Here is what we’ve accomplished in the second half of 2024 thanks to your support:

ICLMG Twentieth Anniversary publication

We launched our 20th anniversary publication on September 11, 2024, the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the start of the so-called “War on Terror.” We are grateful to all the contributors, translators and reviewers who volunteered their time to make this possible!

• We launched the publication with a webinar in English on September 11
• We had a second launch in person in Montreal, held in French organized by our member La Ligue des droits et libertés
• The bilingual publication is available online for free, and people can get physical copies as well.

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Bill C-20: Public Complaints and Review Commission Act

Bill C-20 will create a new, independent review agency for both the RCMP and CBSA. It will replace the current RCMP review body, and create the first ever independent review body for the CBSA. The creation of an independent review body for the CBSA has been a longstanding, key demand and advocacy priority of the ICLMG coalition. Since June, ICLMG:

• Organized meetings with partner organizations and member groups to coordinate strategy
• Sent a joint brief with colleagues including proposed amendments for the Senate committee study
• On October 31, 2024, Bill C-20 received Royal Assent. ICLMG will continue to work on bringing improvements to the new review body throughout the regulation process and as it is established.

Bill C-27: Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022

Bill C-27 is the government’s proposed update to Canada’s private sector privacy law, namely the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. It will also increase powers granted to the Privacy Commissioner, create a new tribunal, and enact a new Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA). While our primary focus is not on the private sector, there are key aspects of this bill that have an impact on national security and privacy rights. AIDA will have more direct repercussions on our work, given the growing use of AI in surveillance capitalism and government surveillance. Since June, ICLMG:

• Continued to organize meetings with partner organizations and privacy experts to discuss strategy
• Engaged with MPs on the progress of the bill and needed amendments
• Monitored the bill’s progress at committee.

C-41: International assistance and anti-terrorism laws

Humanitarian aid and international assistance generally is being hindered by Canada’s anti-terrorism laws, particularly in Afghanistan – a risk ICLMG has long warned about. In Spring 2023, the government tabled Bill C-41 to ostensibly address the issue. Despite several remaining shortcomings, the bill received royal assent in June 2023. The authorization regime was finally launched in June 2024; as of December 2024, no application has been approved. Since June, ICLMG:

• Discussed advocacy strategies to raise concerns about the implementation of the authorization regime with ICLMG members and partners
• Participated in a Public Safety Canada briefing on the implementation of Bill C-41 and raised concerns around the authorization regime delays in processing and review.

Bill C-63: Online Harms Act

The federal government introduced Bill C-63 in February 2024. Known as the “Online Harms Act,” it responds to many of our concerns with the government’s original “online harms” proposal from 2021, but several aspects of the bill continue to raise serious concerns. Since June, ICLMG has:

• Continued participating in meetings of the “Online Harms Network”
• Presented at the Digital Justice Summit on Legal and Policy Solutions for Online Harms organized by NCCM and OpenMedia in September in Ottawa
• Met with NDP MP Peter Julian regarding concerns with the bill
• Submitted a brief and testified at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for their pre-study of the bill
• Saw a major victory with the government’s announcement that they will be splitting the bill, a key demand we advocated for.

Bill C-70: Foreign Interference legislation

Although the federal inquiry into foreign interference had yet to issue its final report, in May 2024 the federal government introduced new foreign interference legislation, Bill C-70. Much of it reflects proposals from a consultation held from December to February, but fails to respond to many of the concerns that we raised with the government. Following an extremely rushed parliamentary process, the bill was adopted in June 2024 with very little study and minimal amendments. Since June, we:

• Wrote a letter to the House committee studying the bill, co-signed by several partner organizations, to urge MPs to extend the study of C-70
• Submitted briefs to and appeared at both the House of Commons Public Safety committee and the Senate National Security committee to present our urgent concerns
• Created a letter-writing campaign calling on MPs and Senators to extend their study and amend the bill.
• Co-wrote an urgent public statement to Senators, signed by partner organizations, urging them to amend Bill C-70: “Charter Rights Under Threat if Senate Fails to Fix Foreign Interference Bill”
• Participated in two webinars on foreign interference:
• “Understanding Bill C-70: Beyond a National Security State”, organized by the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
• “What to do about foreign interference”, organized by the Centre for Free Expression
• Provided feedback on thematic document and questions for the Policy Phase of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference (PIFI) and, in Oct 2024, submitted a brief for the Policy phase of the PIFI

Bill C-353: The Foreign Hostage Takers Accountability Act

Although we agree with the intent of the bill to support survivors of hostage-taking and arbitrary detention as well as their families, this bill is unnecessary, and would have very broad, negative, and unintended consequences.

