lieux de l'attentat, même si selon son passeport, il était plutôt en Espagne au moment de l'attentat. L'avocat d'Hassan Diab, Donald Bayne, a fait savoir qu'il portera la cause devant la Cour suprême du Canada.

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Decision to extradite terror suspect Diab upheld

The Globe and Mail 15/05/2014 - The global ban on torture is unambiguous, and yet torture is commonplace - in fact, epidemic in many countries. And instead of consistently rejecting torture in other countries, Canadian policy too often gives it a nudge and a wink. That complacency must give way to resolute leadership. We face the disturbing recognition that Canadian actions have contributed to torture in many countries. Numerous judicial inquiries and court rulings have made that very clear, including the cases of Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati, Omar Khadr and Abousfian Abdelrazik. It was the central concern with Afghan prisoner transfers. And it remains a glaring human-rights loophole in Canadian immigration law, which allows deportations to torture in exceptional cases. The Canadian connection to overseas torture is back in the news with further revelations about ministerial directions on torture and intelligence information. The directives authorize the use in Canada, in exceptional circumstances, of intelligence that was likely obtained through torture in other countries. And intelligence can be shared with foreign agencies, even when that will likely cause torture. The UN's expert Committee Against Torture has called for Ottawa to bring the ministerial directions into line with the international ban on torture. Ottawa hasn't budged.

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Amnesty International's report: From prisons to black sites, US hand in global torture exposed

CBC News 13/05/2014 - The parents of three teenagers who took their own lives because they were bullied gave emotional pleas before a Commons committee today in favour of legislation to protect Canadians from online crime, but appeared divided on whether Bill C-13 violates the right to privacy. Amanda Todd's mother, Carol Todd, Jamie Hubley's father, Allan Hubley, and Glenford Canning, the father of Rehtaeh Parsons, gave their views on a bill to protect Canadians from online crime during a meeting of a Commons committee in Ottawa on Tuesday. Carol Todd said she applauded the government's efforts to address the problem of cyberbullying, but had reservations with some of the provisions in the bill. Measures in Bill C-13 include giving police easier access to the metadata that internet service providers and phone companies keep on every call and email. "I don't want to see our children to be victimized again by losing privacy rights. I am troubled by some of these provisions condoning the sharing of Canadians' privacy information without proper legal process. A warrant should be required before any Canadians' personal information is turned over to anyone, including government authorities," Todd said.

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U.S. tech firms routinely denying Canada's requests for personal data

 

The Toronto Star 09/05/2014 - Transparency reports from Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google suggest U.S. companies are being far more careful with Canadian data than Canadian telecoms are. According to the reports, which have been publicly posted, the U.S. companies collectively provided Canadian authorities with 57.5 per cent of requests for user data between July and December 2013. The fact that American companies are voluntarily sharing details about the number of requests they receive for private data stands in stark contrast to how things are in Canada, where telecom companies don't reveal such information. But the numbers also raise questions about why U.S. industry appears to be more vigilant with the public's information.
While overall figures aren't publically available, recent parliamentary documents show that, from April 2012 to March 2013, the Canadian Border Services Agency asked telecoms for information over 18,000 times - and that the request was almost always fulfilled. "We like to think in Canada we have better privacy practices, but I think in some areas we are actually behind and there's a lot more we can do," said Andrew Clement, professor in the faculty of information at the University of Toronto. According to recent figures provided by Canada's privacy commissioner, government agencies asked nine Canadian telecoms and social media companies to turn over peoples' data nearly 1.2 million times in 2011.

 

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