TORONTO — Lawyers for Abdullah Khadr say their client his happy with his latest legal victory.
Yesterday, Ontario's appeal court upheld a decision to not proceed with Ottawa's bid to extradite Khadr to the U.S. to face terrorism charges.
Khadr lawyer Dennis Edney says the federal government has 60 days now to decide whether it wants to ask the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the case.
The Harper government says Khadr is an admitted al Qaeda collaborator who the U.S. accuses of supplying weapons to al Qaeda in Pakistan.
Superior Court Justice Christopher Speyer freed Khadr last summer, citing gross misconduct by the U.S. in its treatment of Khadr.
Khadr's lawyers argued his self-incriminating statements were the product of torture in Pakistan.
The appeal court rejected the federal government's argument that an admitted terrorist was set free because Khadr could be tried in Canada.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
The G20 Legal Defence Fund has reopened for its second application round and is now accepting applications for requests for financial assistance from G20 defendants, both current and past.
The G20 Legal Defence Fund has reopened for its second application round and is now accepting applications for requests for financial assistance from G20 defendants, both current and past. If you have incurred legal or associated costs as a result of criminal charges you faced following the G20 in Toronto, please consider applying for assistance from the Fund. If you previously applied to the Fund, you can reapply for costs that may not have been covered in the first round.
ABOUT THE FUND:
The G20 Legal Defense Fund exists to hold and give out funds raised to support the legal defence of people facing charges stemming from the June 2010 Toronto G20 Summit – this includes legal fees for criminal charges, bail hearings, bail variations, trial preparation, pre-trial meetings, constitutional motions, trial preparation, legal fees for G20-related immigration and child custody issues, and travel costs.
We believe that building movements where we support each other strengthens the struggle for social justice. The fund is run based on the following principles:
1. All accused are presumed innocent.
2. No discrimination against accused people based on their charges, or on the outcome of their charges.
3. Money will be disbursed based on the criteria of risk, and financial need, with the recognition that some groups face oppression, prejudice, and disproportionate challenges when engaging with the criminal justice system.
ABOUT APPLYING:
The application form and submission instructions are available at:
http://g20legaldefencefund.wordpress.com
All applications will be kept completely confidential.
If you have legal aid, you can still apply but your need for funds will be less, so your application will be considered taking that into account.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
The application and all supporting documentation must be received by JUNE 1, 2011.
ABOUT THE FUND:
The G20 Legal Defense Fund exists to hold and give out funds raised to support the legal defence of people facing charges stemming from the June 2010 Toronto G20 Summit – this includes legal fees for criminal charges, bail hearings, bail variations, trial preparation, pre-trial meetings, constitutional motions, trial preparation, legal fees for G20-related immigration and child custody issues, and travel costs.
We believe that building movements where we support each other strengthens the struggle for social justice. The fund is run based on the following principles:
1. All accused are presumed innocent.
2. No discrimination against accused people based on their charges, or on the outcome of their charges.
3. Money will be disbursed based on the criteria of risk, and financial need, with the recognition that some groups face oppression, prejudice, and disproportionate challenges when engaging with the criminal justice system.
ABOUT APPLYING:
The application form and submission instructions are available at:
http://g20legaldefencefund.wordpress.com
All applications will be kept completely confidential.
If you have legal aid, you can still apply but your need for funds will be less, so your application will be considered taking that into account.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
The application and all supporting documentation must be received by JUNE 1, 2011.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Canada's prison service is under fire after an elite group of guards in full riot gear went rogue for 10 days and held inmates at gunpoint, a new report reveals.
Canada's prison service is under fire after an elite group of guards in full riot gear went rogue for 10 days and held inmates at gunpoint, a new report reveals.
“For 10 days, this team followed its own rules of engagement with almost complete impunity,” the report from federal correctional investigator Howard Sapers says. “It operated in a virtual management vacuum.”
A search for a homemade weapon believed to have been smuggled into British Columbia's Kent Institution precipitated the lockdown in January 2010 and a series of what Sapers called “disturbing events.”
The actions taken by the Tactical Team, part of a unique “pilot project” first approved by national headquarters in 1998 and not sanctioned by law, raise serious questions about the correctional service's accountability and governance, Sapers said.