• We shared our concerns with the bill at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development

Combatting Racism & Islamophobia

The ICLMG continues to oppose racial, religious and other forms of profiling and targeting by national security activities and laws, particularly that of Muslim and Arab communities and people of color. We are also aware of, and attempt to combat, the instrumentalization of acts of xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism to justify new or expanded use of national security laws. To that effect, we have:

• Met with Amira Elghawaby, the federal Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, to discuss the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism in Canada
• Presented our research on the targeting of Muslim charities by the Canada Revenue Agency at the International Cooperation Futures Forum
• Participated in an invite-only conference on counter terrorism financing and civil society, where we shared our research on systemic Islamophobia and the charitable sector

Canada’s terrorist entities list

Following the addition of Samidoun to Canada’s terrorist entities list on October 15, 2024:

• We published a statement reiterating our long-standing position that the list must be abolished – which garnered a lot of attention and engagement on social media
• We created an action calling of the abolition of the list and shared it widely, including following the addition to of Ansarallah to the list on December 2, 2024.
• We participated in a webinar organized by Just Peace Advocates and Canadian Foreign Policy Institute entitled “Canada’s terror list enables Israeli terror”

Palestine and the right to dissent

The Israeli government, and its supporters, have attempted to justify their ongoing genocide against Gazans as “fighting terrorism,” a view echoed by Canadian officials. ICLMG has continued to monitor the situation and take action. Since the last June, we have:

• Shared news, analysis, and joint letters calling for a ceasefire, an arms embargo, for Palestinian refugees to be let into Canada, and for Canadian support for the ICC’s work with respect to Palestine/Israel
• We published a new statement to condemn one-year of genocide on October 7, 2024, as well as the smear campaigns, surveillance, harassment, fining and criminalizing of people, in Canada and abroad, expressing support for the rights of Palestinians
• We have included concerns around the use of anti-terrorism as an excuse to stifle free expression and justify the Israeli military’s violence in our critique of various pieces of new legislation and during speaking engagements.

Hassan Diab & Extradition

As revealed on the November 20th episode of CBC’s Power & Politics, Dr. Hassan Diab has recently been the target of a smear campaign, including calls for his dismissal from Carleton University, attacks on his reputation and, appallingly, death threats against him and his family. In this context, we have:

• Published a statement reiterating our support for Dr. Hassan Diab, an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted in an unfair trial
• Sent a letter to the CarletonU president and board of governors in support of Dr. Diab
• Updated and shared our letter-writing campaign urging Canada to commit to protecting Dr. Diab.

Mohamed Harkat & Security certificates

ICLMG has continued to work to eliminate security certificates, and defend the rights of those who are placed under one. Since June, this work has included:

• Sending another letter to the Public Safety Minister for him to allow Moe to stay in Canada
• Updating and pushing the Moe Harkat letter-writing campaign on June 26, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, as well as on December 10, that marked 22 years since his arrest, calling for an end to his deportation to torture once and for all
• We shared Sophie Lamarche Harkat’s powerful text on their ongoing ordeal and fight for justice with the updated action.

Canadians detained in Northeastern Syria

At least 17 Canadians, including 7 children, and three non-Canadian mothers remain indefinitely detained in camps and prisons in northeast Syria. On October 16, F.J., a Quebec mother of six who Canada refused to repatriate alongside her six children, was found dead in a Turkish deportation centre after having been acquitted of any criminal/terrorist allegations by a Turkish judge. As a result, we have:

• Sent a letter to Minister Joly urgently calling for an independent investigation into FJ’s death
• Updated and promoted our letter-writing campaign in favour of repatriation of all to add a call for an independent investigation into FJ’s death

Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism

The ICLMG continues to participate in this coalition. Since last June, this has included:

• Participation in quarterly coalition meetings to exchange information and strategize around impact of international counter-terrorism mechanisms on human rights in Canada and internationally
• Participation in quarterly working group meetings regarding impact of UN counter-terrorism activities on civil liberties and human rights

UN Counter-terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) Canada assessment

2023 marked the 2nd assessment of Canada’s implementation of UN counterterrorism resolutions by CTED. We have continued efforts for the public release of their report on Canada. To that end we have:

• Remained in contact with CTED regarding the status of the report
• Followed up with Global Affairs Canada on the status of the report and urging its release.

