#bccla

[theatre-gay-they]

Premier David Eby, being in government, is a bastard. I don't like the greenwashing of LNG (and the fracking that comes with it), the new involuntary "care" plan, or many other things out of the provincial government. But before Eby became the premier, king bastard of the province, he was a lawyer. More specifically, he worked for the BC Civil Liberties Association, and he wrote a book you absolutely should read (or at least his name is on the cover). It's called the arrest handbook, and like the name implies, it's how to get arrested, how not to get arrested, and what to do if you get arrested. Before you go to an action you should be damn sure wether you're planning to get arrested and wether you're willing to get arrested. In any case, you shouldn't talk to police (more than the "am I free to go" to see if you're being detained and the required basic info if you're driving or after you get arrested), and you should read the damn book, or at least the pocketbook version, both available as pdf on the BCCLA website. Fuck the police, stay safe, keep your comrades safe. And don't peace police other protesters. See you on the streets!

[mgeist]

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 196: Vibert Jack on the Supreme Court’s Landmark Bykovets Internet Privacy Ruling

The federal government has struggled to update Canadian privacy laws over the past decade, leaving the Supreme Court as perhaps the leading source of privacy protection. In 2014, the court issued the Spencer decision, which affirmed a reasonable expectation of privacy in basic subscriber information and earlier this month it released the Bykovets decision, which extends the reasonable expectation…

[liminalweirdo]

“We need safer online experiences for young Canadians, particularly young girls, trans and nonbinary people, but measures taken towards this goal need to be proportionate, clearly defined, effective, and human rights-upholding. Bill S-210 is none of these.” – Pam Hrick, Executive Director & General Counsel, Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)

what can you do?

please use this link to find your MPs and send this pre-written letter if you’re Canadian. Also, share so your Canadian friends can see it! As usual, this bill is being kept quiet so that it can slip under the radar.

[dbunicorn]

Pulling Back the Curtain on Canada's Mass Surveillance Programs – Part One: A Decade of Secret Spy Hearings - BC Civil Liberties AssociationBC Civil Liberties Association

Your incompetence irritates me to no end. Unfortunately while my mother is alive I am.forced to come back to this place. I loathe hypocrites but cockroaches even more.

Teach me a lesson. You can run small children off the road and call it paranoia. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

[timesofocean]

BCCLA Reacts: Civil liberties group disappointed by Cullen Commission report into money laundering

New Post has been published on https://www.timesofocean.com/bccla-reacts-civil-liberties-group-disappointed-by-cullen-commission-report-into-money-laundering/

BCCLA Reacts: Civil liberties group disappointed by Cullen Commission report into money laundering

Vancouver, BC (The Times Groupe)- The BCCLA is disappointed by the Final Report of the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, which was released June 16, 2022. The Final Report recommends invasive measures and a tough-on-crime approach that does not give due consideration to constitutional rights. The BCCLA was the only civil liberties organization granted full participant status in the Cullen Commission, where it advocated for human rights, privacy protections and due process during public hearings from February 2020 to October 2022.

The Final Report calls for sweeping changes to tackle money laundering in the province, including the introduction of unexplained wealth orders, the aggressive pursuit of civil forfeiture, increased policing, and broad information collection and sharing. Throughout the hearings, the BCCLA spoke out against taking this approach, arguing that these invasive measures undermine constitutional rights, have not been adequately tested, and would be expensive to implement. The BCCLA advocated instead for addressing the root causes of money laundering, including our failed model of drug prohibition.

Jessica Magonet, BCCLA staff counsel: “We are extremely troubled that the Cullen Commission is encouraging the province to ramp up civil forfeiture to fight money laundering. BC’s civil forfeiture regime grants extraordinary power to the state, impacts Charter rights, and harms marginalized communities. We are also disturbed that the Cullen Commission is calling for the introduction of unexplained wealth orders – a controversial legal tool that erodes the presumption of innocence.”

Stephen Chin, BCCLA staff counsel: “We recognize that money laundering is a problem that requires commensurate solutions informed by the principles of balance and restraint. These recommendations, viewed cumulatively, cannot be reconciled with these principles and threaten our constitutional rights. When the Commission calls for substantial expansions to enforcement measures and information sharing, this is cause for concern.”

The BCCLA was represented in the Cullen Commission by Megan Tweedie, Jessica Magonet and Stephen Chin.

