By "C. Ailes" Source: HarkatJustice email List (CUPE) URL: N/A Date: February 6, 2008 Maintain the pressure against C-3, Come to the court today. 1) Come to the court today, Wednesday, February 6 at 9:30 am. Supreme Court building. Sophie and Mohamed Harkat need your support. Come and see how the Canadian government justifies secret trials, security certificates and the persecution of Mohamed Harkat. 2) Keep the pressure on your MP against C-3, the third reading vote is today and contact the members of the Anti-terrorism Committee of the Senate. They should review C-3 seriously, have hearings on this bill and oppose it. 3) Join NOWAR-PAIX on Saturday, February 16, 12:30, York and Sussex for a march against C-3, secret trials, security certificate, unlimited detention, deportation to torture.

By Andrew Duffy Source: The Ottawa Citizen URL: [link] Date: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 On-bail terror suspect, wife lead bizarre lives, Federal Court hears

The federal official responsible for monitoring the bail of Mohamed Harkat says he is "strongly opposed" to the terror suspect's request to be allowed to stay home alone. Peter Foley, a Canada Border Services Agency supervisor, told Federal Court yesterday that such a system would place an unacceptable burden on his Ottawa office. "If Mr. Harkat was left alone, we'd have to search the house every time to make sure nothing has been introduced by a third party," he said.

[ Read the rest ... ]

By Bill Siksay
Source: fwd'ed to secrettrials-org Email List
URL: N/A
Date: February 5, 2008


Last night (Monday) in the House, on the NDP motions to delete all clauses, the NDP and Bloc voted Yes (56) and Liberals and Conservatives voted No (191). On the main report stage vote it was the opposite-Liberals and Conservatives Yes (191) and NDP and Bloc No (54-not sure who left, but it wasn't New Democrats). There were a bunch of Bloc folks absent-just one NDP MP was absent (truly away, not abstaining or taking a walk). It was great to have the Bloc's support!

Today, the C3 will be up again, and as as result of the limitation motion that the Conservatives and Liberals passed last week, this will be the final day of debate. Hopefully, we will be able to stretch it out to ensure that the vote is not taken until tomorrow, but I think the Liberals would have to make the motion as the Official Opposition. So, the third reading vote will either be tonight or tomorrow (Tuesday or wednesday). The Bloc has moved concurrence in a report of the Finance Committee this morning, so that will delay the debate on C3 for a maximum of three hours.

Bill

Bill Siksay M.P. Burnaby-Douglas
NDP Critic for Housing, Canadian Heritage and Culture
and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual and Transgender Issues

Room 124, Confederation Building
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
613-996-5597 (phone)
613-992-5501 (fax)
[link]

4506 Dawson Street
Burnaby, B.C.
V5C 4C1
604-291-8863 (phone)
604-666-0727 (fax)

Par Isabelle Baez
Source: email
URL: N/A
Date: 4 fevrier 2008

Ainsi, Mohamed Harkat a été à nouveau arrêté. Il faut dire que le timing est excellent. Harkat s’apprête à demander des modifications à ses conditions de « libération » la semaine prochaine et Charkaoui s’apprête à passer en Cour suprême ce jeudi, le 31 janvier, au sujet des entrevues et autres documents détruits par le SCRS. Pour couronner le tout, la Chambre des communes s’apprête à débattre, cette semaine, à propos du projet de loi C-3, la nouvelle loi sur les Certificats de sécurité. Certificats déclarés, souvenez-vous, non constitutionnels il y a près d’un an maintenant par la Cour suprême.

Quel crime a donc commis Harkat ? Celui de n’avoir pas réussi à empêcher sa belle-mère de se disputer avec son beau-père. Quel est le rapport, me direz vous ? Eh bien, Mohammed Harkat se doit d’être accompagné de sa femme, de sa belle-mère OU d’une autre personne 24 heures sur 24, tel que stipulé dans ses conditions de « libération ». Et il s’avère que sa belle-mère a quitté à quelques reprises le domicile familial en raison d’une mésentente avec son mari.

En quoi cette dispute conjugale met en danger la sécurité des Canadiens ? On atteint, dans cette affaire, un niveau de ridicule assez incroyable. Le fait est que le gouvernement est en train de perdre la face avec les certificats de sécurité. Un a un, ceux qu’on appelle toujours « présumés terroristes » dans les médias (alors que jamais aucune accusation formelle n’a été portée contre eux), un à un, ces hommes ont été sortis de prison par la justice canadienne. Il reste Almrei, toujours enfermé à Milhaven, à Kingston, en Ontario, dans un bâtiment spécialement construit pour les détenus sous certificats de sécurité. Une nouvelle aile pénitentiaire qui aura coûté 3 millions de dollars aux contribuables canadiens.