Against the warden's instructions on how to handle the incident, the team used pistols and rifles to remove compliant inmates, many handcuffed behind the back, from their cells to an area where they were strip-searched en masse.
In some cases, searches were videotaped by prison staff showing full frontal nudity.
The description in Sapers' report evokes images of tactics used in Guantanamo. The team's use of laser-sighted semi-automatic rifles, handguns and physical and chemical restraints was an “intimidating, overwhelming and provocative display of force,” the report said.
“The disregard that the Tactical Team displayed for the law and established policies and procedures resulted in serious human rights breaches,” it concludes.
What's more, an internal fact-finding review into the searches found the tactical team leader lied about pointing guns at inmates and submitted daily reports that directly contradicted the video evidence which eventually surfaced.
The report reveals that many hours of videotape could not be found and potentially serious abuses went undocumented.
While the bulk of reports filed by the team leader described the prisoners as “verbally resistive/physically uncooperative,” video evidence confirmed inmates, with one or two exceptions, were compliant and generally responsive to staff commands.
“Indeed, if anything, the inmates are seen to be remarkably restrained in their behaviour, given that firearms were often directly pointed at them, only a few feet away,” the investigator's report states.
In response to Sapers' report, Correctional Service Commisioner Don Head said “the lack of managerial oversight and incomplete reporting at the local level is extremely concerning.”
The warden will be replaced in June, and Head has pledged the service would review its use-of-force model and governance structure with internal and external experts.
The maximum-security prison, in a remote area 150 kilometres east of Vancouver, has had trouble attracting and retaining experienced staff.
Its early years were plagued by hostage-takings and riots. More recent statistics show it has one of the highest lockdown rates in Canada.
While almost 30 per cent of the inmates at Kent are serving life sentences, a new 96-bed unit that opened two years ago houses what internal documents describe as “generally motivated and compliant” prisoners in an open-concept setting.
Escalating tensions between staff and the prison's 324 inmates set the stage for the most recent crisis, which was set off when officials received an anonymous note indicating someone had smuggled in a homemade zip gun in a stereo.
The stereo was part of a package delivered to an inmate. As is policy, the items were held in a storage cage for 30 days; there they were searched by the prison's drug detection dog and X-rayed.
Neither of these searches revealed contraband, so the items were delivered to the prisoner. Shortly after, when an officer found an anonymous letter suggesting the stereo contained a homemade gun, the warden ordered the lockdown.
Fifteen minutes later, according to the report, the prison workers' union threatened to invoke a refusal-to-work provision in the Canada Labour Code.
That's when management and the union agreed to employ the specialized tactical unit, which was supposed to provide backup to a standard emergency response team typically used during crises.
Nine days into the lockdown, after every inmate and cell was searched, no zip gun had been found. However, a “sizable quantity” of drugs and handmade shanks were retrieved.
No Tactical Team members were disciplined. Six months after the lockdown, the team was disbanded and its members were given jobs on another high-risk response unit.
“For 10 days, this team followed its own rules of engagement with almost complete impunity,” the report from federal correctional investigator Howard Sapers says. “It operated in a virtual management vacuum.”
A search for a homemade weapon believed to have been smuggled into British Columbia's Kent Institution precipitated the lockdown in January 2010 and a series of what Sapers called “disturbing events.”
The actions taken by the Tactical Team, part of a unique “pilot project” first approved by national headquarters in 1998 and not sanctioned by law, raise serious questions about the correctional service's accountability and governance, Sapers said.
Against the warden's instructions on how to handle the incident, the team used pistols and rifles to remove compliant inmates, many handcuffed behind the back, from their cells to an area where they were strip-searched en masse.
In some cases, searches were videotaped by prison staff showing full frontal nudity.
The description in Sapers' report evokes images of tactics used in Guantanamo. The team's use of laser-sighted semi-automatic rifles, handguns and physical and chemical restraints was an “intimidating, overwhelming and provocative display of force,” the report said.
“The disregard that the Tactical Team displayed for the law and established policies and procedures resulted in serious human rights breaches,” it concludes.
What's more, an internal fact-finding review into the searches found the tactical team leader lied about pointing guns at inmates and submitted daily reports that directly contradicted the video evidence which eventually surfaced.
The report reveals that many hours of videotape could not be found and potentially serious abuses went undocumented.