[stormhavenmedia]

Harsha Walia BCCLA Exec. Director helped form Antifa and plan the "Blockades"

Harsha Walia BCCLA Exec. Director helped form Antifa and plan the “Blockades”

Know The Player Know the Game.. part 1

Harsha Walia

Group affiliations;

NOII, No one is Illegal

PIRG, Public Interest Research Group

BCCLA, British Columbia Civil Liberties Assoc.

Walia was born in Bahrain to apparently South Asian parents. I say apparently because when asked during an interview about her origin she said ” And then I also work within my own community, which I identifyas the…

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Punch Up Collective

Upcoming Radical Events in Ottawa

Event Listings: Monday, September 27 – Sunday, October 3, 2021

This is the most recent compilation from the Radical Events Ottawa (REO) List. The REO List is a public announcement list for radical events, meetings, protests, and other activities in Ottawa, Ontario, on unceded Algonquin territory. The Punch Up Collective collects submissions and produces this curated weekly compilation of upcoming activities.

Due to COVID-19, we’ve expanded the list of events we would typically include to feature more online activities and actions, including some that are not specific solely to the Ottawa area. 

Would you like to see your event included in the next REO list? Submit it through this form by the Friday before! Find out more about our submission guidelines and how to subscribe or unsubscribe here.

CONTENTS

Possible Futures: Rad Frosh – September 24 – October 3

A Short History of Prisons Designated for Women – Tuesday, September 28, 6:00PM

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/ Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation – Thursday, September 30, 8:30AM

Suffer the Little Children: Tamara Starblanket on genocide, Indigenous Nations & the Canadian State – Thursday, September 30, 7:00-8:30PM

Families of Sisters in Spirit Vigil 2021 ~ In Memory of Gladys Tolley ~ 20th anniversary – Monday, October 4, at 4:30PM

What does the murder of activist Mariano Abarca-México say about Canadian government accountability? – Tuesday, October 5, 3:00PM

DETAILS

1. Possible Futures: Rad Frosh – September 24 – October 3

Online

Hosted by: OPIRG Carleton, Graduate Students Association, Carleton Equity Services

What does it look like to radically re-imagine a world that is different from the one we live in, and how do we get there? 

Possible Futures: OPIRG Carleton Rad Frosh encourages incoming students, and community members to stretch our imaginations and conceptions of what is possible – hoping to ground the social and political actions of today in our goals for the future.

We are presenting over a week of programming, predominantly coming from the minds of community members and students. Join us for talks, workshops, and events from September 24th to October 3rd.

Talks and panels will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, and workshops will held on zoom. Ensure that you register for workshops using the Eventbrite link below:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/possible-futures-opirg-carleton-rad-frosh-tickets-170453456878

*OPIRG-Carleton works and operates on unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin/ Anishinaabe territory. However, we recognize that our online operation has expanded our reach and the land that our community extends to. We encourage you to find out on which land you have settled or arrived.

2. A Short History of Prisons Designated for Women – Tuesday, September 28, 6:00PM

Online

Hosted by The Simone de Beauvoir Institute and Nathalie Batraville

“A Short History of Prisons Designated for Women” with Johanne Wendy Bariteau

Online public lecture organized by Dr. Nathalie Batraville in the context of “WSDB498: Ending Sexual Violence” but open to all.

Register in advance for this meeting: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qc–qqTouEtGrTsXg-NbmMQ5zhetNQZKH

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

About Wendy:

Johanne Wendy Bariteau has a deep interest in and understanding of the criminal justice system, specifically the carceral system and its impacts on folks in federal prisons designated for women.

To that end she has worked for several organizations involved in supporting folks who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated across Canada. In BC she was a board member of the West Coast Prison Legal Services and volunteered for BCCLA and is a member of the grassroots organizations Joint Effort, a women’s prisoner support group.

She also helps with Prisoner Justice Day Committee to organize public education events and Prison Justice Network. She is now the regional coordinator for Ontario and Québec at the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry societies. She is also involved with other organizations, for example Anti Carceral Group and the Abolition Coalition. Working in multiple regions has given her an appreciation for the federal carceral system and how it plays out in regional contexts.

