| British Columbia Civil Liberties Association | |
| Formation: | [1] |
| Membership: | 1000+ members |
| Type: | Non-government organization |
| Purpose: | Civil liberties advocacy |
| Headquarters: | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | David Fai |
| Leader Title2: | Executive Director |
| Leader Name2: | Stephanie Goodwin |
| Leader Title3: | Policy Director |
| Leader Name3: | Aisha Weaver |
| Budget: | $1.2M (2016)[2] |
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is an autonomous, non-partisan charitable society that seeks to "promote, defend, sustain, and extend civil liberties and human rights."[3] It works towards achieving this purpose through litigation, lobbying, complaint assistance, events, social media, and publications. Founded in 1962, it is Canada's oldest civil liberties association. It is based in Vancouver and is jointly funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia and by private citizens through donations and memberships.
The BCCLA, through its staff lawyers and pro bono counsel, litigates constitutional issues and commonly appears as an intervenor, applicant, or plaintiff at all levels of Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. The association's work is guided by the rights and liberties embodied in such documents as Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the bills of rights in the United States, Britain, and Canada. The association is unaffiliated with any other organization or political group; however, the association often works cooperatively with other organizations, such as Pivot Legal Society, the John Howard Society, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, on common causes.[4]
The BCCLA has been consulted by both the governments of Canada and British Columbia on proposed actions or policies that may give rise to civil liberties or human rights concerns.[5] In the early 1980s, the association was invited to appear before the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Constitution to participate in the public consultations on the proposed Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The association was consulted by the federal government in its creation of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, 2000) and by British Columbia's government in its creation of the Personal Information Privacy Act (PIPA, 2003).[6]
The BCCLA is currently led by Lindsay Lyster, president, and executive director Liza Hughes. Honorary directors of the board include former prime minister of Canada Kim Campbell, founding president Reverend Phillip Hewett, and environmentalist David Suzuki.
Reg Robson (1921–1996) joined the association soon after its founding and served as its main spokesperson, lobbyist, and organizational leader between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s.[7] Robson served in various executive positions, including executive secretary (1969–72, 1978), president (1972–75, 1980–82), and treasurer (1975, 1979). Robson sat on the board of directors into the 1980s and is credited for helping to ensure the viability of the association and its institutional memory.
In the year ending December 31, 2016, the BCCLA had a combined revenue of $1.26 million, originating from membership and donations (68%), grants (20%), and other sources, including gaming revenue and litigation recovery (12%). In the year ending December 31, 2016, the expenses of the BCCLA were $1.22 million, attributed to staff salaries and benefits (59%), office operating (12%), litigation costs (9%), and other costs, including rent, professional fees, and travel (20%).[8]
The association organizes forums across British Columbia on a variety of topics, including national security, social justice law reform, HIV disclosure laws, and food rights.[9] It also organizes speaking events, with past speakers including: Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union; The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada; Michael Ignatieff, Harvard professor and former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada; John Ralston Saul, philosopher, novelist, and essayist; and Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was tortured after being deported to Syria by U.S. authorities.
Since 2005, the BCCLA has presented an annual Youth Rights Conference, a daylong seminar for high school students that is intended to promote student activism and civic engagement. Past topics have included gay/straight alliances, homelessness, protest rights, aboriginal justice, and immigrant rights.[10] [11]
The association presents an annual Reg Robson Award to honour people who have demonstrated a substantial and long-lasting contribution to civil liberties issues in British Columbia and Canada.[12] Past recipients of the award have included:[13]
In addition to the Reg Robson Award, the association has awarded Liberty Awards in several categories: excellence in legal advocacy (individual, group, and law firm); excellence in journalism; excellence in the arts; excellence in community activism; excellence in youth activism; and, unsung hero.[14] [15]
The events preceding the formation of the BCCLA involved a Kootenays, British Columbia, group known as the Fraternal Council of the Sons of Freedom.
On March 6, 1962, members of this branch of the Sons of Freedom sect used explosives to bring down a 100-metre tower supporting power transmission lines crossing Kootenay Lake to a lead and zinc mine in Kimberley, BC. As a result, over one thousand mine workers were laid off until power to the mining operations could be restored. Civic leaders called on the federal government to respond to the bombing with "drastic action" and the Government of British Columbia offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.[16] Fearing vigilantism on the part of the miners or others affected by the sect's actions, the RCMP brought in one hundred officers from the Prairies to watch over the tensions.[17]
On March 24, 1962, RCMP officers, on the strength of two confessions of sect members implicating the Sons of Freedom, arrested fifty-seven members of the sect. The members were charged, along with ten other members that were already in custody, with conspiracy to intimidate the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of British Columbia.