While the bulk of reports filed by the team leader described the prisoners as “verbally resistive/physically uncooperative,” video evidence confirmed inmates, with one or two exceptions, were compliant and generally responsive to staff commands.
“Indeed, if anything, the inmates are seen to be remarkably restrained in their behaviour, given that firearms were often directly pointed at them, only a few feet away,” the investigator's report states.
In response to Sapers' report, Correctional Service Commisioner Don Head said “the lack of managerial oversight and incomplete reporting at the local level is extremely concerning.”
The warden will be replaced in June, and Head has pledged the service would review its use-of-force model and governance structure with internal and external experts.
The maximum-security prison, in a remote area 150 kilometres east of Vancouver, has had trouble attracting and retaining experienced staff.
Its early years were plagued by hostage-takings and riots. More recent statistics show it has one of the highest lockdown rates in Canada.
While almost 30 per cent of the inmates at Kent are serving life sentences, a new 96-bed unit that opened two years ago houses what internal documents describe as “generally motivated and compliant” prisoners in an open-concept setting.
Escalating tensions between staff and the prison's 324 inmates set the stage for the most recent crisis, which was set off when officials received an anonymous note indicating someone had smuggled in a homemade zip gun in a stereo.
The stereo was part of a package delivered to an inmate. As is policy, the items were held in a storage cage for 30 days; there they were searched by the prison's drug detection dog and X-rayed.
Neither of these searches revealed contraband, so the items were delivered to the prisoner. Shortly after, when an officer found an anonymous letter suggesting the stereo contained a homemade gun, the warden ordered the lockdown.
Fifteen minutes later, according to the report, the prison workers' union threatened to invoke a refusal-to-work provision in the Canada Labour Code.
That's when management and the union agreed to employ the specialized tactical unit, which was supposed to provide backup to a standard emergency response team typically used during crises.
Nine days into the lockdown, after every inmate and cell was searched, no zip gun had been found. However, a “sizable quantity” of drugs and handmade shanks were retrieved.
No Tactical Team members were disciplined. Six months after the lockdown, the team was disbanded and its members were given jobs on another high-risk response unit.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted PSAC’s application for leave to appeal .
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted PSAC’s application for leave to appeal a longstanding pension case.
In October 2010 the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed our case against the federal government for expropriating $28 billion from the federal superannuation fund.
At issue is the fact that the federal government raided a $28 billion surplus from the public service, RCMP and Canadian Forces pension plans after passing legislation that restructured the way the plans are managed.
PSAC claims that the government breached the trust of plan members, violating its fiduciary duty and not meeting its obligations.
In addition, PSAC maintains that the removal of $28 billion in pension contributions, impacting 700,000 employees, is a matter of national importance.
The union believes that the trial judge incorrectly concluded that the Superannuation Accounts had not accrued assets. The evidence clearly demonstrated that the government was required to and did put aside real funds to deal with its pension obligations, along with funds collected from plan members' contributions.
PSAC also disagrees with the trial judge's conclusion that the government had no fiduciary obligation toward plan members and toward their interest in the surplus. The evidence presented in the case established that this was true.
The Court of Appeal found that the federal government did have the discretion to remove the surplus funds, even if it resulted in higher pension contributions for plan members. PSAC believes that the government must be held to account for its actions and that the funds should be restored to the pension fund.
In October 2010 the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed our case against the federal government for expropriating $28 billion from the federal superannuation fund.
At issue is the fact that the federal government raided a $28 billion surplus from the public service, RCMP and Canadian Forces pension plans after passing legislation that restructured the way the plans are managed.
PSAC claims that the government breached the trust of plan members, violating its fiduciary duty and not meeting its obligations.
In addition, PSAC maintains that the removal of $28 billion in pension contributions, impacting 700,000 employees, is a matter of national importance.
The union believes that the trial judge incorrectly concluded that the Superannuation Accounts had not accrued assets. The evidence clearly demonstrated that the government was required to and did put aside real funds to deal with its pension obligations, along with funds collected from plan members' contributions.
PSAC also disagrees with the trial judge's conclusion that the government had no fiduciary obligation toward plan members and toward their interest in the surplus. The evidence presented in the case established that this was true.
