Shakir Rahim

On April 22, 2026, Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program, testified on Bill C-14 restricting bail before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. You can watch his testimony below. The CCLA’s brief can be read here: tinyurl.com/3439atmc.

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

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

CCLA is intervening in R. v. Cope at the Supreme Court of Canada to address the overrepresentation of indigenous people in prisons. Read more here. ccla.org/press-release/…

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association strongly opposes Bill C-16 announced today by the Minister of Justice. The legislation would overturn nearly 40 years of Supreme Court precedent holding that a stay of proceedings is the remedy for unconstitutional trial delay, removing the strongest constraint requiring the justice system to run on time. “The federal government’s proposal to gut the s. 11(b) Charter right to be tried in a reasonable time is unconstitutional and punts the hard work of resolving delay,” said Shakir Rahim, Director of the Criminal Justice Program. “Governments have been on notice of the Jordan decision for a decade. Yet they have failed to ensure the justice system is properly funded and run to ensure timely trials. The solution to that is not to water down our Charter rights, but for governments to step up and do their job.” “Bill C-16 would keep the accused, complainants, and communities in legal limbo for even longer. Under Jordan, the state already has 18 months in provincial court or 30 months in superior court to complete a prosecution. The government is trying to legalize proceedings routinely running over two and a half years in length,” added Rahim. “Even a person who will be ultimately acquitted of their charges could spend years of their life behind bars with no end in sight.” “This bill is part of a troubling broader picture. Governments are increasingly turning to legislating their way out of compliance with the Charter instead of addressing the underlying causes of serious public policy problems. Every person in Canada should be alarmed by this cavalier approach toward their constitutional rights,” added CCLA Executive Director, Howard Sapers.

Read our full statement about the threat made by the Edmonton Police Service against the Crown because they disagree with a prosecutorial decision here. ccla.org/press-release/…

Read our statement on bail reform and letter to the Minister of Justice here. ccla.org/press-release/…

The Supreme Court released its decision in Bouvette concerning remedies for miscarriages of justice. The CCLA was an intervenor in this case. Miscarriages of justice represent some of the gravest failures of the criminal justice system. For example, an innocent person may have pleaded guilty or been convicted of a serious criminal offence because their right to a fair trial was violated. This appeal concerned the proper remedy an appellate court should order when there is a miscarriage of justice. The Court unanimously agreed that the Appellant in this case was entitled to an acquittal, but split 5-4 about why, and what framework should govern similar cases in future. Read more about the decision below. ccla.org/criminal-justi…

My @globeandmail lawful access op-ed: “Bill C-2 is far from just a border bill. The government and law enforcement are running back a decades-old warrantless access playbook that should be roundly rejected as it trades a border crisis for a privacy one.” theglobeandmail.com/gift/bc5ccfd82…

Privacy At Risk: Government Buries Lawful Access Provisions in New Border Bill - my 2,600 word post on the history of lawful access and the new “information demand” power, global production orders, and new rules on law enforcement access to communications. michaelgeist.ca/2025/06/privac…

Does Ontario need tougher judges? Should we elect them? Doug Ford thinks so. @spaikin asks @szrahim (@cancivlib), @donnakellway (Ontario Crown Attorneys' Association), @BBytensky (@ClaOntario), and @CopelanPeter (@MLInstitute) tonight At 8/11pm | Producer: @catastrophizer #onpoli

Read our letter calling on the Solicitor General of Ontario to urgently address the recommendations from the Faqiri inquest on deaths in custody and mental healthcare in Ontario prisons. The letter is sent with the support of the Faqiri family and co-signed with 35 provincial and national civil society organizations.

Our statement on Premier Ford’s alarming remarks on judicial independence.

CCLA’s statement on the proposed use of the notwithstanding clause in the run-up to the federal election.

CCLA reacts to the shocking events at Maplehurst Correctional Complex. Read our press release here: ccla.org/press-release/…

"We're hearing about bail, as a core right... being removed altogether." — @szrahim (@cancivlib) on bail reform, tonight at 11pm with @j_maloney, Mark Baxter (@presidentpao @PoliceAssocON), Nicole Myers (@queensu), and @spaikin | Producer: @constvarlo #cdnpoli

This is shocking, Ontario’s Minister for Bail Reform says Umar Zameer, an innocent man, should have been denied bail and jailed (6m55s).

@BramptonGraham Your proposal states bail should never be available for certain offences, whether or not someone has a criminal record. Half of all criminal cases do not result in a finding of guilt. Innocent people, like Umar Zameer, would be in jail for years before their day in court.

We aren’t talking about kids stealing from their parent’s liquor cabinet.   We’re talking about people that are repeat and violent offenders that have shot police officers, stolen cars and repeatedly demonstrated violent and criminal behaviour.

“To be clear: Ontario is proposing that a person with no criminal record facing a weak case should now be sent directly to jail until a trial takes place - a process that could take up to three years.” - @szrahim

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is expressing serious concerns about Ontario’s bail reform proposals: “Ontario's proposal to eliminate bail in all cases for certain offences is a direct attack on due process and a violation of the Charter.”