https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elEOtg8dNT0
Truck convoy leaders hold news conference in Ottawa – February 3, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZB36C5BGsk
Is Justin Trudeau A Coward For Fleeing Canada During Freedom Convoy Protests?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km5Em_xz8RI&ab_channel=JordanBPeterson
Oh, Canada
http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2018/11/yo-jordan-peterson-you-claimed-that.html
Wednesday, 14 November 2018
YO Jordan Peterson You claimed that truth is the antidote to suffering but did not have the balls to call me back while you yapped around the world Correct?
 | David Amos |
| YO Jordan Peterson You claimed that truth is the antidote to suffering but did not have the balls to call me back while you yapped around the world Correct? |
Thank you
-------------------
Merci d'?crire ? l'honorable Jody Wilson-Raybould, d?put?e de
Vancouver Granville.
Le pr?sent message vise ? vous informer que nous avons re?u votre
courriel. En raison d'une augmentation importante du volume de
correspondance, il pourrait y avoir un retard dans le traitement de
votre courriel. Sachez que votre message sera examin? attentivement.
Pour nous aider ? r?pondre ? vos pr?occupations plus rapidement,
veuillez inclure dans le corps de votre courriel votre nom complet,
votre adresse et votre code postal.
Veuillez prendre note que votre message sera transmis au minist?re de
la Justice s'il porte sur des sujets qui rel?vent du r?le de la
d?put?e en tant que ministre de la Justice et procureure g?n?rale du
Canada. Pour toute correspondance future adress?e ? la ministre de la
Justice, veuillez ?crire directement au minist?re de la Justice ?
mcu@justice.gc.ca ou appelez au 613-957-4222.
Merci
---------- Original message ----------
From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca>
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:41:38 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: YO Jordan Peterson You claimed that truth is
the antidote to suffering but did not have the balls to call me back
while you yapped around the world Correct?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read,
reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the
need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your
correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a
response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email.
______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de
nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en
considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère
responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de
la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours
ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Merci encore pour votre courriel.
THE DEMOCRACY FUND — Quick View
Reporting period views
- 2020-12-31
- 2019-12-31
LYLE DUNKLEY - TORONTO ON - CANADA
Person Overview
Address
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2022/02/ottawa-declares-state-of-emergency-as.html
https://twitter.com/ikwilson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/convoy-protest-ottawa-sunday-impasse-1.6341548
Ottawa declares state of emergency as police boost enforcement, target protest's fuel supply
Politicians have denounced the ongoing protests, but solution remains unclear
In a statement, the city said the declaration "reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government."
City solicitor David White told city councillors on Saturday that the declaration of a state of emergency "does little" in terms of legal authority and does not give more power to Ottawa police.
A local state of emergency will allow Ottawa to work more efficiently to manage essential services and make procurement more flexible, the city said. Provincial legislation grants mayors powers during an emergency to make orders "not contrary to law to implement the emergency plan of the municipality and to protect property and the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the emergency area."
Earlier in the afternoon, Ottawa police announced they would ramp up enforcement on protesters in the city's downtown core, handing out tickets and announcing that anyone looking to bring "material aid," such as fuel, to protesters could be arrested.
"Enforcement is underway," the Ottawa Police Service tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
Shortly after announcing that Ottawa Police would be cracking down on the protesters' fuel supply, one of the protest organizers said they would find a way around the police action.
The state of emergency and increased police action represent significant changes in the response to the chaotic situation in Ottawa — where demonstrators have become entrenched in the city's downtown core, setting up structures and securing supplies of food and gas.
Amid increasing resident anger, police said on Saturday that they lack the resources to end the protest, now in its 10th day.
Politicians have also increasingly denounced the protest over COVID-19 public health restrictions, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and others calling it an "occupation" and the head of the Ottawa Police Services Board referring to it as an "insurrection."
Ford said on Sunday that his government was supporting Ottawa in whatever way it could. His office told CBC News the city had not asked the province to request military aid from the federal government.