Les certificats sont inconstitutionnels, Charkaoui commence à gagner des batailles en cour, alors tout est fait pour gagner du temps, pour le discréditer, avec des coulages d’informations relayés avec complaisance par les médias.

Toute cette agitation démontre que le gouvernement est dans l’eau chaude. Et, comme à l’accoutumée, plutôt que de reconnaître un dérapage et de faire amende honorable, le SCRS va poursuivre dans sa voie. Pourtant, il y a eu Arar, pourtant il y a eu toutes les critiques émises contre le Canada par le Comité contre la torture de l’ONU, etc.

On nous ment, on nous a menti et comme on ne veut pas le reconnaître, on harcèle à qui mieux mieux. On pousse des hommes reconnus coupables de strictement rien dans leur dernier retranchement, fauchant au passage des vies affectives, familiales et professionnelles. Des vies tout court. L’essentiel, ne l’oublions pas, est de ne pas perdre la face.

Telle est la loi qui prévaut en sol canadien et… en Afghanistan, avec l’affaire des prisonniers afghans livrés à la torture.

Isabelle Baez
Montréal

By "A Support of Survivors of Secret Trials and Security Certificates" Source: email fwd'ed to Sophie Harkat URL: N/A Date: February 4, 2008 BILL C – 3 TEACHING DANGEROUS LESSONS TO CANADIAN CHILDREN

MADDY (a 7-year-old child) : "Mommy, I am innocent. Does it mean that that's why they'll put me in jail?" MOMMY: "Well Maddy, we have no proof that this cannot happen as they already kept in jail for indefinite time those who were never charged and never tried in fair and transparent trial. I am very sorry Maddy, but we don't have anything to prove that this won't happen to us too." to be continued....

Comprehension Questions: 1. What does a parent tell a child about Bill C -3? 2. What does a teacher tell a student about Bill C – 3? 3. What does a teacher tell adult student learning ESL/FSL about Bill C – 3? That we all belong? Senators, do you ask us to lie? Lie, we must not because those who know the truth are among us. They are our children. They are our students. We have no choice, senators, but to speak truth. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Senators: I am writing to you regarding Bill C – 3. I am trying to reach out to you with burning urgency because I am so deeply concerned with dangers Bill C – 3, if ever approved, would bring upon the lives of every ordinary Canadian. Horrendous and most excruciatingly painful 9/11 bombing brought down two towers and lives of the innocent people who happened to be in those two towers. The pens with the potential of mass destruction in your hands on the other hand may be on standby ready to bring down the whole structure of civil liberties, human rights and freedoms and constitution governing Canadian lives.

[ Read the rest ... ]

Source: Radio-Canada URL: [link] Date: 5 février 2008 Simulation de noyade

La CIA passe aux aveux

PHOTO: Michael Hayden, lors de sa comparution devant la commission sénatoriale. La CIA admet avoir eu recours à la simulation de noyade (waterboarding) sur trois membres présumés du réseau Al-Qaïda dans les mois qui ont suivi les attentats du 11 septembre 2001. L'aveu est venu de la bouche même du directeur des services de renseignements américains, Michael Hayden, lors d'un témoignage livré devant la commission sénatoriale du renseignement. « La simulation de noyade a été utilisée sur seulement trois détenus », a-t-il déclaré. M. Hayden a affirmé que la technique, considérée comme une forme de torture par les organisations de défense des droits humains, avait été utilisée sur Khaled Cheikh Mohammed, Abou Zoubaydah et Abd Rahim Al-Nashiri. Le directeur de la CIA soutient que la simulation de noyade a été employée à la fin de 2001 et au début de 2002, parce que l'agence craignait « d'autres attentats catastrophiques imminents contre le territoire national ». Il assure que la simulation de noyade n'a pas été utilisée depuis 5 ans.

[ Read the rest ... ]

By Daniel Leblanc Source: The Globe and Mail URL: [link] Date: February 5, 2008 Final vote imminent on bill to replace law struck down by Supreme Court

OTTAWA — The Conservatives and the Liberals joined forces last night in favour of new legislation on security certificates for terrorism suspects just before a Supreme Court deadline invalidates the old system later this month. In the House of Commons last night, the two biggest parties adopted, with a vote of 191 to 54, a committee report on Bill C-3, and the final vote on the legislation is expected to go through in the same way tonight or tomorrow. The Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party oppose the rules that allow suspected terrorists to be deported without having full access to the evidence against them. However, the Liberals are ensuring the legislation's passage by insisting that it contains necessary safeguards, including blocking the use of evidence obtained under torture in another country. "It's not our first choice," Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said. "But we think with amendments ... it's improving the bill that the government wants to pass." The security certificate procedure allows the government to detain and deport suspected terrorists and refugees and landed immigrants accused of human-rights violations or serious criminality. However, many deportations have been delayed because of claims that the lives of the individuals would be endangered in their country of origin.

