Dear OCLA Supporter,
This email is to provide you with an update regarding the OCLA’s work and activities in 2015.
2015 Civil Liberties Award to be announced soon!
We will announce the date and location for our annual civil liberties award event very soon. The event is an occasion to celebrate courageous Ontarians who have fought for individual rights, and to meet other OCLA members and discuss civil liberties concerns and issues.
Letter to NDP leader Thomas Mulcair re: freedom of speech for party candidates
On Aug. 20, the OCLA sent a letter to NDP leader Thomas Mulcair protesting the party’s decision to summarily revoke the candidacy of Morgan Wheeldon for past Facebook comments about Israel made in the context of political discourse. Another candidate, Jerry Natanine, suffered the same fate. The letter is posted online at the following link: https://ocla.ca/letter-to-ndp-
National Defence implements policy on searches in cadet summer camps
In 2014, the OCLA raised concerns, brought by anonymous sources, about sweeping searches of youth participants at cadet summer camps. The sources informed the OCLA that National Defence has now implemented a policy (dated May 28, 2015) regarding the searches, and that the practice of blanket searching lockers for stolen or missing items appears to have been stopped. More information and links are available at: https://ocla.ca/update-
Letter to PEN Canada re: “Censorship Tracker” website
“In the struggle to protect freedom of expression, civil society organizations must particularly seek to protect individuals whose rights are most at risk from being attacked using disproportionate means wielded by governments and large institutions or corporations.”
This principle formed the basis of the OCLA’s letter, dated May 24, 2015 to the Executive Director of PEN Canada, regarding its use of its Censorship Tracker website in relation to the hate speech criminal charges against Mr. Arthur Topham. The letter is posted online at the following link: https://ocla.ca/ocla-letter-to-
Ezra Levant’s SUN TV feature about the OCLA’s position on Arthur Topham’s case is now on the OCLA’s YouTube channel, at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Mr. Topham’s trial is scheduled to take place this October.
Complaint regarding Ottawa Police Association President
In 2014, the OCLA filed a complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Directorate (OIPRD) about a letter sent by the president of the Ottawa Police Association to the president of Carleton University demanding that a criminology professor apologize for making statements that were critical of policing in Ontario.
A brief report and links to background information, including the OCLA’s complaint, the OIPRD Investigative Report, and media coverage about the complaint can be read at the following link: https://ocla.ca/oclas-
Position paper on the institutional bias against pro-life campaigners in Ontario
The OCLA is opposed to the evident statutory and institutional bias that exists in Ontario against the free-expression rights of pro-life campaigners. Read the position paper at the following link: https://ocla.ca/our-work/
Media coverage: “Civil liberties association says withholding abortion stats an affront to democracy”, The Catholic Register, Apr. 29, 2015.
How to stay connected and donate to the OCLA
Twitter: @oncivlib
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
The OCLA is an independent, volunteer-run organization. Donations help cover operating costs such as booking rooms for public events, printing promotional material for campaigns and events, and paying for court filing fees and court document production costs (copies and binding) regarding court and tribunal interventions on civil liberties issues.
Donations can be made in two ways:
1) through Paypal, by clicking the “Donate” button in the top-right corner of https://ocla.ca; or
2) by sending a cheque to “Ontario Civil Liberties Association” to our mailing address:
Ontario Civil Liberties Association
180 Metcalfe Street, Suite 20
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K2P 1P5
Yours truly,
Joseph Hickey
Executive Director
Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) https://ocla.ca
joseph.hickey@ocla.ca
