British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is an autonomous, non-partisan charitable society that seeks to "promote, defend, sustain, and extend civil liberties and human rights." It works towards achieving this purpose through litigation, lobbying, complaint assistance, events, social media, and publications. Founded in 1962, it is Canada's oldest civil liberties association. It is based in Vancouver and is jointly funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia and by private citizens through donations and memberships.
The BCCLA, through its staff lawyers and pro bono counsel, litigates constitutional issues and commonly appears as an intervenor, applicant, or plaintiff at all levels of Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. The association's work is guided by the rights and liberties embodied in such documents as Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the bills of rights in the United States, Britain, and Canada. The association is unaffiliated with any other organization or political group; however, the association often works cooperatively with other organizations, such as Pivot Legal Society, the John Howard Society, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, on common causes.
The BCCLA has been consulted by both the governments of Canada and British Columbia on proposed actions or policies that may give rise to civil liberties or human rights concerns. In the early 1980s, the association was invited to appear before the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Constitution to participate in the public consultations on the proposed Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The association was consulted by the federal government in its creation of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and by British Columbia's government in its creation of the Personal Information Privacy Act.
Organization
Leadership
The BCCLA is currently led by Hasan Alam, president, and executive director Liza Hughes. Honorary directors of the board include former prime minister of Canada Kim Campbell, founding president Reverend Phillip Hewett, and environmentalist David Suzuki.Reg Robson
Reg Robson joined the association soon after its founding and served as its main spokesperson, lobbyist, and organizational leader between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s. Robson served in various executive positions, including executive secretary, president, and treasurer. Robson sat on the board of directors into the 1980s and is credited for helping to ensure the viability of the association and its institutional memory.Funding
In the year ending December 31, 2016, the BCCLA had a combined revenue of $1.26 million, originating from membership and donations, grants, and other sources, including gaming revenue and litigation recovery. In the year ending December 31, 2016, the expenses of the BCCLA were $1.22 million, attributed to staff salaries and benefits, office operating, litigation costs, and other costs, including rent, professional fees, and travel.Events
The association organizes forums across British Columbia on a variety of topics, including national security, social justice law reform, HIV disclosure laws, and food rights. It also organizes speaking events, with past speakers including: Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union; The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada; Michael Ignatieff, Harvard professor and former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada; John Ralston Saul, philosopher, novelist, and essayist; and Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was tortured after being deported to Syria by U.S. authorities.Since 2005, the BCCLA has presented an annual Youth Rights Conference, a daylong seminar for high school students that is intended to promote student activism and civic engagement. Past topics have included gay/straight alliances, homelessness, protest rights, aboriginal justice, and immigrant rights.
Awards
The association presents an annual Reg Robson Award to honour people who have demonstrated a substantial and long-lasting contribution to civil liberties issues in British Columbia and Canada. Past recipients of the award have included:- Janine Fuller
- Peter and Murray Corren
- Joseph Arvay
- Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler
- Kent Roach and Craig Forcese
History
1960s
Background
The events preceding the formation of the BCCLA involved a Kootenays, British Columbia, group known as the Fraternal Council of the Sons of Freedom.On March 6, 1962, members of this branch of the Sons of Freedom sect used explosives to bring down a 100-metre tower supporting power transmission lines crossing Kootenay Lake to a lead and zinc mine in Kimberley, BC. As a result, over one thousand mine workers were laid off until power to the mining operations could be restored. Civic leaders called on the federal government to respond to the bombing with "drastic action" and the Government of British Columbia offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible. Fearing vigilantism on the part of the miners or others affected by the sect's actions, the RCMP brought in one hundred officers from the Prairies to watch over the tensions.
On March 24, 1962, RCMP officers, on the strength of two confessions of sect members implicating the Sons of Freedom, arrested fifty-seven members of the sect. The members were charged, along with ten other members that were already in custody, with conspiracy to intimidate the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of British Columbia.
Due to tensions in the Kootenays, the venue for the trial was moved approximately 500 kilometres, from Nelson to New Westminster, BC. The preliminary trial began on June 11, 1962, with Nelson Magistrate William Evans presiding. In court, the two confessions were withdrawn with the members claiming duress. Despite over 98 witness testimonies and the Crown presenting over 500 pages of seized documents as evidence, on August 7, 1962, Magistrate Evans dismissed the Crown's case on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, 104 members of the Son of Freedom, including children, continued to be detained on remand at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, BC.
Birth of the association
On December 9, 1962, a meeting of 80 people was held in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia in response to the ongoing detention of Sons of Freedom at the Mountain Institution. This would mark the first official meeting of the BCCLA. The association was incorporated under the Societies Act on February 27, 1963.Under the leadership of Phillip Hewett, an Anglican minister, a board of directors formed and a committee was struck and a Sons of Freedom defence fund was created to fund litigation and investigation into the Mountain Institution issue. Subsequent to its formation, the BCCLA successfully fought for release of the detainees.
The BCCLA's other activities in the 1960s included aiding in the defence of The Georgia Straight, a Vancouver-based publication, against criminal obscenity charges
1970s
Gallimaufry Players' obscenity trial
On October 27, 1969, a small group of professional actors, directors, and designers known as the Gallimaufry Players began a two-week run of Michael McClure's The Beard at Davie Street's Riverqueen theatre. The play, about an imaginary encounter between Billy the Kid and Jean Harlow, was replete with expletives and ended with a scene of simulated cunnilingus. On November 5, plainclothes members of the Vancouver City Police morality squad attended the performance. The following day, three members of the Gallimaufry Players and the two proprietors of the Riverqueen were criminally charged with presenting an obscene performance. All five defendants were convicted at trial on May 28, 1971, in the Provincial Court of Vancouver and fined a total of $1,250.The BCCLA launched an immediate appeal at the British Columbia County Court of Vancouver. The appeal was heard over four days in November 1971 by Judge Ladner. The police officers who witnessed the performance testified that expletives were uttered on stage, and that it was impossible to know if the actress was wearing an undergarment during the simulated cunnilingus. The defence presented a series of witnesses, including drama critics from the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province newspapers, a drama teacher, a television critic, and an Anglican minister who testified that the words and scenes described by the police officers could not be isolated from the overall context of the play. The judge found the defence witnesses to be "of a certain segment of the community and, while due consideration must and has been given to their evidence, their opinions cannot be accepted as representative of community standards" and that "the standards of decency and measure of tolerance in the Canadian community at this time could not but be offended by the realistic simulation of cunnilingus on the stage." The judge found the evidence insufficient to prove that one of the five defendants, Henry Yeagher, the Gallimaufry's stage manager, was in charge of the production at the time and dismissed the charge against him. The four remaining defendants had their fines set aside in favour of suspended sentences.
The BCCLA launched a further appeal to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The appeal was heard by Chief Justice Nathaniel Nemetz and Associate Justices Robertson and Branca. Justice Robertson referred to the play as "unsavoury" and noted that "among its 9,000 words it uses 4 'four-letter words' a total of 132 times." Chief Justice Nemetz stated that he "would agree that the last scene would offend many people." Despite their personal views of the play, all three judges ruled in favour of the defendants, quashed the convictions, and ordered a new trial. In his reasons, Chief Justice Nemetz stated that "it is not the personal taste of a judge that determines whether a work is obscene or not" and concluded that Judge Ladner had "misdirected himself" when he "rejected the uncontradicted evidence of all the witnesses for the defence in their totality in doing so he substituted a finding of fact which was unsupported by the evidence." Chief Justice Nemetz ultimately concluded that Judge Ladner should have tested the play against "contemporary standards and to the time, place and circumstances of this performance."