Letter to York U. President about student group cancellation

Posted on June 19, 2013 by admin

The following letter was sent from OCLA to York University President, Mamdouh Shoukri, on June 17, in protest of the university’s cancellation of a student group’s status.

2013-06-17 OCLA to YorkU re SAIA Group Status by Joseph Hickey

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RELEASE: University of Ottawa tenure battle concludes this month, amongst allegations of inciting violence

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

OTTAWA, June 10, 2013 – An Ontario labour law arbitrator must decide whether former tenured full professor of physics, Denis Rancourt is a dedicated teacher and motivator of students or a dangerous individual who incites students to violence and is therefore unfit to be readmitted on the university campus.

Those are the opposing views argued, on the one hand, by the union of professors, and on the other hand, by the university administration.

The arbitrator has allowed an exceedingly broad umbrella of potential relevancy including critiques published on the professor’s blogs, hundreds of emails to student activists, hired student spy reports, invited academic lectures at conferences, published articles, and the alleged crimes of former students.

The OCLA is concerned that “violence and risk” have replaced yesterday’s morality and political opinion pretexts for silencing dissident professors and students.

Rancourt’s words are argued to cause violence. On June 11, the university will continue to attempt to establish a link between the professor and the 2010 Ottawa RBC “firebombing”.

When needed, simultaneous language translation is available on site. The final hearing dates are June 11, 12, 13, 14, 25, and 26 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Hotel Indigo Ottawa (Indigo Room), 123 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa.

About the Ontario Civil Liberties Association
OCLA is an organization formed to defend civil liberties at a time when fundamental freedoms are subjected to a systemic erosion in all spheres of social life. OCLA opposes institutional decisions that remove from the individual his or her personal liberty or exclude the individual from participation in the democratic functions of society.

Contact:

Joseph Hickey
Executive Director
Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) https://www.ocla.ca
613-252-6148 (c)
joseph.hickey@ocla.ca

Caroline Wang (French only)
Treasurer
Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) https://www.ocla.ca
514-632-8805 (c)
caroline.hy.wang@gmail.com

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COMMUNIQUÉ : Dernier mois de bataille pour la permanence académique à l’Université d’Ottawa, entre autres des allégations d’incitation à la violence

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

OTTAWA, le 10 juin 2013 – Un arbitre des lois du travail de l’Ontario doit décider si l’ancien professeur titulaire en physique Denis Rancourt est un professeur devoué et innovateur ou un dangereux individu qui incite les étudiants à la violence et ne peut donc pas être réadmis sur le campus universitaire.

Ces points de vue opposés sont défendus d’une part par le syndicat des professeurs de l’Université et d’autre part par l’administration de l’Université.

L’arbitre a permis un vaste éventail de preuves ayant un potentiel d’être pertinentes, incluant des critiques publiées sur les blogs du professeur, des centaines de courriels envoyés aux étudiants activistes, des rapports d’une étudiante-espionne embauchée par l’Université, des discours aux conférences académiques, des articles publiés dans des journaux et des magazines et des allégations de crimes qu’auraient commis d’anciens étudiants.

L’ALCO est inquiète que « la violence et le risque » ont remplacé les prétextes d’hier basés sur l’immoralité et les opinions politiques pour faire taire les professeurs et les étudiants dissidents.

Dans le cas présent, les mots de M. Rancourt sont prétendus être cause de violence. Le 11 juin 2013, l’Université poursuivra sur sa lancée où elle tente d’établir un lien entre le professeur et l’attentat à la bombe incendiaire contre une succursale de la Banque royale du Canada à Ottawa en mai 2010.

M. Rancourt témoigne en français. Les derniers jours d’audience sont les 11, 12, 13, 14, 25 et 26 juin à 9h30, à l’Hôtel Indigo Ottawa (Salle Indigo), au 123, rue Metcalfe, à Ottawa.

À propos de l’Association des libertés civiles de l’Ontario
L’ALCO est une organisation fondée afin de défendre les libertés civiles à une époque où les droits fondamentaux subissent une érosion systémique dans toutes les sphères de la vie sociale. L’ALCO s’oppose à toute décision qui prive l’individu de sa liberté individuelle ou qui l’exclut des fonctions démocratiques de la société.

Contacts :

Joseph Hickey
Directeur exécutif
Association des libertés civiles de l’Ontario (ALCO) https://www.ocla.ca
613-252-6148 (c)
joseph.hickey@ocla.ca

Caroline Wang (français seulement)
Trésorière
Association des libertés civiles de l’Ontario (ALCO) https://www.ocla.ca
514.632.8805 (c)
caroline.hy.wang@gmail.com

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Spring 2013 Newsletter

Posted on June 9, 2013 by admin

Dear OCLA Supporter,

This newsletter is to provide a short update about the OCLA’s work over the past months.