The Court of Appeal found that the federal government did have the discretion to remove the surplus funds, even if it resulted in higher pension contributions for plan members. PSAC believes that the government must be held to account for its actions and that the funds should be restored to the pension fund.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Top court won't hear Tory appeal on GST rebates on election spending.
The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by the federal Conservatives over GST rebates on election spending.
The Tories wanted to appeal a ruling that had rejected an attempt by the party to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in GST refunds.
The Conservatives initially won their case in Ontario Superior Court, where they argued the refunds amounted to double-dipping.
The judge there acknowledged the effect would have been to raise the party's election expenses limit.
The Ontario Court of Appeal later sided with Elections Canada and overturned the Superior Court ruling.
The Tories have another appeal against the elections watchdog pending that involves election spending in the 2006 campaign.
The Tories wanted to appeal a ruling that had rejected an attempt by the party to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in GST refunds.
The Conservatives initially won their case in Ontario Superior Court, where they argued the refunds amounted to double-dipping.
The judge there acknowledged the effect would have been to raise the party's election expenses limit.
The Ontario Court of Appeal later sided with Elections Canada and overturned the Superior Court ruling.
The Tories have another appeal against the elections watchdog pending that involves election spending in the 2006 campaign.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Good news: Sun News pulled from Bell Satellite TV
MONTREAL — The Sun News Network is no longer being carried on Bell Satellite TV because there’s no fee agreement with owner Quebecor to carry it, says Bell (TSX: BCE).
The all-news and talk channel was launched by Quebecor (TSX: QBR.B) last month and was removed from Bell’s Satellite TV lineup on Tuesday.
“Sun News has withdrawn its signal from Bell Satellite TV as we do not have an agreement with Quebecor to carry it,” Bell spokesman Jason Laszlo said in a statement.
“Sun News is still available on Fibe TV in Toronto as it is operating as an over-the-air local station that must be carried locally,” he said.
But Fibe TV, Bell’s Internet protocol TV service, was only rolled out last fall in some Toronto neighbourhoods and would potentially have a smaller pool of viewers for Sun TV than would Bell Satellite.
Despite launching in the middle of a federal election, the new Sun News Network has so far had little impact on the Canadian news scene.
The Quebecor venture launched April 18 after months of buzz about what was being dubbed “Fox News North.”
It had an estimated 37,000 viewers across Canada tune in for its initial half-hour, when it hit the airwaves with what it called “hard news and straight talk.”
But by the end of Sun News’s first week, shows featuring Winnipeg-based radio host Charles Adler and Ottawa-based journalist Brian Lilley were drawing between 4,000 and 5,000 viewers across Canada in their evening slots. Adler had opened the week with 31,000 viewers and Lilley with 17,000.
The all-news and talk channel was launched by Quebecor (TSX: QBR.B) last month and was removed from Bell’s Satellite TV lineup on Tuesday.
“Sun News has withdrawn its signal from Bell Satellite TV as we do not have an agreement with Quebecor to carry it,” Bell spokesman Jason Laszlo said in a statement.
“Sun News is still available on Fibe TV in Toronto as it is operating as an over-the-air local station that must be carried locally,” he said.
But Fibe TV, Bell’s Internet protocol TV service, was only rolled out last fall in some Toronto neighbourhoods and would potentially have a smaller pool of viewers for Sun TV than would Bell Satellite.
Despite launching in the middle of a federal election, the new Sun News Network has so far had little impact on the Canadian news scene.
The Quebecor venture launched April 18 after months of buzz about what was being dubbed “Fox News North.”
It had an estimated 37,000 viewers across Canada tune in for its initial half-hour, when it hit the airwaves with what it called “hard news and straight talk.”
But by the end of Sun News’s first week, shows featuring Winnipeg-based radio host Charles Adler and Ottawa-based journalist Brian Lilley were drawing between 4,000 and 5,000 viewers across Canada in their evening slots. Adler had opened the week with 31,000 viewers and Lilley with 17,000.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Conservative proposal to slash billions from federal programs causes anxiety about downsizing
More than 150,000 public servants working in Ottawa awoke Tuesday to a new Conservative majority government, and new anxieties about what that will mean for their jobs.
Conservative budget documents proposed plans to slash some $11 billion over the next four years in federal programs. Federal employees now wonder whether that could translate to bad news for them.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is bracing for the worst. John Gordon, the alliance's president, told CBC News on Tuesday he believes the service is on the chopping block.
