Human rights groups urge Liberals to vote against Bill C-3
Human rights groups urge Liberals to vote against Bill C-3 Legislation introduced following Supreme Court decision on security certificates Ottawa (14 Dec. 2007) - Human rights organizations are expressing concern that the federal Liberal Party appears poised to vote in favour of Bill C-3, legislation introduced by the Harper government to allow the continued use of security certificates and the secret trial provisions they contain. Security certificates are documents issued under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allowing the federal government to hold indefinitely without trial any person 'suspected' of being a security threat. In addition, the process denies the accused, and their lawyers, access to certain evidence against them on grounds of national security. In February of 2006 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the existing legislation providing for security certificates violated the Canadian Charter or Rights and Freedoms. The court gave parliament one year to make changes to the legislation. In the top court's ruling, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, it was noted that the secrecy surrounding the security certificate process is a violation of section 7 of the Charter, guaranteeing an individual the right to life, liberty and security of the person. Section 7 of the Charter is also the provision that has been interpreted in the past as guaranteeing the right to a fair trial. The 89-page court ruling notes that "the secrecy required by the scheme denies the person named in a certificate the opportunity to know the case put against him or her, and hence to challenge the government's case. This, in turn, undermines the judge's ability to come to a decision based on all the relevant facts and law." Opposing voices In response to the court's decision, the minority Conservative government hastily introduced Bill C-3. However, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), the Quebec Bar Association, and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada have argued that Bill C-3 does not adequately respond to the court's concerns about secrecy and is unlikely to pass a future constitutional challenge. Both the Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Party have stated they will vote against Bill C-3. But human rights groups are concerned that the Liberal party appears willing to support the legislation and ensure its passage through the House of Commons. The CBA argues that Bill C-3 requires further changes to meet the constitutional standard outlined by the Supreme Court. The legislation is based on the British model of special advocates for those people held on security certificates, but does not take into account recent changes made in that country to the process. "Bill C-3 has incorporated several flaws in the special advocates system, and omits positive aspects of the Security Intelligence Review Committee process - a 'made-in-Canada regime' - which was successfully used to handle secret information in immigration proceedings before the introduction of the current legislation," says Isabelle Dongier of Montreal, a member of the CBA's National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section. Other groups argue that Bill C-3 does little to change the fundamental problems with the security certificate process. Amnesty International Amnesty International stated in a press release that Bill C-3 "falls dismally short of what would be required to meet minimal international and constitutional fair trial guarantees." Furthermore, Amnesty International also argues that the legislation fails to remedy "provisions in Canadian law allowing individuals who are alleged to be security threats to be deported to countries where they face a serious risk of being tortured remain unchanged. Deporting anyone to a situation of likely torture clearly contravenes Canada's international human rights obligations. UN level expert human rights bodies have repeatedly called on Canada to amend these provisions." The groups are urging the Liberal Party to take a definitive stand against Bill C-3 in the interests of ensuring people's civil rights are protected. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE Web posted by NUPGE: 14 December 2007
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