In a statement, Ontario's solicitor general, Sylvia Jones, emphasized that politicians cannot direct the police but that discussions were ongoing "to ensure [Ottawa police] have every necessary resource they need to keep their community safe."
Local, provincial and federal politicians have condemned the protesters' actions and called for a solution. But what that solution might be, remains unclear.
Protesters
in Ottawa haul fuel to their vehicles. The Ottawa Police Service has
said that anyone trying to bring 'material support' to demonstrators
would be subject to arrest. (CBC)
"This group is emboldened by the lack of enforcement by every level of government," Diane Deans, a city councillor and chair of the police services board, said Saturday.
"We're giving a signal to everyone coming into town that it's a free-for-all," Coun. Carol Anne Meehan said.
More than 650 calls have been made to Ottawa police since the start of the protest, resulting in 97 criminal investigations, police said Sunday. The force said earlier in the week it had opened 11 investigations related to hate crimes and four people have been charged.
Structures in place in Ottawa's Confederation Park, including a plywood shack and tents, were removed on Sunday after protesters co-operated with police.
Some protest organizers indicated over the weekend they are willing to make some concessions on the noise level. In a discussion over an injunction relating to horn use on Saturday, Keith Wilson, a lawyer representing organizers, said the convoy might be willing to stop the blaring of horns from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
On Sunday morning, the Freedom Convoy group, which organized the core protest, released a statement saying protesters would refrain from honking horns until 1 p.m., "as a gesture of goodwill." But at least some protesters continued to honk in the morning, and the noise increased in the afternoon.
The group is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit spearheaded by Ottawa human rights lawyer Paul Champ, who on Saturday posted a video statement saying truckers could be excluded from the lawsuit if they leave the city by Monday morning.
Government response in question
Organizers for the protest maintain they intend to stay in the city until the federal government lifts all restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though most of those measures were introduced by the provinces.
The convoy began as a protest against a federal vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, but it has developed into a larger demonstration against public health measures related to the pandemic.
Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen called this week for the government to find a solution to the issue. On Saturday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also pushed the government to seek a solution, but he did not provide a clear plan.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said in an interview that aired Sunday that he had heard people questioning whether the federal government would meet with protesters.
"We've been engaging Canadians throughout the pandemic. We put the question of vaccines and vaccine mandates on the ballot, and Canadians had a right to exercise their vote freely in the last election," he told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton on Rosemary Barton Live.
"We do need to see that the laws are enforced at the end of the day. We're a country that is based on the rule of law," Mendicino said. He also hinted that support may be coming from the federal government for the city or for local businesses that have had to close their doors for the past week due to security concerns.
The approximate area of ongoing anti-vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa. (CBC News)
Protests in Ottawa crossed line from 'expression of ideas' to 'extortion,' criminologist says
"I think we are working closely with the city to look at providing some support for those who have been impacted. I know that shops and businesses have been closed, and I know that those discussions are ongoing," he said.
The protests have also received significant rhetorical endorsements from politicians south of the border, including former U.S. president Donald Trump. Ottawa police say they are aware of American funding for the protests as well.
"This is no place for Americans to involve themselves in these kinds of activities," Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, told CBC News on Sunday.
The Ottawa police force also noted on Sunday that it is "actively working with Canadian, U.S. and international security agencies ... to investigate email-based threats to public officials."
Finances in flux
On Friday, crowdfunding platform GoFundMe announced it would be stopping payments through the main convoy fundraising page, which by then had received more than $10 million in donations.
The company deleted the fundraising page from its website, saying the protest violates a rule in its terms of service that prohibits the promotion of violence and harassment.
Along with the disruption caused by blockages and noise, protesters have displayed symbols of hate, including the Confederate flag and swastikas.
Convoy organizers have instead pointed potential donors toward a Christian fundraising. As of Sunday morning, organizers had received more than $2.5 million U.S. in donations on that site.