She has been interacting with students at various universities where she has been asked to lecture on the carceral system. For example, she lectured for the faculty of law at the University of British Columbia, for the Women’s and Gender studies department at Capilano University, and for the criminology department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Her education and training contribute to he understanding of the criminal justice system: in July 2020 she completed her Gladue Report Writing certificate with Indigenous Perspectives Society and Royal Roads University; in August 2019 she completed her Paralegal Diploma.

3. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/ Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation – Thursday, September 30, 8:30AM

Parliament Hill

Hosted by PSAC National Capital Region | Région de la capitale nationale de l’AFPC

September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new federal statutory holiday that came from one of the 94 Calls to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. For the past few years, it’s also been commemorated as Orange Shirt Day.

All federal public service workers and many workers in federally regulated sectors have the day off to provide an opportunity “to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools. This may present itself as a day of quiet reflection or participation in a community event.”

PSAC-NCR is organizing a delegation to attend a ceremony at Parliament Hill, followed by a Spirit Walk to Confederation Park where there will be presentations, music, art, and more. Check out the details of the event here: https://remember-me-september-30.org/

We will meet up in the parking lot of PSAC (233 Gilmour) at 8:30 a.m. and depart at 8:45 a.m. to walk together to Parliament Hill for 9:00 a.m. We will also have a limited supply of orange shirts to give out in the parking lot so arrive early for a shirt! Limited parking space will be available. There are parking lots and street parking nearby. Event organizers have asked attendees to practice social distancing. Mask-wearing is mandatory and vaccinations are recommended in order to protect the safety of Elders and residential school survivors in attendance.

Don’t forget to dress for the weather and bring a water bottle!

Let’s make sure to kick off the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by bringing ourselves to the task and showing up, in whichever ways we can, to honour the survivors of residential schools, mourn the children who never made it home, and work towards truth and reconciliation not just this day but around the year.

Please share this event with family, friends, and your coworkers!

///

Le 30 septembre est la Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation, un nouveau jour de congé statutaire fédéral qui découle de l’un des 94 appels à l’action de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation du Canada. Depuis quelques années, elle est aussi commémorée comme la journée de la chemise orange.

Tous les fonctionnaires fédéraux et de nombreux travailleuses et travailleurs des secteurs réglementés par le gouvernement fédéral ont droit à ce jour de congé afin d’avoir l’occasion de ” reconnaître et de commémorer les séquelles des pensionnats. Ils peuvent en profiter pour réfléchir calmement ou pour participer à un événement communautaire.”

L’AFPC-RCN organise une délégation qui assistera à une cérémonie sur la colline du Parlement, suivie d’une marche spirituelle jusqu’au parc de la Confédération où il y aura des présentations, de la musique, de l’art et plus encore. Consultez les détails de l’événement ici : https://remember-me-september-30.org/ (disponible en anglais seulement).

Nous nous rassemblerons dans le stationnement de l’AFPC (233, rue Gilmour) à 8 h 30 et partirons à 8 h 45 pour marcher ensemble jusqu’à la colline du Parlement à 9 h. Nous aurons également un nombre limité de t-shirts orange à distribuer dans le stationnement, alors arrivez tôt pour en obtenir un! Un nombre limité de places de stationnement sera disponible. Il y a des parcs de stationnement et du stationnement dans la rue à proximité.

Les organisateurs de l’événement ont demandé aux participants de pratiquer la distanciation sociale. Le port du masque est obligatoire et la vaccination est recommandée afin de protéger la sécurité des aînés et des survivants des pensionnats qui seront présents.

N’oubliez pas de vous habiller pour le temps et d’apporter une bouteille d’eau!

Assurons-nous de donner le coup d’envoi de la première Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation en nous mettant à la tâche et en nous montrant, de toutes les façons possibles, pour honorer les survivants des pensionnats, faire le deuil des enfants qui ne sont jamais rentrés chez eux et travailler à la vérité et à la réconciliation, non seulement ce jour-là mais tout au long de l’année.

Partagez cet événement avec vos proches et vos collègues de travail!

4. Suffer the Little Children: Tamara Starblanket on genocide, Indigenous Nations & the Canadian State – Thursday, September 30, 7:00-8:30PM

Online

Join us on Truth and Reconciliation Day for an online conversation with legal scholar Tamara Starblanket on genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian state. Hosted by Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada (English speaking Branch), and Octopus Books.

