Ottawa – The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) has submitted a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security for its study of Bill C-22, An Act to establish the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and to make consequential amendments to certain Acts.

The ICLMG welcomes the addition of an oversight committee. However, in its brief entitled “Bill C-22: An inadequate, worrisome and insufficient bill”, the coalition contends that such a committee does not go far enough. To ensure true accountability, and to complement and assist the oversight work of the Committee of Parliamentarians, the government must also create a robust, overarching and independent review and complaint body.

Moreover, the ICLMG advocates for a series of amendments to C-22, including:

• The Committee of Parliamentarians should be accountable to and report to Parliament, not to the Prime Minister;
• There should be a provision requiring the committee to immediately report all suspected wrongdoing, including any violations of Canadians’ rights, to the appropriate minister and the Attorney General;
• The committee should have full access to all necessary information, with the reasonable exception of cabinet confidences;
• Section 8(b) which would allow any minister to block an investigation into a particular issue or activity of their department by asserting risk to national security should be removed.

“Bill C-22 falls short in many respects and cannot be a substitute for an independent expert review and complaint body,” says Tim McSorley, the coalition’s National Coordinator. “We are pleased to see that the amendments proposed by the NDP share many of our concerns, and we hope the government will make the necessary changes to ensure this bill can truly fulfill its function of oversight and accountability,” he adds.

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Read our brief: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/421/SECU/Brief/BR8611164/br-external/InternationalCivilLibertiesMonitoringGroup-e.pdf

Version française: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/421/SECU/Brief/BR8611164/br-external/InternationalCivilLibertiesMonitoringGroup-9485567-f.pdf

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. Any donations will go a long way to support our work. On the fence about giving? Check out our Achievements and Gains since we were created in 2002. Thank you for your generosity!

Ottawa – The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) is happy to announce the appointment of Tim McSorley as its new National Coordinator. Mr. McSorley was previously the National Coordinator for the Media Co-operative, and, most recently, coordinator for the Voices-Voix Coalition, defending the right to dissent and free expression in Canada.

In recent months, the ICLMG has advocated for Canadians detained abroad, pushed for stronger review mechanisms for our national security agencies and been very active in the federal government’s consultation on national security, among many other things.

“With his experience running a coalition, and his knowledge of national security issues and policies, Tim McSorley is well positioned to lead ICLMG’s efforts for our national security apparatus to respect the rule of law and the rights of Canadians,” said Dominique Peschard, the coalition’s Co-Chair.

The ICLMG, created in the aftermath of the September, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, is a national coalition that brings together some 43 NGOs, unions, professional associations, faith groups, environmental organizations, human rights and civil liberties advocates, as well as groups representing immigrant and refugee communities in Canada. In the context of the so-called ‘war on terror’, its mandate is to defend the rule of law and promote civil liberties and human rights set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, federal and provincial laws, and international human rights instruments.

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The ICLMG was very happy to meet Khaled Al-Qazzaz on Tuesday, one month after he was finally able to come back to Canada. Khaled and his family suffered a 3-year ordeal: Khaled was imprisoned without charges in Egypt and put in solitary confinement, then released but he and his family were prevented from leaving the country for more than a year. In the photo, we can see some of the people who have fought for Khaled’s release and return, especially his wife Sarah and brother in law Ahmad who were relentless. Welcome back!

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. Any donations will go a long way to support our work. On the fence about giving? Check out our Achievements and Gains since we were created in 2002. Thank you for your generosity!