With files from Joanne Chianello and Travis Dhanraj
In this case, GoFundMe has acted honourably but now there is a "Christian" fundraising group that has stepped in. This is a shady group to be sure. They have even funded the Proud Boys.
The language used by police leadership, combined with the selfies of police and law breakers is completely unacceptable. If some threatening violence is enough for the police chief to say he is afraid to enforce any laws, then Ottwa desperately needs a new police chief.
"City solicitor David White told city councillors on Saturday that the declaration of a state of emergency "does little" in terms of legal authority and does not give more power to Ottawa police."
You are sadly miss informed.
There is a massive groundswell of support. On that go fund me in a week 120,000 individuals donated to their cause. That isn’t a fringe of freaks. Every truck there is owned by a business person of means.
Consider the trucker vaccine mandate to be the straw that broke the camels back. A large group of well financed and equipped rural businesses watched carbon taxes, rejected pipelines, useless gun laws, insane government handouts to fringe groups, and ridiculous government legislation get pushed down their throat because urbanites agree with it.
I personally know 3 protestors in Ottawa and 3 in Coutts. All 6 are vaccinated and. None of them went because of the mandates. All are there to let the government know it can’t keep imposing the will of urbanites on rural communities.
Reorient your thinking that way and you will understand exactly why they are protesting where they are and how committed they will be.
Truck convoy: Judge adjourns class action suit to halt 'unbearable' air horns
But a lawyer defending three of the people named in the lawsuit asked for the adjournment and said organizers of the convoy had been negotiating to limit the horn use to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Alberta lawyer Keith Wilson of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom, called the case one of “national importance.”
“The truckers have an accord amongst themselves that the horns will not sound between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.,” Wilson said at the virtual hearing before Ontario Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean.
Wilson said he’d received more than 300 pages of documents since Friday that he had not had time to review.
Champ, however, argued for an interim injunction, saying there was evidence of “serious and irreparable harm” caused to the plaintiff and proposed class action members by the noise.
“They are co-ordinated, they are doing it, they are planning it,” Champ said. “It’s severe. It’s prolonged. And from the respondents’ own evidence, they’ll be doing it 12 hours a day.”
But McLean questioned how an injunction could be enforced, especially if new truckers arrive at the protest.
“It’s very easy if you block a road. Anyone who’s on the the road can simply be arrested,” McLean said. “Here it’s not that simple.”
In most cases, interfering with someone’s right to enjoy their residence is a criminal code matter — mischief or nuisance laws — and not something civil courts usually deal with, he said.
“My question is, ‘How am I going to make an enforceable order?’ And if I’m at a loss of how to craft an order, then I shall not give it.”
The class action suit claims $9.8 million in private and punitive damages as well as for an injunction to end the truckers’ protest, which was in its ninth day Saturday.
Champ and Taman argue that for the 6,000 residents in the immediate vicinity of the protest “the non-stop blaring horns have caused unbearable torment in the sanctity of their own homes.”
They argue the horns emit sound at dangerous levels that can cause permanent hearing damage.
The plaintiff in the case is Zexi Li, described in the statement of claim as a 21-year-old public servant and uOttawa graduate who lives within five blocks of Parliament Hill. But the proposed members of the lawsuit include “all persons who reside in Ottawa, Ontario, from Bay Street to Elgin Street and Lisgar Street to Wellington Street.”
Meanwhile, Champ posted a video on Twitter Saturday evening stating that Li was willing to drop the lawsuit if the protesters leave Ottawa by Monday at 10 a.m.“A key tactic of the Freedom Convoy is blasting vehicle horns non-stop, all day,” the statement of claim notes.
“These horns include the air horns and train horns on the many semi-trucks. Air horns and train horns create an extremely loud noise as a warning. Air horns and train horns emit noise in the range of 100 to 150 decibels. These horns are not meant to be used for longer than a few seconds because the sound levels are dangerous and cause permanent damage to the human ear. Despite these dangers, the Freedom Convoy trucks have been blasting these dangerous horns continuously for 12 to 16 hours per day.”
