2015 goes out with a bang!
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- Published on Monday, 14 December 2015 10:30
- Written by editor
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It's been an inspiring year. Thanks to you, we have so many important victories to celebrate; 2015 is going out with a bang!
Help ensure 2016 is as successful as this year.
Please send your year-end donation today by clicking here.
Together we have defeated major pieces of rights-violating legislation, reformed government practices that harm and endanger Canadians, and provided direct service to thousands. Here's just a peek at what we've accomplished together since January:
Fought back to restore equal citizenship.
Because of your support we were able to challenge the law that gave some Canadians weaker citizenship rights than other Canadians.
Already the new government has said that it will put an end to second-class citizenship– directly responding to our long advocacy against Bill C-24 and our constitutional challenge. The Prime Minister himself used our very words in his election night victory speech: "a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian".
We will work to ensure that any new law eliminates two-tier citizenship, period. Read more here.
Struck down the laws that criminalize physician assisted dying.
For the first time in our history, the Supreme Court affirmed that incurably ill Canadians who are suffering unbearably have the right to seek a physician's assistance to have a peaceful death.
Now, just two months from the Court's February 6 deadline, the federal government has asked the Court to give it six more months to determine their course of action before the decision comes into effect.
The BCCLA opposes the extension. But if an extension is granted, we are asking the Court for an exemption for qualifying Canadians who are currently suffering unbearably. Read more here.
Reformed non-conviction disclosures on police information checks.
The disclosure in police information checks of information about police contact that did not result in a conviction predjudices individuals and violates their privacy rights.. Even worse is the disclosure of mental health information, contributing to stigma and discrimination.
After years of advocacy, BC has finally reformed this practice. Read more here.
Coming up in 2016...
Already our 2016 calendar is filling up with new and promising work, including some major litigation. With your help, we will:
- Go to trial with our court case challenging the use of long-term solitary confinement in Canadian prisons.
- Work on Parliament Hill to amend and repeal Bill C-51, restoring evidence-based national security policy that takes our privacy rights as a starting point.
- Publish major research and analysis on oversight and accountability for the Canada Border Services Agency and Big Data Surveillance.
- Protect civil rights and freedoms in more than 25 court cases.
We Can't Thank You Enough!
Thank you to our donors, supporters, board members, volunteers, pro bono counsel, family and friends for making these gains possible. As the oldest and most active civil liberties organization in Canada, we vow to keep pressing for positive change and making bigger impacts.
We can't wait to see what we'll achieve together in 2016.
Sincerely,
Josh Paterson, Executive Director, and the entire BC Civil Liberties team
P.S. Make your year-end donation right now to get a 2015 tax receipt!
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