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Revue de l'actualité - News Digest 
26 février 2015 - February 26, 2015
Législation antiterroriste
Anti-terror legislation  

Politics aside, Conservative anti-terror proposal is just a bad bill: Walkom

The Toronto Star 20/02/2015 -
Regardless of the politics around this issue, however, the real importance of the anti-terror bill lies in its contents. Does Bill C-51 go too far in its proposals to give security agencies expanded powers? Do we really yearn to return to the days when Canada's spies committed illegal acts in the name of national security? Do we want the government freely sharing all the information it has on us with not just every domestic security agency but with foreign ones as well? Finally, is any of this necessary? Are current laws insufficient? The evidence indicates they are not. The bomb plot connected to the so-called Toronto 18 was uncovered through standard police and intelligence work. So, too, was the alleged plot, now before the courts, to blow up Via Rail trains. It has been argued that a provision of Bill C-51 making it easier to issue peace bonds against terror suspects could have prevented last fall's hit-and-run attack on Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. But would it have done so? Not necessarily, says Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor. Writing on the National Newswatch website, Roach points out that peace-bond requirements - such as reporting weekly to police - won't stop a determined terrorist.

In the Vincent case, it might have been useful to have more information on the killer's state of mind. But this in turn would have required standard police work, which costs money. So far, the experts are lining up against the bill. Roach and Craig Forcese, a University of Ottawa law professor, have been politely devastating in their critiques of the Conservative government's proposals.  

 

Politique et terrorisme
Politics and terrorism
 
Communiqué: Les groupes canadiens de défense des droits humains dénoncent la courte période d'audiences du comité parlementaire pour l'étude du projet de loi C-51 

 

ICLMG-CSILC 26/02/2015 - Les groupes de défense des droits humains de tout le Canada ont réagi avec inquiétude et se sont dits fortement préoccupés après que le gouvernement ait présenté une motion visant à limiter à quatre séances de deux heures seulement l'étude du Projet de loi C-51 (Loi antiterroriste) par le Comité permanent de la sécurité publique et nationale de la Chambre des communes. Comme la première séance est réservée aux témoignages de la partie gouvernementale, notamment celui du ministre de la Sécurité publique, il ne resterait plus que six heures pour entendre tous les autres témoins experts. Amnistie internationale Canada, la British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, l'Association canadienne des libertés civiles, l'Association canadienne des avocats musulmans, la Coalition pour la surveillance internationale des libertés civiles, la Ligue des Droits et Libertés et le Conseil national des musulmans canadiens ont demandé au gouvernement de retirer cette motion et de proposer un calendrier d'audiences assez longues pour garantir que tous les points de vue et opinions informées pertinents de tout le pays puissent être présentés au Comité dans le cadre de son étude du Projet de loi C-51. 

  

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Press release: Canadian rights groups decry limited Parliamentary Committee hearings for Bill C-51  

 

Analysis: In the Conservative war on terror, the first casualty is Parliament

 

CBC News 26/02/2015 - Fresh from limiting the parliamentary debate on its proposed anti-terror law, the government is now resisting opposition calls for an extensive review of Bill C-51 by the Commons committee on public safety and national security. "This bill is strongly supported by Canadians," Stephen Harper argued this week during Question Period, "and I encourage the committee to study it as quickly as possible in order to adopt these measures to help Canadian security during the life of this Parliament." What the prime minister bases his judgment of public support on isn't clear, though one opinion poll has suggested four out of five Canadians are in favour of giving Canada's spy agency and police broad new powers. But public support, no matter how it's measured, is no substitute for public scrutiny.   

 

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C-51 confusion abounds as Tories rush anti-terrorism bill to committee   

 

Projet de loi antiterroriste: le gouvernement Harper appuie sur l'accélérateur 

 

Bill C-51: Conservatives soften stance on expert testimony 

 

Loi antiterroriste : le triangle partisan 

 

Tories play politics with new anti-terrorism measures 

 

War, terror, security: Blowing the whistle on Harper's dirty politics 

 

Contrôle des agences de sécurité
Oversight of security agencies 

 

The Canadian Press 25/02/2015 - The Conservative government says it is working on more comprehensive monitoring of Canadian intelligence agencies - over four years after committing to do so. In December 2010, the government promised to allow the review of national security activities involving multiple departments and agencies. The goal was to eliminate barriers that prevent spy watchdogs from talking to each other. It also pledged to create an internal mechanism to ensure accountability and compliance with the laws and policies governing national security information-sharing. The commitments were included in the Harper government's response to a federal commission of inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people, most of them Canadians. Josee Sirois, a Public Safety Department spokeswoman, says the government is still developing options for inter-agency security review, adding she has no details on when it might be done.