UN Cybersecurity Treaty

In December, we were among the twenty leading organizations and experts that signed onto a letter calling on the Canadian government to reject the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime as it will in fact, despite its name, undermine cybersecurity, undermine human rights on a global scale, and imperil Canadian diaspora communities facing growing threats of transnational repression.

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ICLMG IN THE MEDIA

“Civil society groups urge to not rush the committee study of C-70: radio interview with ICLMG,” Shaye Ganam, 630 CHED in Edmonton and QR Calgary – 770 AM

“Don’t rush committee study of foreign interference bill, civil society groups urge,” Tim McSorley, The Canadian Press, June 6, 2024

« Loi concernant la lutte contre l’ingérence étrangère: La précipitation est mauvaise conseillère », Tim McSorley, La Presse, 6 juin 2024

“Opposition to stampeding Bill C-70 through Parliament grows,” John Price, Canadian Dimension, June 10, 2024

“Civil liberties groups raise alarm as Ottawa votes on foreign-interference bill,” Marieke Walsh & Kristy Kirkup, The Globe and Mail, June 12, 2024

“Bill C-70: Trudeau’s latest assault on free speech,” Dimitri Lascaris’s blog, June 17, 2024

“Civil society groups argue ‘mad dash’ leaves no time for proper study of foreign influence registry bill,” Jesse Cnockaert, The Hill Times, June 17, 2024

“Senators approve bill to fight foreign interference after voting down amendment,” Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, June 20, 2024

“Commentary: The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group at 20 w/ Tim McSorley,” FIPA podcast: Access and Privacy online, September 25, 2024

“Criminalization of Samidoun is an attack on the Palestine solidarity movement – Press release,” CJPME, October 24, 2024

“The Israel Lobby Wants You Suspended, Fired Or In Prison,” Davide Mastracci, The Maple, October 30, 2024

“RCMP plans to go undercover online to trap violent extremists,” Elizabeth Thompson, CBC, Nov. 3, 2024

“New independent review body for CBSA welcome, but falls short,” Redeye podcast, Nov. 16, 2024

Check out all coverage of ICLMG in the media here.

We have also published many reactions and commentary on our social media accounts, which continue to reach tens of thousands.

We publish our News Digest every other week, which is distributed to thousands of people and has received numerous accolades.

+ Check out the News Digest archive if you’ve missed some of our issues.

+ If you know anyone interested in receiving it, send them an invite to sign up!

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What we have planned for the 2025!

The coming year will present many challenges, old and new. Much of our successes from this past year will continue to need follow-up, as we track the establishment of the new CBSA review body, and push back against new foreign interference laws and attempts to silence protest. There are also the challenges we will face with the incoming US government, which is already playing out its promises to increase the securitization of the US-Canada border with more police, drones and facial recognition surveillance. This will place the rights of all travellers, but especially asylum seekers searching for protection and better living conditions, at risk.

We’ll also have our own election in Canada this year, and ICLMG will be working to both make sure the public is aware of the parties’ track records on civil liberties and national security, as well as to secure commitments to protect our rights from candidates and the new government once it is in office.

Your support will allow us to continue our work on these issues and much more in the next year:

• Pressuring lawmakers and officials to protect our civil liberties from the negative impact of national security as well as opposing the discourse of “countering terrorism” to repress dissent, such as protests in support of Palestinian rights and lives

• Co-creating a mechanism to monitor how the new Countering Foreign Interference law is used, as well as continue pushing back against xenophobic fear-mongering

• Ensuring that the Canadian government’s proposals on “online harms” do not violate fundamental freedoms, or exacerbate the silencing of racialized and marginalized voices

• Protecting our privacy from government surveillance, including facial recognition, and from attempts to weaken encryption, along with advocating for good privacy law reform

• Addressing the lack of regulation on the use of AI in national security, including proposed exemptions for national security agencies

• Fighting for Justice for Mohamed Harkat, an end to security certificates, and addressing problems in security inadmissibility

• Ensuring Justice for Hassan Diab and reforming Canada’s extradition law

• Monitoring the implementation of the authorization regime for organizations that provide international assistance to vulnerable populations in areas controlled by “terrorist” groups