"Now that they have the majority they've been seeking really for quite a long time now, they can just go through and push their agenda," Gordon said. "I've said quite often, actually, that we haven't really seen the real Stephen Harper."
Election-night video
View speeches from John Baird, Paul Dewar, David McGuinty, Françoise Boivin and others after historic night.
Meanwhile, the former head of PSAC, Nycole Turmel, is committed to fighting potential plans to minimize the public service.
Turmel, who was elected Monday night in Hull-Aylmer for the NDP, said her party will stand up for federal employees.
"We'll work the government in place, and we'll make sure they protect the services of government, meaning to protect the jobs as well," she pledged.
The prospect of layoffs in the federal bureaucracy is a hot topic in Ottawa, but newly re-elected Conservative MP Scott Reid assured public servants Tuesday that a Tory majority was no reason to fear.
Ottawa stands pat
Incumbents held on in all seven Ottawa ridings. Click on the interactive map to see results.
Reid, who won his seat Monday night in Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington for a fifth time, pointed to positive outcomes for the Tories in local ridings as an indication that federal employees trust the Conservatives will look after them.
"Look at the results in the Ottawa area," Reid said, noting that several Ottawa-area districts re-elected Conservatives by even greater margins than in previous elections.
"Obviously, there's a high degree of confidence among public servants that the Conservatives will act in the manner that [Conservative Leader] Stephen Harper has promised."
Quebec's orange wave
Click on our interactive map to see how New Democrats did across the province.
Conservative John Baird, the re-elected member for Ottawa West-Nepean, had said the Conservative government would trim $4 billion in annual federal program spending if elected.
Baird pledged that "slash and burn" cuts were not on the agenda, and that the savings could be made without massive job cuts.
The proposal caused anxiety for thousands of public servants, but Reid said they "should be enthusiastic" about the Conservative majority.
"I think people are intelligent in their pursuit of their self-interests," Reid said. "I think they understand that the government is going to be responsible in how it treats public servants."
Conservative budget documents proposed plans to slash some $11 billion over the next four years in federal programs. Federal employees now wonder whether that could translate to bad news for them.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is bracing for the worst. John Gordon, the alliance's president, told CBC News on Tuesday he believes the service is on the chopping block.
"Now that they have the majority they've been seeking really for quite a long time now, they can just go through and push their agenda," Gordon said. "I've said quite often, actually, that we haven't really seen the real Stephen Harper."
Election-night video
View speeches from John Baird, Paul Dewar, David McGuinty, Françoise Boivin and others after historic night.
Meanwhile, the former head of PSAC, Nycole Turmel, is committed to fighting potential plans to minimize the public service.
Turmel, who was elected Monday night in Hull-Aylmer for the NDP, said her party will stand up for federal employees.
"We'll work the government in place, and we'll make sure they protect the services of government, meaning to protect the jobs as well," she pledged.
The prospect of layoffs in the federal bureaucracy is a hot topic in Ottawa, but newly re-elected Conservative MP Scott Reid assured public servants Tuesday that a Tory majority was no reason to fear.
Ottawa stands pat
Incumbents held on in all seven Ottawa ridings. Click on the interactive map to see results.
Reid, who won his seat Monday night in Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington for a fifth time, pointed to positive outcomes for the Tories in local ridings as an indication that federal employees trust the Conservatives will look after them.
"Look at the results in the Ottawa area," Reid said, noting that several Ottawa-area districts re-elected Conservatives by even greater margins than in previous elections.
"Obviously, there's a high degree of confidence among public servants that the Conservatives will act in the manner that [Conservative Leader] Stephen Harper has promised."
Quebec's orange wave
Click on our interactive map to see how New Democrats did across the province.
Conservative John Baird, the re-elected member for Ottawa West-Nepean, had said the Conservative government would trim $4 billion in annual federal program spending if elected.
Baird pledged that "slash and burn" cuts were not on the agenda, and that the savings could be made without massive job cuts.
The proposal caused anxiety for thousands of public servants, but Reid said they "should be enthusiastic" about the Conservative majority.
"I think people are intelligent in their pursuit of their self-interests," Reid said. "I think they understand that the government is going to be responsible in how it treats public servants."
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