First, we would like to introduce two new advisory board members, Ms. Colia Clark and Mr. Tyler Willis:

  • Colia Clark is a veteran of the civil rights movement, a recent U.S. Senate candidate, and an active political voice in the United States. She is based in New York City.
  • Tyler Willis is an editor and co-founder of The Puritan literary magazine, based in Toronto.

We would also like to introduce new executive member Riana Colbert, who joins OCLA as its Communications and Social Media Director. Riana’s bio is posted on the OCLA executive members page at: https://ocla.ca/about/executive-members/.

On May 3, we hosted medical resident Dr. Alex Nataros of Montreal, Quebec at a public talk entitled “Silence is Deadly: Dr. Alex Nataros on reporting medical errors”. A brief report about the event including photos is posted at: https://ocla.ca/962/.

The OCLA’s campaign about the Supreme Court Registrar’s conduct towards self-represented litigants was initiated on March 4 through a letter to the Chief Justice of Canada. Following the March 4 letter, the Registrar reversed his decision barring a self-represented litigant from filing a leave to appeal application. We continue to push for an investigation of the Registrar’s treatment of self-represented litigants.

Also in March, MP Charmaine Borg of Quebec contacted OCLA regarding her Private Member’s Bill C-475 about protection of personal information. The OCLA’s response can be read at: https://ocla.ca/ocla-supports-bill-c-475/.

Finally, we would like to announce that OCLA is now on Twitter @oncivlib, so please follow us to connect!

We look forward to continue building OCLA into an organization that can stand at the forefront of protecting fundamental freedoms for individuals. To become a member of OCLA, please send an email to joseph.hickey@ocla.ca with an (optional) donation, which can be made through the Paypal button at our website or by sending a cheque to our mailing address listed at:https://ocla.ca/contact/.

Yours truly,

Joseph Hickey
Executive Director
Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) https://www.ocla.ca
613-252-6148 (c)
joseph.hickey@ocla.ca

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myPrivacy website launched by MP Charmaine Borg

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

Ms. Charmaine Borg, MP for Terrebonne—Blainville in Québec has launched a website for her private member’s bill C-475, entitled An Act to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (order-making power)

The website is located at myprivacyonline.ca.

“My bill increases the enforcement powers of the Privacy Commissioner and makes reporting of potentially harmful data breaches mandatory.” – Charmaine Borg

OCLA’s recommendations on Bill C-475 can be read at the following link: https://ocla.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-03-20-JHickey-OCLA-to-CBorg-NDP.pdf

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Report on May 3 event: “Silence is Deadly”

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

On Friday, May 3, 2013, the OCLA hosted Dr. Alex Nataros of Montreal at a public talk entitled “Silence is Deadly: Dr. Alex Nataros on reporting medical errors”. Dr. Nataros is a medical resident at a McGill-affiliated hospital who was placed on forced administrative leave in January 2013 following his reporting of a medical error he encountered during a rotation at his hospital.

The May 3 event allowed for diverse discussion of civil liberties in medical training and the Canadian health care system. Dr. Waleed AlGhaithy and Dr. Alex Nataros spoke about their experiences as medical residents and the challenges in reporting medical errors, followed by a plenary discussion with attendees.

Dr. Nataros’s social media sites are at the following links:

Thank you to all who attended and we look forward to hosting our next event in the near future!

Photos below:

 

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Silence is Deadly – May 3 OCLA event

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

Our event “Silence is Deadly: Dr. Alex Nataros on reporting medical errors” is scheduled for Friday, May 3 in Ottawa.

Please see our events page for more information, at: https://ocla.ca/our-work/endorsed-events/

And at the event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/648570518492423/?fref=ts

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Updates in Public Campaign to SCC Registrar

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

Updates in the OCLA’s public campaign regarding the conduct of the Supreme Court Registrar toward self-represented litigants can be read on our public campaigns page here: https://ocla.ca/our-work/public-campaigns/

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OCLA Supports Bill C-475

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

OCLA was contacted by Ms. Charmaine Borg, Member of Parliament (NDP), to comment on her Bill C-475, entitled An Act to amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (order-making power)

A first hour of debate on Bill C-475 will take place at its Second Reading in Parliament, scheduled for April 15, 2013. The OCLA supports Ms. Borg’s effort hold organizations accountable in their responsibilities to protect Canadians’ personal information, and submitted recommendations to strengthen the Bill.

OCLA’s recommendations on Bill C-475 can be read at the following link: https://ocla.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-03-20-JHickey-OCLA-to-CBorg-NDP.pdf

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OCLA’s position covered on 570 News

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Joseph Hickey

OCLA was contacted yesterday for an interview on 570 News’ The Jeff Allan Show in Kitchener-Waterloo yesterday about a lobbying effort by the British Columbia police to obtain the power to confiscate drivers’ cell phones as punishment for distracted driving. Could this come to Ontario?

Listen to the radio interview HERE.

 

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