The horn blowing, which has been organized and encouraged by protest
organizers, violates both City of Ottawa bylaws and the criminal code,
the statement of claim alleges. The bylaw prohibit “ the ringing of any bell, sounding of any horn, or shouting in a manner likely to disturb
the inhabitants of the city” and “unnecessary motor vehicle noise such
as the sounding of the horn, revving of engine and the squealing of
tires of any motor vehicle on any property other than a highway.”
The level of noise also violates Ontario’s Occupation Health and Safety Act and constitute mischief and causing a disturbance under the criminal code, the statement alleges.
The statement also notes that “ exposure to loud noise for a prolonged period of time and sleep deprivation are both techniques that have been found to constitute torture, and are considered to be cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment under international law.”
Li says she has heard the horns in her apartment as late as 1:30 a.m. and that she’s called police at least 14 times to complain without anything being done.
“The honking of the horns is frequently accompanied by loud music, sounds of shouting and fireworks. The combination of these sounds makes the Plaintiff feel as though she is living in a war zone,” the suit alleges.
The statement of claim was filed Friday but has not been proven in court.
Keith Wilson, Q.C.
LAWYER | SPEAKER | INNOVATOR
Keith Wilson is a prominent Alberta litigator who deals with cases involving land, the environment, oil and gas, water, compensation, and constitutional law.
Keith has appeared before all Alberta courts and key regulatory tribunals including the Alberta Energy Regulator, Alberta Utilities Commission, Alberta Surface Rights Board, Alberta Environmental Appeals Board, municipal boards and others.
Keith has represented industry associations, participated on government legislative review initiatives, been a keynote speaker at many conferences, and is regularly interviewed by the news media on current legal topics.
Keith is also a leader in the adoption of legal technology and the founder of Veritas Litigation Support which makes digital visual aids and drone technology available to lawyers and expert witnesses.
MEDIA
Covid-19 Charter Litigation
CONTACT:
Wilson Law Office
Suite 195, 3-11 Bellerose Drive
St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
T8N 5C9
VERITAS LITIGATION SUPPORT
SUITE 195, 3-11 BELLEROSE DRIVE
ST. ALBERT, ALBERTA, CANADA
Email: info@veritaslitigation.com
Tel: 780-991-5050
Last living signer of Canadian constitutional charter of rights sues government over COVID travel ban
The former premier said the travel ban is 'completely against the democratic and Canadian values I love'
Tucker: Over 20 churches have been burned or vandalized in Canada
Rebel Media's Ezra Levant reacts to the situation in Canada on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'
The last living drafter and signatory of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is the highest law of the land, is suing the Canadian federal government over its travel ban for the unvaccinated.
Former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Peckford, 79, is the main applicant in a case brought against the federal government by the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, according to a press release.
"It is becoming more obvious that being vaccinated does not stop people from getting Covid and does not stop them from spreading it," the former premier said in a statement. "The government has not shown that the policy makes flying safer—it simply discriminates."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rolled out one of the world's strictest COVID-19 vaccine mandates last fall. By Oct. 30, employees in all federally regulated industries were required to be vaccinated or face termination. Anyone aged 12 and over who wished to travel by plane, train or ship was also ordered to be vaccinated.
THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES RAISE ALARM ABOUT SCOPE OF NEW CANADIAN ‘CONVERSION THERAPY’ BAN
"When I heard Prime Minister Trudeau call the unvaccinated 'racists,' 'misogynists, 'anti-science' and 'extremist,' and his musing, ‘do we tolerate these people?’ it became clear he is sowing divisions and advancing his vendetta against a specific group of Canadians," Peckford continued, referencing a resurfaced interview with Trudeau from September 2021.
"This is completely against the democratic and Canadian values I love about this country," he said.
Former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Peckford gestures during a speech in Toronto, Ontario, on June 2, 1982. (Photo by Frank Lennon/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
"The federal travel ban has segregated me from other Canadians. It’s discriminatory, violates my Charter rights and that’s why I am fighting the travel ban," Peckford added.