LINK TO REGISTER: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oSE3Bv7HSYyAZbCiCU4QPg

ASL interpretation will be available. Participants are also invited to advise of any accessibility needs when they register. 

Many settler Canadians have expressed shock at the findings of ground penetrating radar at the sites of former residential schools across the country, which have revealed the remains of thousands of Indigenous children kidnapped by the colonial state from their homes and families and Nations. These horrifying “discoveries” are already known to Indigenous Nations attempting for years to get justice.

Justice as defined by the Canadian and international legal systems is far from adequate. Tamara Starblanket carefully prepared her master’s thesis on this issue, which became the book Suffer the Little Children: Genocide, Indigenous Nations, and the Canadian State (Clarity Press, 2018). Available from Octopus Books: https://octopusbooks.ca/shop?keyword=9780998694771

This powerful work turns the western legal system against itself despite the shortfalls of legal recourse that were founded in colonialism and imperialism. Yet, her work does demonstrate the Canadian state is culpable for genocide and violates international customary law. It explains in detail how the crime of genocide was conceptualized following World War 2 by the international community, how colonial countries, including Canada, sought to shield themselves against possible prosecution and sidestep the link between cultural genocide and colonialism.

Tamara Starblanket is Spider Woman, a Nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) from Ahtahkakoop First Nation in Treaty Six. Tamara holds an LLM (Master of Laws) from the University of Saskatchewan, and an LLB from the University of British Columbia. She is the Dean of Academics at Native Education College on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations or what is commonly referred to as Vancouver, BC. Starblanket is the recipient of the 2020 Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy for her book Suffer the Little Children: Genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian State.

More info: https://amnesty.ca/what-you-can-do/events/#event=67793783;instance=20210930190000

5. Families of Sisters in Spirit Vigil 2021 ~ In Memory of Gladys Tolley ~ 20th anniversary – Monday, October 4, at 4:30PM

Vincent Massey Park

Hosted by Families of Sisters in Spirit

Honor & remember all Missing/Murdered Indigenous WGT2S.

Honor & remember all Missing/Murdered Residential School Children.

20th Anniversary of Gladys Tolley – MOM 

In Memory of Aileen Joseph 

6. What does the murder of activist Mariano Abarca-México say about Canadian government accountability? – Tuesday, October 5, 3:00PM

Online

Hosted by MiningWatch Canada, Institute for Policy Studies, Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala, GRITE UOttawa Territoires de l’extractivisme, and Canadian Foreign Policy Institute

ROUNDTABLE: Does the government have the right to deceive the public?

What does the murder of activist Mariano Abarca in Chiapas, México say about Canadian government accountability?

DATE: Tuesday, Oct 5, 2021

TIME: 12 pm PST / 3 pm EST

Platform: Zoom and Facebook live 

This event will be in English and Spanish; if you need interpretation REGISTER HERE (FOR FREE!): https://bit.ly/3hCLBbN

WITH:

Moderator: Bianca Mugyenyi, Director, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute 

First hour: Economic Diplomacy

* Representative of the Abarca family from Chicomuselo, Chiapas, Mexico

* Charis Kamphuis, Justice and Corporate Accountability Project

* Jen Moore, Global Economy Program, Institute for Policy Studies

* Nicholas Pope, Lawyer on the case, Hameed Law, Ottawa

Second hour: Approaches to Enforcement

Reflections of expert panel

* Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary-General, Amnesty International Canada

* Representative of Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights

* David Yazbek, Lawyer, Centre for Freedom of Expression

Reflections of Soledad García Muñoz, IACHR Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights

On November 27, 2009, Mariano Abarca was shot and killed in front of his family restaurant in Chicomuselo, Chiapas, in southern Mexico. Abarca had been a key leader in his community’s fight against the social and environmental impacts of a Canadian company’s mining operations. All of the suspects in his murder were connected to the Calgary-based company, Blackfire Exploration. There never has been a full, impartial investigation neither in Mexico nor in Canada.

This case has been brought to Canada because documents obtained through Access to Information show that the Canadian Embassy in Mexico supported Blackfire extensively in the lead up to and following the murder of Mariano Abarca. Embassy officials, the family’s lawyers argue, are implicated in his death. In February 2018, Canadian and Mexican organizations asked the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (PSIC) to investigate the acts and omissions of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico that they believe contributed to putting Mr. Abarca’s life in danger.

