On September 25, 2021, the International Civil Liberties submitted feedback to the federal government’s proposal to tackle online harms.

Given our coalition’s mandate, our analysis focuses primarily on the inclusion of “terrorist content” as one of five areas of online harm. We also examine the proposal’s interaction with anti-terrorism laws, policies and activities, as well as how they overlap and raise concerns for other areas of the proposal (for example, the overall approach towards involvement of police, the impacts of censorship and policing based on vaguely worded definitions, etc.).

You can read our full submission here.

In our submission, we identify several worrisome and even troubling aspects to this current proposal that may in fact undermine the stated goals. These include:

• the further expansion of problematic definitions of terrorism and its enforcement online, which have been shown to more often target the very communities which the government proposes to support with this new regime.
• a questionable conflation of efforts to address wildly different harms which need very specific solutions
• a monitoring and removal process that threatens freedom of expression and privacy rights, and which will likely have severe and significant impacts on already marginalized communities
• new obligatory reporting rules to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and
  new warrant powers for CSIS
• transparency and accountability requirements that require the addition of more robust obligations

We also raise questions about the form and approach to the consultation itself, which we and many other stakeholders have found to be wholly inadequate. We believe that in order to address the concerns raised in our submission and by others, the government must commit to extending and improving their consultation process before any new legislation is introduced.

We recognize the importance of tackling harmful content that can lead to violence, and have urged the government to take greater action. Unfortunately, there are deeply troubling aspects to this proposal that, unless addressed, we believe will lead to greater harms both for the population at large, as well as for the very communities the government states they wish to support.

Federal Election 2021 is upon us. The outcome of this election could have a significant impact on the federal government’s approach to national security, anti-terrorism and the protection of civil liberties in Canada.

In that light, we have analyzed the various parties’ platform promises, but also their track records – which can often give an even better idea of what they will do (and not just what they say they will do). We hope it helps you to make an informed voting decision, and that you keep civil liberties in mind when you head to the polls!

Below you will find:

1. 1. An analysis of each party’s platform promises on national security
      • Liberal Party of Canada
      • Conservative Party of Canada
      • New Democratic Party
      • Green Party of Canada
      • Bloc Québécois
   2. The positions that the federal parties have taken on national security & anti-terrorism issues over the past two years
      • Bill C-3
      • Canadians detained abroad
      • CRA’s prejudiced audits
      • Dissent and surveillance
      • Hassan Diab
      • Islamophobia
      • Mohamed Harkat and security certificates
      • Online harms legislation
      • Safe Third Country Agreement
      • Terrorist Entities List
      • Torture
      • Weapons and Arms Trade

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The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) has made public an open letter addressed to the Minister of Justice David Lametti. The letter is signed by 118 members of the legal profession and legal scholars in Canada. It has also been copied to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister, and leaders of political parties. In it, the signatories call on Minister Lametti and his colleagues to take immediate action to protect the rights of Dr. Hassan Diab, a Canadian citizen, who continues to face a 13-year-long Kafkaesque process in the French legal system.

The full letter is below, or click for a PDF.

In the open letter, the signatories request:

1. That, as Minister of Justice, you give immediate assurances that Canada will not accept nor accede to a second request for Hassan Diab’s extradition;
2. That, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister Marc Garneau urge France to put an immediate end to this continuing miscarriage of justice;
3. That, as the head of the Government of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspend the extradition treaty with France.

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