Due to tensions in the Kootenays, the venue for the trial was moved approximately 500 kilometres, from Nelson to New Westminster, BC. The preliminary trial began on June 11, 1962, with Nelson Magistrate William Evans presiding. In court, the two confessions were withdrawn with the members claiming duress. Despite over 98 witness testimonies and the Crown presenting over 500 pages of seized documents as evidence, on August 7, 1962, Magistrate Evans dismissed the Crown's case on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to proceed to trial.[18]
Meanwhile, 104 members of the Son of Freedom, including children, continued to be detained on remand at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, BC.
On December 9, 1962, a meeting of 80 people was held in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia in response to the ongoing detention of Sons of Freedom at the Mountain Institution. This would mark the first official meeting of the BCCLA.[19] The association was incorporated under the Societies Act on February 27, 1963.
Under the leadership of Phillip Hewett, an Anglican minister, a board of directors formed and a committee was struck and a Sons of Freedom defence fund was created to fund litigation and investigation into the Mountain Institution issue. Subsequent to its formation, the BCCLA successfully fought for release of the detainees.
The BCCLA's other activities in the 1960s included aiding in the defence of The Georgia Straight, a Vancouver-based publication, against criminal obscenity charges
On October 27, 1969, a small group of professional actors, directors, and designers known as the Gallimaufry Players began a two-week run of Michael McClure's The Beard at Davie Street's Riverqueen theatre. The play, about an imaginary encounter between Billy the Kid and Jean Harlow, was replete with expletives and ended with a scene of simulated cunnilingus.[20] On November 5, plainclothes members of the Vancouver City Police morality squad attended the performance. The following day, three members of the Gallimaufry Players and the two proprietors of the Riverqueen were criminally charged with presenting an obscene performance. All five defendants were convicted at trial on May 28, 1971, in the Provincial Court of Vancouver and fined a total of $1,250.
The BCCLA launched an immediate appeal at the British Columbia County Court of Vancouver. The appeal was heard over four days in November 1971 by Judge Ladner. The police officers who witnessed the performance testified that expletives were uttered on stage, and that it was impossible to know if the actress was wearing an undergarment during the simulated cunnilingus. The defence presented a series of witnesses, including drama critics from the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province newspapers, a drama teacher, a television critic, and an Anglican minister who testified that the words and scenes described by the police officers could not be isolated from the overall context of the play.[21] The judge found the defence witnesses to be "of a certain segment of the community and, while due consideration must and has been given to their evidence, their opinions cannot be accepted as representative of community standards" and that "the standards of decency and measure of tolerance in the Canadian community at this time could not but be offended by the realistic simulation of cunnilingus on the stage." The judge found the evidence insufficient to prove that one of the five defendants, Henry Yeagher, the Gallimaufry's stage manager, was in charge of the production at the time and dismissed the charge against him. The four remaining defendants had their fines set aside in favour of suspended sentences.
The BCCLA launched a further appeal to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The appeal was heard by Chief Justice Nathaniel Nemetz and Associate Justices Robertson and Branca. Justice Robertson referred to the play as "unsavoury" and noted that "among its 9,000 words it uses 4 'four-letter words' a total of 132 times." Chief Justice Nemetz stated that he "would agree that the last scene would offend many people." Despite their personal views of the play, all three judges ruled in favour of the defendants, quashed the convictions, and ordered a new trial. In his reasons, Chief Justice Nemetz stated that "it is not the personal taste of a judge that determines whether a work is obscene or not" and concluded that Judge Ladner had "misdirected himself" when he "rejected the uncontradicted evidence of all the witnesses for the defence in their totality [and] in doing so he substituted a finding of fact which was unsupported by the evidence." Chief Justice Nemetz ultimately concluded that Judge Ladner should have tested the play against "contemporary standards and to the time, place and circumstances of this performance."
The BCCLA's other activities in the 1970s included:[22]
When the BCCLA learned in 1980 that Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau's government was planning a series of constitutional reforms that would include the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the association began submitting comments and recommendations to the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Constitution.
On November 13, 1980, then president Reg Robson submitted an 18-page brief to the joint committee. The letter outlined the association's eagerness to support "entrenchment of a Charter of Rights which would affirm the rights and freedoms that we believe are fundamental for the Canadian people, and which would guide the legislatures and direct the courts of this country to protect and uphold those rights." Subsequent to submitting its written brief, the association was invited to appear before the joint committee.