The lawsuit alleges violations of Charter rights, including mobility, life, liberty and security of the person, privacy, and discrimination. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was a bill of rights for Canadians entrenched in the Constitution Act, 1982.
During an extensive recent interview with Canadian author and professor Jordan Peterson, Peckford laid out the portions of the Charter he helped to draft and that he believes are being violated. He also explained his unique role as the only first minister left alive who was at the conference that helped draft the freedoms enshrined in the document.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes his protective mask off during a news conference on child care in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. (Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I do this very reluctantly," he said. "I've been watching this thing now for almost two years. I've been speaking out about it at public meetings and on my blog and so on, and I've come to the conclusion now that I must—as a Canadian and as one of the writers and founders of the Constitution Act of 1982—not only speak about it, I must act about it.
"I must show Canadians that I'm so concerned as a citizen, as a former first minister that helped craft this Constitution Act of 1982, that I must take action against my own government. Because they have violated rights that I and others helped craft in 1981 and 1982," he added.
"Canadians have been losing hope in the Charter and our courts," said Keith Wilson, Q.C., who is lead counsel for the legal challenge. "We are going to put the best arguments and evidence forward so that the court can clarify where governments overstep."
https://www.tiktok.com/@bigred19755/video/7061442148549397766
https://www.jccf.ca/about-us/meet-the-team/eva-chipiuk-staff-lawyer/
Eva Chipiuk – Staff Lawyer
For the majority of my legal career I represented landowners in Alberta, opposing proposed developments by government bodies and energy corporations. These disputes were argued and defended before provincial and federal governmental tribunals. The majority of my clients were private landowners, looking to defend both their individual and property rights. These challenges offered me the opportunity to actively participate in 30 plus administrative hearings, including incredibly complicated matters that were heard in very condensed time frames.
I also hold a Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This unique education path has empowered me with a creative and holistic manner in the representing and defending my clients and their liberties. I have been very fortunate to have gained this experience, it has fostered my distinctive interpretation of the law, problem solving and addressing my clients needs.
In 2010, my personal life took an unexpected turn. In November, I was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of pancreatic cancer, requiring life saving surgery. This diagnosis and it’s consequence made me reconsider my life goals. In March of 2012, I took a break from law and travelled the world to focus on my wellness. Together all these experiences, professionally, educationally and personally have shaped my passion for the law and particularly for defending civil liberties and the rights and freedoms of Canadians. I look forward to working with my colleagues and my clients, both present and future.
Feel free to say hi in English, Polish, Spanish or French. Merci. Gracias. Dziękuje. Thanks.
@forevaeva79
echipiuk@jccf.ca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orKqf3jYwV0
Lawyer with JCCF offers update to doctors suing AHS
https://www.jccf.ca/about-us/meet-the-team/memauri/
Andre Memauri – Staff Lawyer
Before being raised in Canada, Andre spent many years living across three continents and speaking various languages. Andre is very passionate about civil liberties and justice.
Upon receiving his Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Andre graduated from law school at the University of Saskatchewan in 2012 and was called to the Manitoba and Saskatchewan bar in 2014.
He has experience in all areas of law with a primary focus in litigation matters where he spent many years appearing before all levels of court but the Supreme Court of Canada.
He has also served as an agent federal crown prosecutor. From 2017-2021 he served as coach of a prominent Canadian Jessup International Law Moot team.
amemauri@jccf.ca
https://www.jccf.ca/the-charters-only-living-signatory-sues-canada-over-travel-mandates/
The Charter’s only living signatory sues Canada over travel mandates
Former Premier The Honourable Brian Peckford
OTTAWA: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms today filed a lawsuit in Federal Court seeking to strike down the federal government’s mandatory Covid-19 vaccine requirements for air travellers. The court action is on behalf of several Canadians from across Canada whose Charter rights and freedoms have been infringed.
