All we want for the holidays is protest rights
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- Published on Wednesday, 17 December 2014 11:44
- Written by editor
All we want for the holidays is protest rights
Dear PAOV,
The right to protest is among the bedrocks of a healthy democracy. More than that, it is critical to the ability of individuals and communities to hold the powerful to account around the world.
Today, the BC Civil Liberties Association is in Bangkok to meet with the United Nations on the issue of protest rights and resource development projects. We are there as the only invited Canadian representative to a meeting of experts on the issue. We are also there to make sure that the global community knows what Canada is up to.
Canada’s troubled record on respecting the rights of those opposed to resource extraction projects goes on and on. As if all this weren’t enough, a new bill was introduced two weeks ago that will criminalize many peaceful – and currently lawful – protests, if they interfere even temporarily with the “lawful use, operation and enjoyment” of “critical infrastructure”, which is broadly defined as almost any important service or economic project.
If this bill were to be passed, everybody from striking flight attendants and kids protesting pipelines on Burnaby Mountain could be considered criminals. This is wrong, and we say it is unconstitutional. The BC Civil Liberties Association has a long history of working to protect expression, assembly and protest rights. In 2015, we will make the protection of protest rights a cornerstone of our work.
In the last year, this work to protect protest rights has included teaching workshops across BC's north and Haida Gwaii, filing legal complaints on behalf of activists and community organizations who have been spied on, and sending Legal Observers to Burnaby Mountain- which helped us to notice that protesters were being arrested for civil contempt, without having crossed the injunction line.
Protest rights will be one part of our ambitious 2015 plan to fight for CBSA accountability, end prolonged solitary confinement, challenge changes to Canada's citizenship laws, and protect the privacy of Canadians from government surveillance.
There is so much we need to accomplish.
If you can, please give to support this crucial work.
Right now, you can get day by day updates on my journey to Bangkok, Thailand on the BCCLA blog (day 1), or day 2, or by following @bccla on twitter at #BCCLAinBangkok. In a few days, we'll be posting an update on our major campaigns from 2014, and more details on what to expect in 2015.
Thank you so much for giving in support of human rights and civil liberties.
Sincerely,
Josh Paterson, Executive Director,
and the entire BCCLA team
r15 |r0