Civil Liberties

"Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither." – Benjamin Franklin

Our Rights and Freedoms
It is our civil liberties and human rights, preserved in our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that set Canada apart from many countries around the world. Among freedoms preserved in our charter:

• Freedom of conscience and religion
• Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication
• Freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association

And legal rights such as:

• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental Justice.
• Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.
• Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
• Everyone has the right on arrest or detention
  • (a) to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;
  • (b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and
  • (c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if detention is not lawful.

These are just a few of the right and freedoms that we have protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms.

However many of these rights and freedoms have been eroded in the name of security and public safety. The Canadian Action Party believes that the biggest threat to security and public safety would be relinquishing the rights and freedoms we have protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Our rights and Freedoms must be protected.

Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act
Since 9/11 many of these rights and freedoms have been eroded in the name of security. The Patriot Acts in the United States and its sister act the Anti-Terrorist Act (C-36, 2001) in Canada have contained many provisions that have threatened our civil liberties and human rights. Among them, preventative detention, arbitrary arrest, investigative hearings, suspension of the right to remain silent and the principle of innocence until proven guilty

These provisions in the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act are also in contravention of Art. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and are not legitimized by Art. 1 of said Charter.

Canadian "No-Fly List"
Passenger Protect, Canada's "no-fly list" program was introduced by the government in June 2007 under the authority of an obscure provision in the Public Safety Act (2004) granting discretionary powers to the minister of Transport. The program allows the government to place the names of persons on a list of specified individuals prevented from boarding flights, without any judicial process or authorization and without notice to the listed person. The individual learns of the listing upon arriving at the airport but is not given the reasons for the listing. The information providing the basis for the listing is furnished by the police and intelligence authorities. The individual in question can apply to have his/her name removed from the list but has no access to the information forming the basis of the listing. While it is unknown how many individuals have been barred from boarding a flight since the program's inception, more than 100 individuals have been the subject of false positives which has caused them to be intercepted and delayed at airports each time they travel. Many listings appear to have been influenced by racial and religious profiling.

Agent Provocateurs
During the SPP protests in Montebello Quebec in August of 2007, a Quebec union leader caught and outed three masked undercover Quebec Provincial Police operatives dressed as 'black bloc' protesters about to start a riot by throwing rocks at the security police. See the following video documenting this event. The Quebec Provincial Police were then forced after three days of public outrage to admit that these three men were indeed their officers operating undercover. It is alleged that the Quebec Provincial Police were trying to incite a riot justify force to put down and discredit Protests. According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, peaceful assembly is a freedom Canadians have.

Canada and the G20 summit
Many of the civil liberties Canadians enjoy, protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, were suspended during the 2010, G20 meetings in Toronto.

Passed in secret with no debate, no time for court warning, in a deeply antidemocratic move, the provincial cabinet passed a new regulation June 2nd, under the Ontario Public Works Protection Act of 1939 allowing the police to require individuals approaching the "security zone" around the G20 meeting to show identification and to subject them to searches, under penalty of arrest. Within the security fence an "island of non-constitutionality" and conditions of martial law was created in Toronto, Canada.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association reported that over 900 people were arrested by the police-the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. Media, human rights monitors, protester and pedestrians were scooped up off the streets. Detained people were not allowed to speak to a lawyer or to their families. Arbitrary searches occurred in countless locations across the city, in many instances several kilometres from the G20 summit site. The constitutional rights of thousands were needlessly discarded. To add insult to injury many peaceful protesters were blasted by sound canons.

With the exception of a minority of so called "black block" anarchists the vast majority of protesters were peaceful: Canadian citizens determined to fight for decent conditions for themselves and their families. The transformation of downtown Toronto into an armed camp, for the purpose of protecting world politicians, joined by the managing director and Chairman of the International Monetary fund and the president of the World Bank is expressive of the disdain many of these leaders have for the citizens of the nation-state and democracy itself.

Bill C-36
Bill C-36. The Hazardous Products and Criminal Code Acts are concerned with safety of the consumer. However, Bill C-36 is a threat to Canadian sovereignty and will lead to loss of the rights and freedoms of the Canadian People and remove the fundamentals of the rule of law in this country.

Under the guise of "safety" (which is always hard thing for any MP to vote against), like its predecessors bill C-51/C6, if passed this legislation would:

• Allow government officials to seize property without a court warrant.
• Criminally charge individuals with no obligation to provide them access to legal representation.
• Allow international bodies to determine regulations used in implementing the law without consultation of parliament.
• Negates the law of trespass by allowing inspectors to cross private property without a warrant.

Under the guise of safety not only is this bill a threat to our rights and freedoms it is a threat to Sovereignty itself. Although many of the bill's provisions have merit, many of its provisions are hostile to rights and freedoms and may be applied both broadly and out of context.

Our Campaign
The Canadian Action party reminds our citizens that many of our brave troops have fought and died for our country to protect and preserve the rights and freedoms we enjoy today. Sometimes the biggest threat to our security and our freedoms may not be opposing armies, but provisions and laws that undermine our Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the name of safety and security. We remind our citizens not be influenced by the climate of fear being created by many public servants who seek to undermine our liberties for security. There is little to justify the loss of our liberties. The loss of liberty is the biggest threat a free society has and it is our liberties that keep us free from tyranny. Canada must protect our liberties, rights, and freedoms. We must protect these liberties and the sovereignty of our nation. Help support the Canadian Action Party and our campaign to protect our civil liberties.