On October 30, 2021, the federal government announced that anyone travelling by air, train, or ship, must be fully vaccinated. The travel vaccination mandate has prevented approximately 6 million unvaccinated Canadians (15% of Canada’s population) from travel within Canada and prevents them from flying out of Canada. Some of the Canadians involved in the lawsuit cannot travel to help sick loved ones, get to work, visit family and friends, take international vacations, and live ordinary lives.
The main applicant in the case is former Newfoundland Premier, The Honourable A. Brian Peckford. Mr. Peckford, pictured, is the only surviving drafter and signatory 40 years after the 1982 Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted.
“It is becoming more obvious that being vaccinated does not stop people from getting Covid and does not stop them from spreading it”, says the former Premier. “The government has not shown that the policy makes flying safer—it simply discriminates”, he notes. “When I heard Prime Minister Trudeau call the unvaccinated ‘racists,’ ‘misogynists, ‘anti-science’ and ‘extremist’ and his musing ‘do we tolerate these people?’ it became clear he is sowing divisions and advancing his vendetta against a specific group of Canadians—this is completely against the democratic and Canadian values I love about this country”, adds Mr. Peckford.
“The federal travel ban has segregated me from other Canadians. It’s discriminatory, violates my Charter rights and that’s why I am fighting the travel ban,” explains Mr. Peckford.
The Justice Centre’s legal challenge cites violations of Charter rights including mobility, life, liberty and security of the person, privacy, and discrimination. The lawsuit also challenges whether the Minister of Transportation has the jurisdiction to use aviation safety powers to enforce public health measures.
In discussing effective border control measures at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, Canada’s chief medical officer, Dr. Tam, said: “As you move further away from that epicentre, any other border measures are much less effective. Data on public health has shown that many of these are actually not effective at all… WHO advises against any kind of travel and trade restrictions, saying that they are inappropriate and could actually cause more harm than good in terms of our global effort to contain.” (Canada House of Commons, Standing Committee on Health Meeting, February 5, 2020)
The World Health Organization (“WHO”) continues to maintain that position and on January 19, 2022, urged all countries to: “Lift or ease international traffic bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to the economic and social stress experienced by States Parties. The failure of travel restrictions introduced after the detection and reporting of Omicron variant to limit international spread of Omicron demonstrates the ineffectiveness of such measures over time.” The WHO repeated that countries should: “not require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for international travel.” (World Health Organization, Statement on the tenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, January 19, 2022.)
“Despite the confirmed science that the vaccine does not stop people from getting or spreading the virus and the repeated warnings from the WHO, it’s clear the federal government is out of step and arbitrarily restricting Canadians fundamental rights and freedoms,” says Keith Wilson, Q.C., lead counsel for the legal challenge. “It is profoundly disturbing that a marginalized group in Canada—the unvaccinated—are essentially prohibited from leaving the country,” he adds.
“Canadians have been losing hope in the Charter and our courts. We are going to put the best arguments and evidence forward so that the court can clarify where governments overstep,” concludes Mr. Wilson.
The court will be asked to hear the case on an expedited basis given the serious infringement on Canadians’ mobility and other rights. Canada is the only country in the developed world that has banned Covid vaccine-free travellers from air travel.
Notice of Application, Filed and Served
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-protest-sunday-1.6341577
Quebec City convoy ordered to leave the National Assembly
'We were asked to demonstrate peacefully, that's what we did,' organizer says
Large trucks and cars were seen honking and driving away from the National Assembly after Quebec City police ordered them to leave the area by 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Earlier in the morning, police told those parked in front of the Quebec National Assembly that if they didn't move, they could face fines and towing. At least two dozen heavy trucks were still there by Sunday afternoon, as the protest in the provincial capital rolled into its fourth day.
Protesters, many carrying signs or waving flags, began gathering in the morning. Most had left the area by 5:30 p.m.
The previous night, drivers had been honking loudly until 10 p.m., when police ordered them to stop.