The Commissioner refused to commence an investigation in April 2018, and the matter is now before the Federal Court of Appeal. The Federal Court upheld his decision, which is now before the Federal Court of Appeal. We are currently awaiting a hearing date, which could be announced at any time. This is the family’s final recourse to seek justice in Canada.

As such, this roundtable will discuss Canadian practice when it comes to embassies abroad and conflicts over Canadian mining operations, asking whether Mariano’s case is the pattern or an exception. We will also explore what policy Canadian officials should be expected to follow in such cases, and how Canada’s human rights obligations are fulfilled. Finally, do we have any way to hold public officials to account when things go wrong as they did for Mariano? And if not, what needs to change?

CO-SPONSORS:

– Amnesty International-Canada

– Americas Policy Group (APG)

– Canadian Foreign Policy Institute (CFPI)

– Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA)

-Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

-Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO)

– Committee for Human Rights in Latin America (CDHAL)

– Common Frontiers

– Human Rights Research and Education Centre – University of Ottawa

– Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) – Global Economy Program

– Interdisciplinary Research Group on the Territories of Extractivism (GRITE)

– Inter Pares

– KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

– Mining Justice Action Committee (MJAC)- Victoria

– MiningWatch Canada

– People’s Health Movement – Canada- Extractives working group

– Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala (PAQG)

– Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Social Justice Fund – Rights Action

– Steelworkers Humanity Fund

Posted to punch up collective dot org

[pnwpol]

Civil Liberties and Indigenous Rights Groups Call on CRCC to Immediately Take Conduct of Investigation into Wet’suwet’en Land Defender’s Police Complaint

BC Civil Liberties Association and Union of BC Indian Chiefs are calling on the Chairperson of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) to immediately take charge of the investigation of a Wet’suwet’en land defender’s police complaint.

According to Mr. Cody Merriman (Wedlidi), “I made a police complaint to the CRCC because I was expecting an independent and civilian investigation into the illegal RCMP exclusion zone on Wet’suwet’en territories as part of the militarized raids on the yintah in January 2020. Instead, I have had the very same RCMP officers who were involved in leading the police operations show up unannounced to my home, claim they are the ones ‘informally resolving’ my police complaint against other officers, and try to intimidate me to drop the complaint.”

“Indigenous peoples have always asserted our laws and presence on our territories, but I was denied access to my wife and family’s territories, Gidimt’en yintah, which was subjected to militarized police operations and an exclusion zone earlier this year. Now, we can’t even get a proper and independent investigation into the illegal police misconduct and criminalization of Indigenous people. This is outrageous,” further states Mr. Merriman.

On January 15 2020, Mr. Cody Merriman filed a police complaint with the CRCC. Mr. Merriman was bringing food and emergency supplies to the Gidimt’en Checkpoint on Wet’suwet’en territories but was denied entry and access at the RCMP exclusion zone, in contravention of the RCMP’s own statements and Merriman’s inherent Indigenous and Charter-protected rights.

In May 2020, two RCMP officers arrived unannounced at Mr. Merriman’s home. The officers were unclear about the nature of their visit, and proceeded to interrogate and intimidate Mr. Merriman about his police complaint. In a subsequent letter in June 2020, the RCMP argued that two of the officers in Mr. Merriman’s complaint were Reserve Constables and would not be included in the complaint investigation, even though Reservists are appointed under the RCMP Act and fall under the jurisdiction of the CRCC.

According to Carly Teillet, BCCLA Community Lawyer, “Individual RCMP officers and the Smithers RCMP Detachment involved in leading RCMP militarized actions on Wet’suwet’en territories and subject to a policy complaint to the CRCC should not be investigating Mr. Merriman’s complaint. This is a clear conflict of interest. We call on the CRCC Chairperson to immediately take conduct of the complaint investigation from the RCMP. We further call on the CRCC to include the conduct of the two reserve constables in the complaint investigation.”

“At a time of increased public scrutiny about police violence and lack of police accountability, it is reprehensible that Indigenous people who were subjected to one of the largest police operations in this province are being informed that they have to undergo an ‘informal dispute resolution’ with the RCMP and that certain officers are magically immune from investigation. This is not accountability and this is not justice for illegal and colonial police violence on unceded lands,” says Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

Aug 27, 2020

[peacockbutch]

streetbox on instagram 08/03/2020:

With so many misleading reports and click bait headlines from the mainstream media, I wanted to make sure this was not lost or forgotten.

