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Monia Mazigh: How many more security breaches should we accept before getting serious about review mechanisms?
ICLMG 04/02/2016 - Last week, something quite unusual happened. Ralph Goodale, the Public Safety minister, alongside his colleague Harjit Sajjan, the Defence Minister, held a scrum in the presence of journalists on Parliament Hill [...] The bomb that was revealed during that media encounter was that a "software glitch" (I emphasize on how this has been described, as if to minimize the impact or the scope of the information) caused the data collected on Canadians to be unduly shared with the other Five Eyes members without taking sufficient measures to protect individual identities. This information can be email addresses, phone numbers, who knows? The former Defence  Minister, Rob Nicholson, was briefed about that security breach at the time, more than two years ago, but he kept it secret from Parliament and from the Canadian public. Is this acceptable in a democracy? How come no one has called for the resignation of Rob Nicholson yet? [...] Today we have a greater incentive to have a parliamentary oversight that wouldn't allow this behaviour to happen and perpetuate. And we have another reason to also create a "super SIRC" that would allow review of the work of all agencies involved in national security. So we won't leave it up to ministers' discretion to decide on these important files. [...] With these additional reasons, we ask loudly and yet again for the implementation of Justice O'Connor's recommendations and for comprehensive, integrated and robust review mechanisms that would monitor the work of all 21 federal departments and agencies that are involved in national security activities, and truly protect Canadians and our rights. Read more - Lire plus |
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Wesley Wark: Canada's spy watchdogs: Good, but not good enough
The Globe and Mail 01/02/2016 - The fact that the spy watchdogs have demonstrated they can do their job, does not mean, as the Conservatives would have it, that the job they do is adequate. The spy watchdogs are pre-9/11 creations, built for an era when Canadian intelligence was relatively modest in size and capabilities, when the focus was on controlling potential law breaking and scandal, and when public expectations around being informed about spy activities were even more modest. Much has changed. The existing watchdog agencies are shackled in their ability to respond to the new realities of expanded, more complex  intelligence operations, and of higher levels of public expectations around transparency. They cannot follow the "threads" that connect the interconnected world of multiple Canadian intelligence agencies beyond their remit. They remain siloed and unstrategic in their review capacity. The existing spy watchdogs are constrained by a focus on issues of legality and government authority and not able to stretch their mandates to answer key questions about effectiveness. They are shackled to secrecy laws, which limit their ability to tell the full story of what they uncover, except to those within the "ring of secrecy." That ring of secrecy does not, at the moment, include Parliament and its standing committees. So Parliament receives reports from the review agencies that it cannot fully understand or probe. The same goes for the media. Read more - Lire plusAndrew Mitrovica: Think the Liberals will rein in the spy services? Don't bet money on it.
iPolitics 29/01/2016 - Let's get something out of the way right now: The so-called 'review' bodies that report once a year on what Canada's spies are up to are a joke. They've been a joke for quite a long time. Proving the point, the federal government yesterday released annual reports from the tiny, inexperienced, underfunded, easily intimidated, easily befuddled, largely part-time outfits known as the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) and the Office of the Communications Security  Establishment Commissioner. Taken together, all the bureaucratic mumbo jumbo in these reports can be reduced to this: Our spooks often can't account for, or keep track of, their secrets. Oh, and by the way, they had to break a few eggs (ie: laws) and they may have been keeping at least one minister out of the loop on what they were up to. This kind of institutional contempt for the law and ministerial responsibility has been standard operating procedure at CSIS and CSE for decades - notwithstanding whether the politicians nominally in charge have been Liberals or Conservatives. Since the mid 1990s, I have been reporting on how CSIS and the CSE have treated the law like a minor irritant. That, years later, politicians are expressing varying degrees of shock at these latest revelations only suggests they've been in a self-induced coma. Read more - Lire plusCSIS doesn't know for sure whether its people funded terroristsToronto Star editorial: Put Canada's spies on a tighter leash
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China reduces sentence for Canadian long imprisoned on terror charges