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Alex Neve: Time to Close Canada's Worrying, Growing National Security Review and Oversight Gap

CSIS watchdog agency starved of staff, resources

Former justices, PMs express concern over lack of anti-terror oversight (video)
Surveillance globale
Mass surveillance 


Radio-Canada 25/02/2015 -Des centaines de milliers de courriels de Canadiens sont collectés quotidiennement par le Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications (CST), l'agence fédérale de cyberespionnage. Voilà ce que révèlent des documents secrets dévoilés par le lanceur d'alerte américain Edward Snowden et analysés par la CBC, en collaboration avec le site The Intercept. Ces documents, qui datent de 2010, mettent en lumière un outil appelé PonyExpress, qui permet au CST d'intercepter, chaque jour, quelque 400 000 courriels à destination et en provenance du gouvernement canadien. [...] Les courriels sont conservés par le CST pendant « des jours ou des mois », tandis que leurs métadonnées (destinateur, destinataire, date et lieu de l'envoi) peuvent l'être pendant des années. L'expert en sécurité informatique Chris Parsons, du groupe de réflexion Citizen Lab de l'Université de Toronto, a pris connaissance des documents. Selon lui, il est tout à fait légitime, pour le CST, de surveiller les communications des Canadiens avec le gouvernement, pour des raisons de sécurité informatique. Toutefois, la durée pendant laquelle les courriels sont conservés et leur éventuel emploi a posteriori peuvent soulever des inquiétudes. «Quand on collecte d'immenses volumes de données, ce n'est pas seulement pour attraper les méchants. Elles sont entreposées pendant des années ou des mois, et elles peuvent être utilisées n'importe quand.»

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Autres nouvelles - More news
Anti-terror legislation
Législation anti-terrorisme  
Biométrie
Biometrics  
Charities and dissent
Organismes de bienfaisance et dissidence 
Criminalisation de la dissidence
Criminalization of dissent 
Drones 
Extradition  
Freedom of speech
Liberté d'expression
Guantanamo

Guerre au terrorisme
War on terror 
Immigration and refugee rights
Immigration et droits des réfugié.es 
Islamophobie
Islamophobia 
Press freedom
Liberté de la presse 
Réflexions sur le terrorisme
Reflections on terrorism 
Terrorism cases
Procès pour terrorisme
Terrorism
Terrorisme
Terrorist listings
Listes d'entités terroristes 
Torture 
Miscellenaous
Divers

 

 
CETTE SEMAINE / THIS WEEK
 
Action   

Reject fear. Stop Harper's "secret police" bill C-51!    

LeadNow.ca - We call on MPs to reject Stephen Harper's fear campaign and stop the bill, unless it's amended to:
-- Include strong safeguards for Canadians, including a dedicated, high-level Parliamentary committee to oversee our spy agencies.
-- Strip out the outrageous attacks on civil liberties, including the sweeping expansion of spy powers, criminalization of speech, and preventative arrest for those who have committed no crime.
-- Clarify that the vague parts of the bill, to be certain it will only be used to target people who pose a violent threat to the lives and physical security of people

Video on Facebook


Film    

The Secret Trial 5 Canada-wide tour dates announced!    

The ST5 team - We are once again facing a move to place perceived security before individual freedom and, as as our film documents, these tactics have very real human consequences. A recent poll suggested that 80% of Canadians agree with Bill C-51 despite criticism from all over the political spectrum. We aim to change that one tour stop at a time. We believe wholeheartedly that when Canadians see the story of The Secret Trial 5, they will be moved by their sense of compassion, not fear.

From March 12th to 26th, 2015 in most major Canadian cities!

Tous les détails
Action   

Signez la pétition pour libérer le blogueur saoudien Raif Badawi  



Amnistie internationale - Raif Badawi, prisonnier d'opinion en Arabie saoudite, risque la mort pour avoir offert un débat sur la liberté religieuse.
Exigeons des autorités saoudiennes que les coups de fouet cessent immédiatement, que Raif soit libéré sans condition, et qu'il soit réuni avec sa famille réfugiée au Canada.
Exigeons de cet État qu'il respecte ses obligations en matière de droits humains et qu'il abolisse la flagellation.



English petition
Action   

Stop spying on us!   

OpenMedia - Breaking: leaked documents reveal that the Canadian spy agency CSE is conducting widespread, warrantless surveillance targeting use of our favourite downloading websites.

Tell Prime Minister Harper: I will not give up my right to privacy. These rights are more important than ever. End warrantless surveillance and rein in CSE now.


Arar +10   

Watch the Arar +10: National Security and Human Rights, 10 years later conference

Retrospective of the Past Decade
Opening remarks: Retrospective of the Past Decade
Panel 1: The People and Lives Behind the Issues
Panel 1: The People and Lives Behind the Issues
Panel 2: Perspectives from the Media
Panel 2: Perspectives from the Media
Keynote Panel: Judicial Reflections on National Security and Human Rights
Keynote Panel: Judicial Reflections on National Security and Human Rights
Panel 3: Lawyering for Human Rights in a National Security Context
Panel 3: Lawyering for Human Rights in a National Security Context
Panel 4: A View from Community Level
Panel 4: A View from Community Level
Panel 5: Oversight and Review
Panel 5: Oversight and Review
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks

Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement les positions de la CSILC - The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG

What is the News Digest? Qu'est-ce que la Revue de l'actualité?

The News Digest is ICLMG's weekly publication of news articles, events, calls to action and much more regarding national security, anti-terrorism, and civil liberties. The ICLMG is a national coalition of thirty-eight Canadian civil society organizations that was established in the aftermath of the September, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
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La revue de l'actualité est notre publication hebdomadaire de nouvelles, d'évènements, d'appels à l'action, et beaucoup plus, entourant la sécurité nationale, la lutte au terrorisme, et les libertés civiles. La CSILC est une coalition nationale de 38 organisations de la société civile canadienne qui a été créée suite aux attentats terroristes de septembre 2001 aux États-Unis.