Canadian prevented from flying because name was on US no fly list

The Economist reports that that a British man was prevented from flying home from Canada because his name was on America’s no-fly list. Dawood Hepplewhite was not allowed to board his Air Transat flight from Toronto on February 13th when it was discovered that he was among the 8,000 to 10,000 people prohibited by the [...]

Canadian Supreme Court rules government may withold national security-related evidence in Tortonto 18 terrorism case

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday upheld challenged aspects of the Canada Evidence Act , ruling that national security considerations take precedence over criminal convictions. The court affirmed the constitutionality of a provision that vests the Federal Court with, and removes from trial judges, the authority to determine the national security implications of [...]

Canadian intelligence head criticized role of courts in anti-terrorism cases

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director Judd discussed domestic and foreign terror threats with Counselor of the State Department Cohen in Ottawa on 2 July 2008. In particular, he wasn’t very happy about the Canadian courts. Cable 08OTTAWA918 from Wikileaks’ Cablegate offers some insights: Director Judd ascribed an “Alice in Wonderland” worldview to Canadians and [...]

Canada introduces legislation to give new technological powers to police

Canada’s proposed Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act would provide law enforcement agencies with new, specialized investigative powers to help them take action against Internet child sexual exploitation, disrupt on-line organized crime activity, and prevent terrorism by: enabling police to identify all the network nodes and jurisdictions involved in the transmission of data and trace [...]

The U.N. Security Council’s 1267 Regime and the Rule of Law in Canada

New paper by the BC Civil Liberties Asssociation. The paper considers, inter alia, whether Canada’s implementation of the 1267 Regime is consistent with its due process obligations under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Bill of Rights, using the experience of Abdelrazik as an example of Canada’s domestic implementation at work. Read it [...]

Court refuses to expedite Khadr appeal

The Globe and Mail reports that Canada’s courts have effectively handed the Harper government a win in its fight against Omar Khadr by refusing to take up the case on an urgent basis, his lawyer said Tuesday. In his decision, Mr. Justice David Stratas of the Federal Court of Appeal said he had no choice [...]

Governments threaten to suspend Blackberry services

The UAE, which includes the business centres of Dubai  and Abu Dhabi, said it would prevent BlackBerry services such as email, web browsing and text messaging from October, after first raising concerns with the Canadian manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) three years ago. The ban will extend to visitors to the UAE who take their [...]

CSIS intelligence-sharing rules released

Following a request through the Access to Information Act by Craig Forcese, several documents relating to the intelligence-sharing policies of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) have been released. The documents, described in the CSIS 2008/2009 Public Report, are the following: a Ministerial Direction from the Minister of Public Safety on information-sharing with foreign agencies; [...]

Canada commission faults law enforcement in 1985 Air India bombing final report

[JURIST] Canada’s Commission of Inquiry into the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 released its final report Thursday 17 June. Led by former Canadian Supreme Court justice John Major, the Commission found that there were various institutional organizations that did not fulfill their responsibilities. Major condemned the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the [...]

HRC Communication 1544/2007 Hamida vs Canada on non-refoulement to Tunisia

Mr. Hamida, a Tunisian national,  was living in Canada arrived in Canada on 2 October 1999, where he claimed refugee status, alleging that he had a well-founded fear of persecution in his country on account of his political opinions. He says that, at the age of 18, he was taken on as an administrative assistant [...]