The BC government has repeatedly and purposefully misled the province to advance CGL’s agenda.

Stand with the UCCLA and the UBCIC in calling for the resignation of Mike Farnworth. Please read the press release {link} posted by @nogentlewords​ and click the link in my bio {link} to send an email to @johnhorgan4bc

Image description and Email Template under cut

[ ID: four images of white text on blue background which read

John Horgan and Mike Farnworth lied when they said they don’t control the RCMP

A letter was released last week from Mike Farnworth (BC Minister ofPublic Safety and Solicitor General) to the RCMP Deputy Commissioner, Jennifer Strachan.

In it, Farnworth declared a”provincial emergency” and explicitly authorized the “internal redeployment of resources within the provincial police service”.

Meaning, he authorized additional RCMP resources in Wet’suwet’en territory at cost to the province.

It has also been revealed that Mike Farnworth under Section 23 of the Police Act “has authorized and sanctioned the City of Surrey to establish its own police force”.

The RCMP currently has jurisdiction in Surrey.

Meaning, he authorized the removal of RCMP from the City of Surrey.

Despite John Horgan stating multiple times “the government has no authority to direct the RCMP”, this is clearly not the case.

Join the BCCLA and UBCIC in calling for the immediate resignation of Mike Farnworth.

Go to the link in my bio {link} for contact information and email template.

/end ID ]

Email Template from link:

Email Address: john.horgan.mla@leg.bc.ca, premier@gov.bc.ca

Subject: I demand the immediate resignation of Mike Farnworth

Dear Premier Horgan, 

On March 6, 2020, it was revealed that the BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth declared a “provincial emergency” and explicitly authorized the additional deployment of RCMP forces in Wet'suwet'en sovereign territory at cost to the province. 

On February 27, it was revealed that the BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth authorized the removal of RCMP from the City of Surrey. 

Clearly, the repeated claims by your government that the province does not direct RCMP actions are not true. You have repeatedly lied to the public in effort to further your own agenda, violating the rights of Indigenous title holders in favour of a foreign owned LNG company. 

I stand with the BCCLA and UBCIC and call for the immediate resignation of Mike Farnworth “for dishonourable conduct and for declaring the Wet'suwet'en people a policing emergency and threat on their own territories”. 

Name

Address

Phone Number

[mostlysignssomeportents]

#10yrsago Anti-Olympic mural censored in Vancouver

Greg sez, "Yesterday the Crying Room Gallery got a visit from City of Vancouver bylaw inspectors who demanded that they remove "graffiti" from the front of their gallery. The graffiti in question was an anti-Olympic mural by a local artist. The City says it had 'nothing to do with content' and everything to do with graffiti bylaws, but the Crying Room has had art up in that space for the better part of ten years without complaint. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has come out against the City's crackdown. The BCCLA Legal Observer Program, set up to monitor for rights violations during the Games, has started a gallery of Olympic censorship in Vancouver."

https://boingboing.net/2009/12/11/anti-olympic-mural-c.html

[fightforthesoulofthecities]

Black Los Angeles Los Angeles Community Leaders Stand United

Black Los Angeles Los Angeles Community Leaders Stand United

Black Los Angeles Los Angeles Community Leaders stand United

The Bus Riders Union is proud to be a part of a coalition of more than 44 Black Leaders and Civil Rights groups in Los Angeles raising 55 demands in light of the impact of Covid 19 infections and deaths in the Black Community. We appreciate the leadership of Dr. Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives matter, in organizing this…

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“There was a time when an unconstitutional government policy was not something lamented then simply rebranded. Once a court found it unconstitutional, the practice just ... ended, especially when politicians had campaigned against it. Not so solitary confinement – an old practice that today’s Parliament loves to hate, hates to love, but just keeps on doing.

Reading the latest court decision on solitary confinement (R v. Prystay, from Alberta), one doesn’t know whether to sigh with relief that another court got it so right, or cry over what took place. How could it be that a person in our country was held for 400 days in the deplorable conditions and extreme isolation that make up solitary confinement?

