L’Express de Toronto – Créée à la suite des attentats terroristes de septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, cette Coalition pour la surveillance internationale des libertés civiles regroupe une quarantaine d’organismes non gouvernementaux, syndicats, associations professionnelles, groupes confessionnels, organisations environnementales, de protection des droits humains et des libertés civiles, ainsi que des groupes représentant des communautés immigrantes et réfugiées au Canada. Chaque semaine, la Coalition diffuse gratuitement, par Internet, sa Revue de l’actualité, une rétrospective des nouvelles importantes concernant la sécurité nationale, la lutte contre le terrorisme et d’autres questions connexes. Si les atteintes aux libertés civiles vous préoccupent, vous avez intérêt à demander à recevoir cette documentation hebdomadaire. Lire plus

Muslim Link – The Desmarais building at the University of Ottawa was the site for a moving presentation on November 25 about drone aircraft and the frightening toll they are taking on the civilian populations in Yemen, Pakistan, and other nations.  About two hundred people attended the presentation and many more listened in and participated online. Organized by the Canadian Peace Alliance, the Ottawa Peace Assembly, and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICMLG), the talk took place at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre.

Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemeni youth activist and writer, was the keynote speaker for the evening.   Al Muslimi is the son of farmers in a rural, mountainous section of Yemen called Wasab, 200 kilometers south of the nation’s capital, Sana’a. Due to his tireless crusade against the use of armed drones, and his recent testimony in Washington where he lobbied against drone use,  Al-Muslimi has come to be known as “the man who made Obama admit the use of drones.” Lire plus

Par Gerry Caplan, rabble.ca – I’ve often referred in these columns to some of my reliable authorities — the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Rideau Institute, The Daily Show — but let me introduce here three others that I find indispensable. In no particular order: Anyone apprehensive about how our liberties are being eroded before our very eyes — secret surveillance, the punishment of dissent — should not miss the weekly News Digest issued by the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. Despite its name, the ICLMG is an all-Canadian coalition of 38 national civil society organizations that focuses both on Canada and elsewhere. The digest publishes “news articles, events, calls to action and much more regarding national security, anti-terrorism, civil liberties and other issues related to the mandate and concerns of ICLMG and its member organizations.” The 38 members are a Who’s Who of progressive, activist Canada, and among them they represent just about every decent tendency in the country, including representatives of Muslims, Jews and Christians, trade unions, students, profs, lawyers, NGOs, refugees, environmentalists and any other virtuous groups you can think of. When Harperland compiles its “enemies list,” it surely includes most of the 38 — a badge of honour by any reckoning. Lire plus