• Pushing back on the false narrative depicting migrants and refugees as security risks, and advocating for rights protection and accountability for border agencies, including by monitoring the creation of a new CBSA and RCMP watchdog and complaint body

• The return of the rest of the Canadian citizens and the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children indefinitely detained in Syrian camps

• The end to the CRA’s prejudiced audits of Muslim-led charities

• Greater accountability and transparency for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service

• Advocating for the repeal of the terrorist entities list, the Canadian No Fly List, and for putting a stop to the use of the US No Fly List by air carriers in Canada

• Keeping you and our member organizations informed via the News Digest

• And much more!

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If you think our work is important, please support the ICLMG!

We do not receive any funding from any federal, provincial or municipal governments or political parties so your support is essential to our work.

We are counting on people like you.

On December 5th, 2024, ICLMG’s National Coordinator Tim McSorley, testified at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights for their study of Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act. You can watch his short testimony above, the full panel here or read his remarks here.

As part of this study, we also submitted a brief to the committee detailing our concerns as well as our recommendations to address them:

In 2021, the federal government published a proposal for online harms regulations. The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) joined many other organizations and experts in opposing significant parts of that proposal.[1] The government responded by engaging in further consultation, resulting in the introduction of Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, to amend the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, in March 2024.

Bill C-63 responds in many ways to the critiques that ICLMG and others leveled regarding the first proposal:

• While still including seven different categories of harms,[2] it proposes more severe rules around content moderation for the sharing of “content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor” as well as “intimate content communicated without consent,” as opposed to one approach for all seven harms.
• There is no explicit requirement that would require platforms to monitor all content in order to identify and remove harmful posts.
• The main focus is on the regulation of platforms, in the form of obligations to create and follow online safety plans, and not on policing all users.
• Except for content that sexually victimizes a child, there is no requirement for mandatory reporting of content or users to the RCMP or CSIS.
• There are no proposals to create new CSIS warrant powers.
• There are greater rules around platform accountability, transparency and reporting.

However, there remain serious areas of concern:

• Part 1 of the Act:
  • The harm of “content that incites violent extremism or terrorism” is overly broad and vague, and encompasses kinds of activities that are not defined in law, opening the likely possibility of excessive censorship. Further, given the inclusion of the online harm of “content that incites violence,” it is redundant and unnecessary.
  • The definition of “content that incites violence” is also overly broad, allowing for the possibility of content advocating for protest and civil disobedience to be made inaccessible on social media platforms.
  • While not explicitly requiring platforms to proactively monitor content, the Act does not disallow such actions either.
  • Lack of clarity in the definition of what is considered a regulated service could lead to platforms being required to monitor, and likely “break”, encryption tools that protect online privacy.
  • Platforms would be required to preserve certain data relating to posts alleged to incite violence or to incite violent extremism or terrorism for one year; this is likely to ensure that the data is available if law enforcement receive judicial authorization to request it. However, the current wording leaves the breadth of the requirement uncertain and in need of clarification/narrowing.
  • While the Act lays out transparency requirements for online platforms, it fails to include algorithmic transparency in regard to how content is recommended.
• Part 2 of the Act:
  • This section amends Canada’s existing hate crime offences and creates a new stand-alone hate crime offence, and is only tangentially related to Part 1. It has raised serious concerns among human rights and civil liberties advocates in regard to the breadth of the offences and the associated penalties. As it does not touch explicitly on counter-terrorism concerns, it falls outside of ICLMG’s mandate so we will be limiting our comments. However, this does not signal that there is not a significant need for amendments and for consideration of splitting Parts 2 and 3 from the bill to be considered separately. [The brief was sent before the government’s announcement that they would be splitting the bill as we advocated for.]

Read the full brief here for detailed proposals to address some of our specific concerns.

Footnotes

[1] International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, “Submission to the federal government’s consultation on its proposed approach to address harmful content online.” 25 September 2021. Online: https://iclmg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Online-Harms-Submission-ICLMG.pdf

[2] (a) intimate content communicated without consent; (b) content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor; (c) content that induces a child to harm themselves; (d) content used to bully a child; (e) content that foments hatred; (f) content that incites violence; and (g) content that incites violent extremism or terrorism.