Despite the association's eagerness for Canadians to have entrenched constitutional rights and freedoms, the association was concerned that the government's public claims about the Charter were misleading and unsupported by the actual wording contained in the government's proposal. The association urged the government to extend the time for public and Parliamentary consideration, and suggested revisions in several areas of the proposed Charter to address these concerns:[23]
In addition to these recommended changes, the association proposed several additions:
The association identified additional areas of concern with the draft Charter:
The BCCLA's other activities in the 1980s included:
The BCCLA's activities in the 1990s included:
The BCCLA's activities in the 2000s included:
In September 2009, the BCCLA, in partnership with Pivot Legal Society, announced the creation of its Olympic legal observer program, the first of its kind in Olympic history.[24] The program trained 250 volunteers[25] to observe and record security and police actions at the opening ceremonies and at major demonstrations outside sporting events and in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The impetus for the program was a concern that hosting the Olympics would cause Vancouver's homeless citizens to be displaced and free speech and protest rights to be interfered with. Volunteers were instructed to observe police and other security actions in a "neutral and professional manner" and to report possible right violations back to the BCCLA's volunteer lawyers who would then attempt, informally or through court action, to resolve matters.[26] In an effort to familiarize officers with program, the Vancouver Police Department and RCMP Integrated Security Unit agreed to provide legal observer training to senior officers.[27]
After the Opening Ceremonies on February 12, 2010, the BCCLA stated that they were "very pleased with the effective and restrained policing of the demonstrations that [its legal observers] observed prior to and during the Opening Ceremonies" and recorded "very few incidents involving police."[28] On February 23, midway through the games, then BCCLA executive director David Eby stated that "we haven't seen the excesses we worried about."[25] Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Constable Lindsey Houghton commented that the legal observer program helped police maintain public transparency throughout the games.
Trinity Western University (TWU), a private religious university, sought the Law Society of British Columbia's permission to start a law school to offer a legal education program prerequisite to bar admission. The Law Society denied permission to the proposed law school based on the TWU's Community Covenant that was mandatory for students to sign as a condition of admission to the school and that among other things, discriminated against LGBTQI+ persons by prohibiting sexual intimacy outside the confines of a marriage between a man and a woman. Initially, BCCLA took the position based on arguments of religious freedom that TWU's proposed law school should not be barred from accreditation. On January 22, 2018, after full and vigorous debate of the issues and principles that extended over a period of months, the BCCLA Board of Directors voted, by a substantial margin, to adopt the position that "the Law Society should not accredit a prerequisite legal education program whose admission and conduct policies discriminate against people based on prohibited grounds, thereby creating a discriminatory barrier around part of the stream of access to the legal profession."[29] On June 15, 2018, The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the decision of the Law Society to deny permission to TWU.[30]
The BCCLA's other activities in the 2010s include:
The BCCLA is an active publisher. It has published its biannual newsletter, The Democratic Commitment, since 1972. The association publishes several handbooks, including: HIV Testing Handbook: A Guide To Your Rights (2014; English); Rights Talk: Students and Civil Liberties at School (2013; English); Electronic Devices: A Guide To Your Rights (2012; English); The Arrest Handbook: A Guide to Your Rights (2002; English, Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese); and, The Citizenship Handbook: A Guide to Democratic Rights and Responsibilities (2008; English, Chinese, Punjabi, Vietnamese, and Persian). In 2015, the association marked the passing of its 50th anniversary with the publication of 50 Years of Freedom: A Festschrift Celebration for the Golden Anniversary of the BCCLA, a collection of essays and other writings. It has developed over 200 policy briefs which serve as the cornerstones for its work.
On June 30, 2021, BCCLA Executive Director Harsha Walia retweeted a Twitter news article from Vice News about the burning of Catholic churches in Canada following the discovery of gravesides at former Canadian Indian residential schools, adding the statement, "Burn it all down". In response, Tsimshian entrepreneur and Indigenous relations consultant Chris Sankey called on her to resign while British Columbia's Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth described her post as "disgusting and reprehensible." Former BCCLA president Craig Jones described Walia's statement as "a new height of stupidity" and called for the withdrawal of financial support from the BCCLA. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) expressed support for Walia (without mentioning the controversial tweet), describing her as a "highly respected and valued ally."[35] [36]