"The way this weekend rolled out is magnificent. Unique. Quebec has stood up," said Bernard Gauthier, a protest organizer, speaking to the crowd on Sunday.
The last truck leaves the area near the Quebec National Assembly on Sunday evening. ( Sarah Leavitt)
"We were asked to demonstrate peacefully, that's what we did."
He and other organizers spoke into a microphone from a makeshift stage as police quietly watched, wearing reflective yellow vests and masks while standing guard in front of the National Assembly.
The crowd cheered and chanted "liberté" (freedom) while horns blared and music blasted from the speakers.
Quebec City protest leaders Keven Bilodeau and Bernard
Gauthier, right, address the crowd on Sunday near the National Assembly.
(Radio-Canada)
Gauthier said they plan to return soon for another protest in the city.
Sunday's demonstration was smaller than the protest on Saturday, which stretched about a kilometre in length at its peak, but Mayor Bruno Marchand said it has been peaceful so far.
"As long as it goes like this, there is no problem," he told reporters in the afternoon while attending the popular Quebec Winter Carnival — an annual event that involves blocking several streets from vehicle traffic.
Donna Willett, a business owner in the city, was not pleased.
She owns a grocery store and another business on Saint-Jean Street and lives near the National Assembly. She says she was substantially delayed by traffic snarls on Saturday.
"I had to go run errands, the police wouldn't even let me go down Saint-Jean Street. I was stuck in traffic for three hours to get to my parking lot," she said, calling the incessant noise "disrespectful."
Similar to the protest in Ottawa that began last weekend, convoys of trucks and other vehicles rolled into Quebec City on Thursday evening with horns sounding and lights flashing.
People also gathered on foot near the National Assembly, waving flags and holding up signs that called for an end to mask mandates and other health restrictions designed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Police issue traffic tickets, make 1 arrest
The SPVQ issued warnings on Sunday morning to trucks parked on René-Lévesque Boulevard, saying the vehicles will be towed if they aren't moved.
The police service said officers handed out 15 tickets for Highway Safety Code violations and 17 parking tickets overnight. It's not clear how many of those tickets are related to the protest.
The
protesters, including some families with children, cheer and wave signs
calling for the end of vaccine passports and other COVID-19 public
health restrictions. (Justin Hayward/CBC)
At about 8 p.m. on Saturday, officers arrested a 31-year-old man for blocking traffic with his vehicle, which was then towed to clear the lane.
The SPVQ handed out more than 50 tickets during smaller demonstrations on Thursday and Friday evening, mostly for road safety violations.
Quebec Premier François Legault "will no longer have the choice to back down," Keven Bilodeau, a protest organizer, said on Sunday.
Quebec scaling back restrictions
Dr. Luc Boileau, the interim director of Quebec Public Health, said earlier in the week that relaxing public health restrictions may lead to "more contagion, with the risk in particular of seeing more hospitalizations."
Regardless, the provincial government is pushing forward with its plan to scale back measures.
As of Monday, performance halls and cinemas can open at 50 per cent capacity, to a maximum of 500 people.
Places of worship can also open up to 50 per cent, with a maximum of 250 people, while up to 50 people can now attend funerals.
Next week, gyms and spas will be allowed to open at half capacity. Gyms and other fitness centres have been closed in the province since late December, when they were shuttered in order to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
With files from Sarah Leavitt, La Presse canadienne and Radio-Canada
http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2018/04/attn-paul-champ-does-this-email-ring.html
Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Attn Paul Champ Does this email ring any bells?