Since you’re here… … we have a small favour to ask. Here at ICLMG, we are working very hard to protect and promote human rights and civil liberties in the context of the so-called “war on terror” in Canada. We do not receive any financial support from any federal, provincial or municipal governments or political parties. You can become our patron on Patreon and get rewards in exchange for your support. You can give as little as $1/month (that’s only $12/year!) and you can unsubscribe at any time. Any donations will go a long way to support our work.You can also make a one-time donation or donate monthly via Paypal by clicking on the button below. On the fence about giving? Check out our Achievements and Gains since we were created in 2002. Thank you for your generosity!

As revealed on the November 20th episode of CBC’s Power & Politics, Dr. Hassan Diab – a Canadian citizen, husband, father and sociology professor – has recently been the target of a smear campaign, including calls for his dismissal from Carleton University, attacks on his reputation and, appallingly, death threats against him and his family.

It is in this context that the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) reiterates its support for Dr. Hassan Diab, an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted in an unfair trial.

We have also sent a letter to the President of Carleton University, Jerry Tomberlin, and its Board of Governors asking them to issue a statement in support of Dr. Diab’s innocence, take measures to protect him and his family from harassment, and ensure his continued employment at Carleton University.

The ICLMG is a Canadian coalition of 44 national civil society organizations that came together to protect civil liberties in the context of the ‘War on Terror.’ As such, we have been closely following the case of Dr. Diab since the beginning: since reviewing the facts of his case early on, we have advocated for due process and a fair trial, against his extradition, for the end to his years-long detention in France, for Canada to protect Dr. Diab against a potential second extraction, and for the reform of Canadian extradition laws overall.

A summary of the facts demonstrates clearly that Dr. Diab has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice:

• Before France sent its 2008 request for the extradition of Hassan Diab, it secretly sent Canada the fingerprints they found on a hotel registration form filled out by the bomber for comparison with Dr. Diab’s: they did not match. France requested his extradition anyway, and that comparison was not divulged to the court, as sharing such evidence is not mandatory under extradition law.
• Canadian judge Robert Maranger felt forced by the extradition law to extradite Dr. Diab, even though he stated that the evidence was “illogical, convoluted, very confusing, with conclusions that were suspect” that “France presented a weak case,” and “the prospects of conviction in a fair trial seem unlikely.”
• The French investigative judges charged with Dr. Diab’s case, Jean-Marc Herbaut and Richard Foltzer, verified that he was not in France at the time of the 1980 attack, and he was finally released and return to Canada in 2018. The judges testified in support of Dr Diab in the April 2023 trial, pleading the court not to convict an innocent man – alas in vain.
• In 2018, following Hassan Diab’s return to Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau stated, “I think, for Hassan Diab, we have to recognize first of all that what happened to him never should have happened.”
• In 2019, in an unprecedented move, a French court of appeal reversed the decision of the two investigating judges to release Dr. Diab. The ruling contains multiple errors of fact, leans on unreliable evidence, misstates its own mandated handwriting report, and resorts to sheer speculation in an effort to explain away exculpatory fingerprint and consistent alibi evidence.
• In 2021, the Cour de Cassation (France’s supreme court) upheld the 2019 appellate court decision despite France’s own Advocate General asking the court to reject it, acknowledging that the decision relied upon contradictory reasoning and failed to address important issues raised by Dr. Diab’s defence.
• In April 2023 the Assize Court in Paris, France, declared Dr. Diab guilty following a rushed and unfair trial held in absentia:
  • • No new evidence was presented.
    • Anonymous and unsourced secret intelligence were reintroduced.
    • Handwriting reports by prosecution ‘evidence’, originally rejected and withdrawn as totally unreliable, were allowed back (sometimes with ‘new’ conclusions).
    • Journalists who were not witnesses to the events were called to give their ‘opinions’.
    • There are no official transcripts or recordings of the proceedings.
    • A verdict was given in less than a day following the end of the trial.
    • No appeal is possible following an in absentia
    • The evidence that Dr. Diab was in Lebanon at the moment of the attack was inexplicably ignored.

The victims of the 1980 Rue Copernic bombing and their families deserve justice. But justice cannot be achieved by scapegoating an innocent man.

We invite you to share this statement publicly and with anyone misinformed about – or misrepresenting – the facts of Dr. Hassan Diab’s case: Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Finally, please take action below for Canada to protect him from a potential second extradition request. Thank you!

TAKE ACTION