CBA Calls for Better Balance and Tighter Oversight

Striking the right balance between security and individual rights, expanding the scope of the review, and creating oversight mechanisms to ensure accountability are the three key messages to the federal government in the CBA’s evaluation of Canada’s three-year-old Anti-terrorism Act. “In our view, the government has not yet come up with the right equation and that means invasions of our privacy and fundamental rights are creeping into Canadian law,” says CBA President Susan McGrath.

The submission recommends further changes to the Act:

• The current definition of terrorism is too wide and too vague, and should be consistent in all laws relating to terrorism;
• Once Canada shares information with another country, it does not have control over it. Safeguards must be put in place to ensure that Canadian citizens are not put at risk; and
• A security certificate issued against a foreign national under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act cannot be appealed. The CBA recommends an appeal of a Federal Court decision, with leave of the Federal Court of Appeal. Where the government demands secrecy for security reasons, the court should name an advocate to represent the interests of the person concerned.

Law Day with Prime Minister Paul Martin

On April 14, CBA President Susan McGrath shared the stage with Prime Minister Paul Martin, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, and 25 high school students for a Q&A session on Law Day in Ottawa. The interactive program with the PM capped a morning of Law Day events including a mock trial and career panel, and involving some 950 high school students.

As part of the celebrations recognizing the 20th anniversary of section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the CBA President explained the importance of equality rights and their evolution in the past two decades: “The Charter is not just a document in a glass case. It is a moving force in our lives. It matters to us today but it will become even more important to you in the years to come as you shoulder the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.”

Questions from the students covered a wide range of topics from equality rights to racial profiling to the Gomery Commission.

CBA Supports Changes to Family Reunification

The CBA Immigration Law Section has welcomed the changes announced by Immigration Minister Joe Volpe in April to improve the family unification process for immigrants living in Canada.

“Family unification is a cornerstone of Canada’s immigration policy and is enshrined as an objective of immigration legislation,” says Wendy Danson, of Edmonton, Chair of the CBA Immigration Law Section. “We support and welcome the positive steps being taken by the government to speed up the process for bringing parents, children and siblings of those already living and working here.”

The CBA has called for improvements to the family reunification process for many years, most recently on April 15 in Banff at the national Continuing Legal Education program on immigration, where the Minister and his officials were present.

IDP Expands to Caribbean

The CBA’s International Development Program is expanding to five Commonwealth Caribbean countries. Working with the Inter-American Development Bank, IDP will carry out an assessment of legal aid needs and capacities. Until the end of August, the CBA will work with the Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations to prepare legal aid reports in the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. The project involves consultations with governments, courts, local bar associations, law societies and civil society groups. The results of this research will become part of a larger initiative to improve access to justice in the English-speaking Caribbean. Details: www.cba.org/CBA/IDP

These articles were published in the June 2005 issue of BarTalk and are subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.