[ Read the rest ... ]

By Richard Foot (Canwest News Service)
Source: The Montreal Gazette
URL: [link]
Date: February 05, 2008


The House of Commons is racing against time to pass a controversial new anti-terror bill before a similar existing law - struck down by the Supreme Court - expires this month.

That would normally be a difficult task in a minority Parliament, but the opposition Liberals have agreed to push new security certificate legislation through the House this week, despite Liberal concerns about the bill's impact on civil liberties.

"This isn't a bill we would have introduced ourselves," said Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberal national security critic. "But this is the bill we were presented by the government.

"We believe the issue is timely passage (of the legislation), and as a responsible party we want to make sure that's done."

[ Read the rest ... ]

By Mike Larson
Source: email correspondence
URL: N/A
Date: February 5, 2008

To: The Honourable Dr. Carolyn Bennett, MP St Paul's, Toronto

Dear Dr. Bennett,

Today, MPs will vote on Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. As a citizen in your riding, I urge you again to vote 'no' on C-3. Please join your colleague and fellow Liberal Party member, the Hon. Andrew Telegdi (MP, Kitchener-Waterloo) in taking a stand against a flawed and unjust piece of legislation. In doing so, you would demonstrate your commitment to a substantive concept of human rights - one that does not treat non-citizens as persons undeserving of due process or full and fair trial.

In the current context, Security Certificates are an ineffective and unjust response to alleged national security threats. They are ineffective because, although they are intended to facilitate the deportation of non-citizens deemed 'inadmissible' to Canada, in reality they lead to prolonged and indefinite detention without charge or trial. Further, even if they did lead to the swift deportation of individuals deemed to threaten our national security, this would simply displace the threat, rather than dealing with it. They are unjust because - despite Conservative assertions to the contrary - they use immigration law as a stand-in for criminal law. This results in a two-tiered justice system. Security certificates lead to arrest, long-term detention on the grounds of a federal penitentiary, severe bail conditions and surveillance, lasting stigma, disruption to families, and potentially deportation to probable torture. This process is as severe in its ramifications as any criminal proceeding, but without the safeguards provided by a full and fair trial before a court of law.

Recently, members of the Liberal Party have criticized the Conservative government for its evasiveness and secrecy in relation to the handling of Afghan detainees. I applaud this criticism. Canadians do not want our armed forces involved detainee transfers if they result in the torture or abuse of prisoners. Security certificates can result in the deportation of individuals (officially alleged of links to terrorism by the Canadian government) to countries that routinely engage in torture, disappearances, and the abuse of prisoners. If you agree that it is wrong for us to follow policies that place Afghan detainees at risk of torture, I urge you to extend that principle to the cases of security certificate detainees. The only way to guarantee that we do not deport individuals to face torture is to get rid of security certificates, and the best way to do that is to make sure that C-3 does not pass.

In closing, I would like to emphasize that a vote of 'no' on C-3 does not represent a lack of commitment to Canadian national security. We have a robust criminal code, with extensive anti-terror laws. We are more than capable of issuing criminal charges against any individuals engaging in - or planning to engage in - terrorist activity. If security certificates disappeared tomorrow, we would not be any less secure.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Mike Larsen
Researcher, York Centre for International and Security Studies
Fellow, Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime & Security

By Behrens - [email]
Source: email correspondence
URL: N/A
Date: February 04, 2008, 10:40 PM


Friends,

An attempt to delete, clause by clause, Bill C-3, the act to bring in new secret trials, was defeated this evening in Ottawa, forcing C-3 to a third and final vote in the House of Commons likely to be held tomorrow (Tuesday, February 5). The Conservatives are feeling the heat, even going so far as to put out a press release today urging Stephane Dion and the Liberals to vote with the government on this shameful initiative. Needless to say, most of the Liberals fell in line this evening. The Liberals, who call themselves the party of the Charter, put a dagger through the heart of the Charter's most basic legal rights tonight by helping C-3 make it's way towards final passage tomorrow.

PLEASE call your MP once more and demand that s/he vote against C-3, to say to to new secret trials, indefinite detention without charge, deportation to torture, and two-tier justice.