The Globe and Mail 26/01/2016 - China has commuted the life sentence for a Canadian man whose imprisonment on terrorism charges stands at the centre of a lengthy diplomatic dispute between the two countries. [...] Huseyin Celil, 46, is a Chinese-born imam who was travelling on a Canadian passport when police in Uzbekistan arrested him and sent him to China, where he was sentenced to life in prison. China refuses to recognize his Canadian citizenship and has barred Canadian officials from seeing him. [...] The reduced sentence comes as the Trudeau  government seeks warmer new cross-Pacific diplomatic and trade relations. [...] But the shorter sentence still leaves Mr. Celil behind bars for another two decades: In China, a commuted sentence does not give credit for time served. Kamila Telendibaeva, Mr. Celil's wife, called on Ottawa to renew efforts to win his release. "I really beg Mr. Trudeau to step up. This is his time." [...] Mr. Celil fled China in the mid-1990s after being jailed for using a megaphone to broadcast calls to prayer. A Chinese court subsequently sentenced him to death in absentia for organizing a political party to advocate for China's Uighur Muslim minority. He moved to Canada in 2001 as a political refugee and received a passport four year later. [...] Mr. Celil remains locked in what his Canadian lawyer, Chris MacLeod, calls a "gulag." Read more - Lire plusEditorial by Monia Mazigh: Canadians detained abroad: and now what to do? |
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Anti-terror legislation
Législation anti-terroriste
Knee-deep in surveillance: Bill C-51's unhappy birthday
OpenMedia 30/01/2016 - Over the past few weeks, we have seen positive signs from the new federal government, as it has finally promised to meet calls for public consultation from Canadians, civil society, and experts. Ralph Goodale, Canada's Minister of Public Safety, has said that consultations will be extended to the Canadian public - although when or what that will look like remains unclear. How robust will they be? Will repeal still be an option? Only time will tell. When the Liberals were first elected, civil society and experts, including my organization OpenMedia, outlined three key priorities for addressing C-51. Consultation is one - but a genuine consultation must begin with an explanation of the government's own position, and  after three months in office we're still not sure where the government stands. Alongside the proposal for public consultation, talk of new Parliamentary oversight mechanisms have dominated headlines in recent weeks, again responding to a glaring gap in C-51. But there's one giant problem: While all of this is happening, C-51 is still law. And lack of spy agency oversight is just one of many worrying aspects of this legislation. When are we going to see comprehensive action to undo the broader damage to Canadians' rights? Goodale has said that reforms on C-51 won't likely be introduced until the fall at the earliest. Sadly, in the meantime, Canadians' rights are being violated every day C-51 remains in place. Oversight can't retroactively undo the damage that current legislation is doing. Each day, we're being subjected to excess surveillance. Our data is being shared without any checks and balances in place. There is no recourse for innocent Canadians. C-51's overreaching powers are being normalized. Read more - Lire plusAmnesty International - France: Disproportionate emergency measures leave hundreds traumatizedJacques Toubon dénonce l'entrée de la France dans « l'ère des suspects »France's anti-terrorism laws leave Muslims in a state of fearFrance - Manifestation contre l'état d'urgence : «Ce n'est pas tous les jours qu'on touche à notre Constitution»
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Arguments against Canada's bombing mission exist, but Trudeau hasn't uttered them
rabble.ca 29/01/2016 - There are serious moral and strategic concerns about civilian deaths on the ground in Iraq and Syria. These lie at the heart of lively peace rallies in the UK over David Cameron's decision to participate in the coalition aerial bombing campaign against the forces of the Islamic State. There has not been a similar upsurge of protesters on Canadian streets calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep his election promises and withdraw the six CF-18s from their current mission, which is entirely in Iraq. Canada has, up to now, stayed out of the Syrian portion of the campaign. In the face of a cacophony of voices in the media, and the opposition Conservatives, saying Canada should stay the course in targeting ISIS, few voices are being heard from the other side, either on the streets or in the House of Commons. "I think we've not seen much resistance to the bombing because the demonization campaign has been so successful that everyone is afraid of being equated with ISIS and so few people are familiar with the political dynamics on the ground, which are complex," says Matthew Behrens, writer and co-coordinator of Homes not Bombs. [Peggy Mason] agrees it has not helped matters that the Liberals have not explained -- either during the election or following their victory -- their preference for training and humanitarian assistance rather than continue Stephen Harper's decision to participate in a coalition aerial bombing mission against the Islamic State caliphate over Iraq primarily. Neither the Trudeau nor his defense minister, Harjit Sajjan, have talked about the consequences of civilian casualties from any bombing campaign as a justification for the pull out of Canadian jets. The recently released Pentagon records show Canadian air strikes killed up to 27 civilians. [...] She urges that Canada and its western allies should put more time into improving the political governance of Iraq -- not an easy task she concedes -- to ensure that the Iraqis are the ones primarily doing the combat. "Dropping bombs is not going to solve anything if you are not focused on solving the political problems," says Mason. |