Justice Dawn Pentelechuk held that placing an inmate in solitary confinement for 400 days – where he suffered physical and psychological harms – was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of Section 12 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She wrote:

"Societal views on what is acceptable treatment or punishment evolve over time. Forced sterilization, residential schools, lobotomies to treat mental disorders, corporal punishment in schools and the death penalty are all examples of treatment once considered acceptable. Segregation ravages the body and the mind. There is growing discomfort over its continued use as a quick solution to complex problems.”

And yet our federal government intends to maintain the practice of solitary confinement – now rebranded as “administrative segregation.” While the recently introduced Bill C-83 declares that it would “eliminate the use of administrative segregation,” the actual provisions of the bill would do no such thing. It is true that Bill C-83 would change the name of the “segregation unit” to the “structured intervention unit.” It would add a few daily hours out of cell for some inmates. And it would offer most inmates a shower and a few other minor improvements. However, Bill C-83 also would allow our penitentiaries to keep people in conditions of extreme isolation for at least 22 hours a day for undefined, perhaps indefinite periods.

But Bill C-83 has not yet been passed. The government can amend it, or better yet, introduce a new bill that truly eliminates solitary confinement. In doing so, the government could still seek to include any exceptions it thought necessary. If the government had evidence to support specific, rare, and very brief situations of isolation, this is something reasonable people could discuss.

Instead, unfathomably, Parliament is doubling down on Bill C-83 and fussing over what kind of independent review process is needed to keep someone in the newly named structured intervention units. To be sure, the concern about independent review is important, and is no doubt the government’s response to court decisions that struck down the administrative segregation regime in two recent constitutional challenges by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, respectively. The courts in Ontario and B.C. took issue with the lack of an independent review process when determining if someone should stay in solitary. However, this was not the only constitutional issue before the courts. CCLA and BCCLA also challenged the long, indefinite durations, segregation of people with mental illness, youth and those who simply asked to be safe, and the discriminatory use of segregation against Indigenous people. Many of these issues were accepted by the B.C. court. Most are back before the courts on appeal.

In striking down the administrative segregation regimes, the Ontario and B.C. rulings spend pages detailing the many harms, sometimes irreversible and permanent. These include hallucinations, depression, anxiety, loss of control, paranoia, self-mutilation and suicidal thoughts. These harms were researched and established by doctors and psychologists over many years.” -  Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, “Rebranding solitary confinement doesn’t change what it is.” The Globe and Mail. January 21, 2019.

[bcpoli]

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has released thousands of heavily redacted documents by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in regards to allegations the agency had spied on peaceful protesters of the now-defunct Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project.

The BCCLA has uploaded all the documents to a searchable website.

The CSIS-disclosed documents had been held under a confidentiality order by the Security Intelligence Review Committee [SIRC], Canada's spy agency watchdog, which recently expired.

"What we've now received is a huge volume of secret evidence that we didn't get to see at all before," said Paul Champ, a lawyer with Champ and Associates representing the BCCLA.

Champ told CBC's Early Edition host Stephen Quinn the documents show over 500 CSIS reports about individuals or groups who had been protesting the pipeline proposal.

"[It] raises concerns that this isn't about national security, but it's about protecting the economic interests of Canada's energy sector and, in our view, that's completely beyond CSIS' mandate," he said.

The civil liberties association first challenged CSIS' actions in 2014 with a complaint to SIRC alleging the agency was spying on pipeline opponents. The association further claimed the information was being shared with the National Energy Board and the petroleum industry.

During private hearings with SIRC, CSIS disclosed the now-available documents.

The complaint was dismissed, however,  when the review committee concluded information had only been gathered on peaceful protesters as a by-product of investigations into legitimate threats, not as the goal.

The BCCLA has been working to overturn the watchdog's dismissal in Federal Court.

[dbunicorn]

FUREY: Trudeau Liberals ram through online censorship bill | Toronto Sun

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/furey-trudeau-liberals-ram-through-online-censorship-bill-and-only-the-senate-can-save-us-now

Explain to me how these two ideas are compatible with democracy.

You don't have any issues harassing old women, children, mothers. You have no issue ticketing women with children in the car. Child endangerment, or felony stalking but telling the truth. That seems to be a fucking problem. Gaslight your citizens and pretend they have mental health issues. I'd much rather be crazy, paranoid or delusional than be the historic, global, spineless Failure that you are. Failure by every metric

God save the queen.

Barack Obama would be proud.