iPolitics 25/11/2015 - As part of an ongoing lawsuit seeking compensation for what they argue was a breach of their Charter rights and complicity by Canadian officials in their torture, three Canadian citizens - Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin - have asked for the release of redacted information on their case to the court, including the identities of CSIS employees and sources involved. The three were sent to Syria - El Maati was later sent to Egypt - and were interrogated and tortured between 2001 and 2003, along with fellow Canadian Maher Arar, who  received $10 million in compensation from the government. Not one of them was ever charged with terror offences and Almalki is seeking $100 million in damages. The three men are challenging government efforts to avoid disclosing the identities of CSIS employees and sources who may have been involved, citing national security. After Bill C-44 became law on April 23, 2015, the attorney general argued that its protection should be extended retroactively to the current case. C-44 prevents courts from compelling the release of information that could disclose the identity of CSIS human sources. Prior to the bill coming into force, decisions on the release of such information were made case-by-case based on whether they met the threshold for disclosure under a standard known as the Ribic test.

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Bahrain torture report undermines UK's reform claims

FIDH 19/11/2015 - L'expérience démontre tragiquement combien cette lutte ne doit en aucun cas s'affranchir d'un cadre respectueux de l'État de droit et de la garantie du respect des droits humains, conformément aux normes internationales. Les politiques et législations d'exception adoptées par le passé en réaction à des actes terroristes ont prouvé leur inefficacité. Elles ont toujours mené à des violations, parfois même systématiques, et souvent dans l'impunité totale, des principes dont se prévalent les régimes concernés : racisme et discrimination fondée sur l'origine ethnique ou nationale, violences, neutralisation de la justice, violations du droit à un procès équitable, musellement des média et de la société civile, atteintes graves au droit à la vie privée et à la liberté d'expression, discriminations à l'égard des femmes, détention arbitraire, torture, disparitions forcées, exécutions extrajudiciaires, populations déplacées, réfugiées. Ces violations graves des droits humains constituent aujourd'hui le quotidien de nombreuses sociétés et citoyens dont les régimes ont détourné la peur légitime du terrorisme à leur profit politique. Les politiques ultra sécuritaires, motivées par l'urgence et/ou des considérations électorales ou de courte vue, perdurent souvent : l'exception devient la norme, le dérogatoire devient le droit commun, le provisoire devient définitif. Les graves violations qu'impliquent ces politiques nourrissent dans de nombreux pays l'incompréhension, l'intolérance, le repli identitaire, le racisme voire l'esprit de vengeance qui alimente le terrorisme. Dans de nombreux pays, elles ont finalement été détournées de leur but pour museler toute contestation pacifique. La FIDH alerte sur les conséquences potentiellement désastreuses des approches se limitant au tout-sécuritaire qui amènent à renoncer à l'intelligence collective, et appelle les dirigeants tentés par de telles mesures à avoir le courage politique d'y résister.

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Daesh: On fait quoi maintenant? (vidéo)

Contre l'EI, la France doit «changer ses alliances» et se détourner de l'Arabie saoudite

Hitting Saudi Arabia where it hurts

To stop ISIS, outside powers must end their proxy wars in Syria

Frankie Boyle on the fallout from Paris: 'This is the worst time for society to go on psychopathic autopilot'

C'est donc comme ça que débutent les guerres?

The case for British airstrikes on Syria makes even less sense now

When will Britain learn? More war is not the answer

European defence industry to receive $50-billion boost in war against IS

Bamako hostage crisis: How U.S.-backed intervention in Libya spread chaos to nearby Mali

ICLMG 26/11/2015 - The recent appeal by Bob Paulson the RCMP commissioner to the Canadian public about the urgent need to have warrantless access to our communication is worrisome for multiple reasons. Fighting cybercrime is crucial as well as fighting all other forms of crimes but that never be done at the expense of our privacy rights. The excuses of fighting the horrible perpetrators of child pornography for instance cannot be used as a pretext, no matter how noble and genuine the reason is, to collect data on Internet users. The climate of fear and uncertainty that followed the Paris attack shouldn't be used as a carte blanche to ask the population for a warrantless access to their phones. Most importantly, we have to refresh our memories here and remember that Canada has already many legal (frankly controversial) tools to fight what Mr. Paulson seems to be incapable of fighting.

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ICLMG signed this statement written by Voice-Voix

iPolitics 24/11/2015 - On the legislative front, a slew of hostile or punitive legislation should be repealed or amended on public safety, national security, environmental protection, citizenship, sentencing, privacy and labour unions. The reckless reforms of Bill C-51 remain top of mind. As well, the use of omnibus bills must be curtailed. There's a need for new laws to improve access to information, strengthen oversight and better reflect the role and realities of charities in the 21st century. [...] Restoring the integrity of Parliament, empowering committees, welcoming the expert advice of the civil service and respecting the independence of the judiciary (while ensuring appointments that reflect the true face of Canada) are essential. Department of Justice lawyers should be allowed to do their jobs and signal to Parliament when draft laws are not likely to pass Charter muster. With a new generation of MPs, there are tremendous opportunities for innovative approaches that respect traditions but respond to the growing need for greater openness and transparency. [...] We are reminded that, even in a country such as Canada, rights are vulnerable, and respect for dialogue and diversity is fragile. For a generation of young and new Canadians, their only experience of government is that of the past ten years. This raises the risk of a "new normal," setting the bar so low it will be easy for the new government to improve on the performance of its predecessor.
Simply reversing the worst of the Harper record isn't enough. We look to the new government to move forward with a bold and ambitious agenda to strengthen respect for debate and dissent. And we encourage all Canadians to actively engage in shaping that agenda and holding the government to account for its implementation.

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The Tyee 26/11/2015 - It already seems so long since Stephen Harper lorded over our nation. But before memories fade of this awful ordeal there are some critical house-cleaning items to take care of. Perhaps the most pressing is the need to uncover whether the Canada Revenue Agency was improperly taking political direction from the Prime Minister's Office. It's true that Prime Minister Trudeau has now directed the new minister of national revenue, Diane Lebouthillier to cease hounding environmental charities. Specifically, her mandate letter states the CRA should "allow charities to do their work on behalf of Canadians free from political harassment..." That is all well and good but there is a far larger principle at play. It's not enough that charitable non-profits can hopefully no longer expect the executive branch to use the public service as a tool of political intimidation. This must never happen again. The only way to fully clean this wound is through a Commission of Inquiry empowered to compel testimony under oath and order the production of documents. Senior CRA bureaucrats must be called to answer for themselves. Former PMO staffers should be ordered to appear, perhaps before they disappear to Kuwait.

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Tour to empower Muslims in face of Islamophobia kicks off

Ten ways to build community between Muslims and non-Muslims

Paris attacks spark anti-Muslim backlash, but Canadians are fighting back

Train passengers stand up against racial abuse of Muslim woman

Owen Jones: Islamophobia plays right into the hands of ISIS

'Beyond terrifying': Muslim Americans shocked by Trump and Carson quotes

New York City launches anti-terror reporting app for citizens