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Autres nouvelles - More news
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ICLMG - Canada's numerous national security agencies - including CSEC, CSIS, the RCMP and CBSA - have inadequate or simply no oversight or review mechanisms. This has led to human rights violations such as the rendition to torture of Canadiancitizens Maher Arar,
Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El-Maati and Muayyed Nurredin, among others. In 2006, Justice O'Connor concluded the Arar Commission with several recommendations to prevent such atrocities from happening again: Canadian national security agencies must be subjected to robust, integrated and comprehensive oversight and review. Years have passed and the federal government has yet to implement the recommendations.
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ICLMG has put together a table detailing the issues with the legislation, actions and review mechanisms of the CSE, CSIS and the RCMP. There are 21 federal departments and agencies with national security responsibilities in Canada  - including the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), Foreign Affairs, National Defence, and Transport Canada. Only 3 have some sort of review mechanism - which are highly inadequate. We need better oversight and review now!
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Action
Tell your MP:
"I demand a real, open consultation that will let us Kill C-51"
OpenMedia - Right now, the government is deciding how to deal with C-51 and its irresponsible spying powers. If we don't act ASAP, there's a huge chance decision-makers will side with pro-surveillance forces and sacrifice our Charter rights once and for all. But, if we can get a real, open consultation  on C-51, people like you will ensure the government finally has to kill the bill's dangerous powers. Parliament resumes on Monday, which means they're deciding now. Message your MP today, and make sure we get the real, open consultation we deserve to kill C-51 for good.
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Action
PM Trudeau: Call on the UAE to free Canadian citizen Salim Alaradi now!
ICLMG - Salim Alaradi, a Canadian citizen and father of 5 young children, has been detained without charge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)  since August 2014. We are also worried that he was tortured. His health is deteriorating quickly as his family has informed us this week. Write to Prime Minister Trudeau to urge him to call on the UAE to free Salim Alaradi now!
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Action
Let Khaled leave Egypt!
Free Khaled Al-Qazzaz - Write to your MP to ask them to urge the Egyptian authorities to remove the travel ban on Canadian resident Khaled  Al-Qazzaz so he can finally be free after being detained without charges for a year and a half and released since January 2015 but prevented from leaving the country.
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Report
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Report
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Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement les positions de la CSILC - The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG
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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 43 Canadian civil society organizations that was established in the aftermath of the September, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. +++
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 43 organisations de la société civile canadienne qui a été créée suite aux attentats terroristes de septembre 2001 aux États-Unis.
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university's Human Rights Research and Education Centre and Centre for International Policy Studies, "Arar +10" reviewed the state of national security and human rights in Canada a decade after a public inquiry was established to investigate the rendition to Syria and torture of Canadian citizen Maher Arar. From a range of panels key recommendations emerged. The conference's recommendations are particularly timely as the new federal government prepares to introduce legal and other reforms reversing or revising national security and citizenship laws and practices.
promote and favour the interests of Canadian mining companies and to influence decisions over extractive projects and related policies. The trend of repression and deregulation in Canada to favour mining, oil, and gas projects is consistent with the model that the Canadian government promotes abroad. Concluding with a series of ideas and recommendations for discussion, the report seeks to spur debate and foster creative action to protect dissent in defence of land and the environment, and to question Canada's role in promoting the underlying economic development model that is putting communities at such a deadly disadvantage.
