Canadian Civil Liberties Association

CCLA has deep concerns with the Government of Alberta’s proposed Bill 18, which would significantly restrict access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) and undermine constitutionally protected rights. Read more here. ccla.org/press-release/…

CCLA Condemns Premier’s Challenge to Judicial Independence in Zameer Case

Canadian Civil Liberties Association Calls for Reform After Major Report on Police Charter Violations The CCLA endorses the public policy recommendations in the ground-breaking report Unlawful Enforcers, concerning violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by major city police services in Ontario. The report was produced by research teams at Western University’s Faculty of Law and the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto. “The report’s findings are grave, documenting over 1,000 Charter violations in a ten-year period by the Toronto, Ottawa, Peel, York, and Durham police services in reported criminal cases” said Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program. “The recommendations in the report outline concrete steps to ensure transparency and accountability when a court finds a police officer violated the Charter” he added. “The patterns identified in Unlawful Enforcers reveal systemic shortcomings that demand coordinated reform by prosecution services, police services, police service boards, and oversight agencies” said Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program. Howard Sapers, Executive Director, emphasized, “These findings point to systemic failures that cannot be ignored. When Charter rights are repeatedly violated, public trust in our institutions erodes. The time for meaningful, coordinated reform is now.” The report can be read here: law.uwo.ca/research/resea… @westernuLaw @CrimSL_TO

Join us today for a discussion of the Ontario government's troubling new proposal to shield itself from accountability by introducing broad exceptions to its right to information and privacy regime. The event will begin at 11 am ET and is hosted by Transparency International Canada. transparencycanada.ca/events/ontario…

Le Devoir just published an op-ed by our Director of Fundamental Freedoms, Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, about our Bill 21 challenge at the Supreme Court of Canada. Read the op-ed here (French-only): ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/…

La semaine prochaine, l'ACLC sera devant la Cour suprême du Canada contre la Loi 21 du Québec. Vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur ce débat historique? L'ACLC a préparé cette fiche d'information.

Next week, CCLA is at the Supreme Court of Canada to continue our challenge to Quebec’s Bill 21. Want to know more about the issue? CCLA has put together this helpful fact sheet.

Dans cette troisième vidéo de notre série sur le projet de loi 21, nous examinons l'utilisation par le gouvernement du Québec des clauses dérogatoires de la Charte québécoise et de la Charte canadienne pour passer outre aux droits et libertés fondamentaux.

Next week, we’re heading to the Supreme Court of Canada to continue our legal challenge to Quebec’s Bill 21. In this third video in our Bill 21 series, we examine the Quebec government’s use of the notwithstanding clauses to override fundamental rights and freedoms.

Watch the testimony of Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, Director of our Fundamental Freedoms Program, at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance as she highlights the deeply concerning new exemption powers introduced by Bill C-15. 📼👇 youtube.com/watch?v=Luz3S-…

The government is pushing Bill C-9 through. This should alarm every Canadian who cares about democratic practice and free expression. Read more below. ccla.org/press-release/…

CCLA sent a letter to the Ontario Attorney General raising concerns about democratic accountability amid the growing number of locally elected school boards being placed under ministerial supervision. You can learn more and read the letter here. ccla.org/press-release/…

CCLA Calls on Senate to Scrutinize Bill C-14 on Bail Reform The Senate of Canada will consider Bill C-14, sweeping criminal justice legislation on bail and sentencing, this week. Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, said: “The CCLA, along with the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies and John Howard Society of Canada, has written to the leaders of Senate Groups to emphasize the need for a thorough committee study of Bill C-14. The House of Commons’ study of Bill C-14 was markedly brief. It did not include testimony from legal organizations or organizations representing Indigenous, Black, or other racialized communities. Several changes – most notably expanded reverse onus bail provisions – raise serious constitutional and public-policy concerns. These changes would increase the disproportionate imprisonment of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities, detain legally innocent people without clear public-safety benefits, and erode Charter rights and protections.” Howard Sapers, Executive Director, added: “The House passed Bill C-48, the last round of federal bail reform, without committee study in 2023. The Senate provided essential scrutiny. The CCLA and other organizations were invited to testify, and the committee heard diverse expert testimony, resulting in a detailed report with important amendments.”

CCLA welcomes the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Kanyinda v. Quebec (Attorney General), finding that Quebec’s exclusion of refugee claimants from subsidized daycare had a disproportionate adverse impact on women. Read more here. ccla.org/press-release/…

Dans cette deuxième vidéo de notre série sur le projet de loi 21, nous nous concentrons sur la manière dont la version déformée de la laïcité promue dans le projet de loi 21 est incompatible avec les valeurs sociétales du Québec.

In two weeks Bill 21 will be before the Supreme Court of Canada. In this second video in our Bill 21 series, we focus on how the distorted version of secularism promoted in Bill 21 is incompatible with Quebec societal values.

On International Women’s Day, we recognize the ongoing struggle for gender justice and the work still needed to ensure that all women and gender-diverse people can live with dignity, equality, and freedom. Gender justice means more than equality in principle. It means dismantling the barriers that continue to exclude women and gender-diverse people from full participation in society. Across Canada, women and gender-diverse communities continue to face systemic barriers and discrimination in many areas of life—from employment and public participation to safety and access to justice. Advancing gender justice requires strong protections for fundamental rights and a commitment to challenging laws and policies that perpetuate inequality. At the CCLA, we are committed to defending civil liberties and advancing gender justice so that all women and gender-diverse people can participate fully and equally in public life. This International Women’s Day, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting rights, confronting discrimination, and building a more just and inclusive society for all.

CCLA's Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Shakir Rahim, will join other experts tomorrow at 1 PM ET for a virtual webinar hosted by the John Howard Society on Bill C-14, the forthcoming federal bail and sentencing legislation. Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

Dans seulement 21 jours, la Loi 21 du Québec sera examinée par la Cour suprême du Canada. Dans cette première vidéo de notre série, nous discutons du dangereux message d'exclusion envoyé par la Loi 21 et de pourquoi nous la contestons devant le plus haut tribunal du pays.

In just 21 days, Quebec’s Bill 21 will be before the Supreme Court of Canada. In this first video of our series, we explain how Bill 21 sends a dangerous message of exclusion and why we are challenging it.