 |
David Amos |
| Attn Sean Bruyea Does the name Brent Babcock within Veterns Affairs ring any bells? |
| David Amos | Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 10:29 AM | |
|
To: seankis@rogers.com, info@champlaw.ca
Cc: thehouse@cbc.ca
| ||
---------- Original message ----------
From:
David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Date:
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 15:51:19 -0400
Subject: Mr Champ I called earlier about your
detection of a political calculation
To: info@champlaw.ca, mcu
<mcu@justice.gc.ca>,
"Brenda.Lucki" <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, investigations <investigations@cbc.ca>, newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.ca>, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>,
Cc: seankis@rogers.com, thehouse@cbc.ca, David Amos <maritime_malaise@yahoo.ca>,
http://www.cbc.ca/news/
Ottawa ditches mediation talks in $27M Abdelrazik lawsuit
Lawsuit personally names former foreign minister Lawrence Cannon, who
blocked Abdelrazik's return from Sudan
Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Apr 17, 2018 4:00 AM E
"Lawyer Paul Champ says he detects political calculation in the
Trudeau government's decision to abandon mediation tal
Abousfian Abdelrazik
Abousfian Abdelrazik | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1962 |
| Nationality | Canada/Sudan |
| Other names | Abu Sufian Abd Al-Razziq |
| Known for | Canadian government withheld travel documents allowing him to return to Canada due to pressure from the USA |
Abousfian Abdelrazik or Abu Sufian Abd Al-Razziq (Arabic: أبو سفيان عبدالرازق) is a Sudanese-born Canadian dual citizen.
On July 23, 2006, the United States Department of the Treasury designated him as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, but he was subsequently cleared in multiple investigations by the Sudanese government, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Following his imprisonment in Sudan, the Canadian government refused to grant him travel papers and otherwise blocked his return to Canada.[1][2][3]
On June 4, 2009, Canada's Federal Court ruled that Abdelrazik's citizenship rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated and ordered the Canadian government to facilitate his return; later that month, on June 27, he flew to Canada.
Prior to his removal, he was the only living Canadian on the United Nations Security Council blacklist, usually referred to as the "1267 List" after the number of the Security Council resolution which established it.[4] The 1267 regime imposes sanctions on listed individuals, including a complete asset freeze and a ban on international travel. Upon his return to Canada, he sued the government for C$24 million, and C$3 million more for Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon's alleged "misfeasance in public office." He also launched a constitutional challenge to legislation implementing the 1267 regime in Canada. Abdelrazik's experience has been said to be similar to other Canadians such as Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin. Abdelrazik has claimed that he was tortured while in detention in Sudan, and the Canadian government has admitted in court submissions that two CSIS agents interrogated him while he was in Sudanese custody.
Abdelrazik was removed from the United Nations Security Council blacklist on November 30, 2011.[5]
In April of 2018, the Government of Canada walked out of mediation talks intended to resolve Abdelrazik's lawsuit.[6]
In August of that year, a number of Canadian contemporaneous and former MPs were subpoenaed to testify about Abdelrazik’s ordeal.[7] Most indicated willingness to testify, according to Abdelrazik’s lawyer, but Peter Harder — a former deputy minister of foreign affairs, and then the Liberal government’s representative in the Senate — invoked his legal privilege as a senator to avoid appearing in court during the parliamentary session.[7]
However, several other parliamentarians who had dealings with the Abdelrazik file, including Sen. Mobina Jaffer, Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai, Liberal MP Wayne Easter and Quebec MP Maxime Bernier — who quit the Conservative party Thursday — have signalled a willingness to testify, said Paul Champ, Abdelrazik’s lawyer.
Life
Abdelrazik was born in Sudan on January 1, 1962. He initially trained as a machinist and got married. He was imprisoned for his political views after the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état by Omar al-Bashir, and fled to Canada as a refugee in 1990. In 1992, he was granted permanent residency in Canada. He married a French Canadian woman in 1994, and they soon had a daughter together. He became a Canadian citizen in 1995.[1]
Muslims who knew him characterized him as a devout Muslim who "often read the Quran to the sick and was paid as a healer." In an interview with The Globe and Mail, he stated that he had travelled to many places, including such countries as Pakistan and Bosnia. He stated that he was only involved in humanitarian work, to help people. He further stated that, "my humanitarian trips abroad were funded by my religious work as a Muslim healer in Montreal and also through donations from many individuals in the Muslim community".[8] Abousfian felt it necessary to state why he didn't list the names of his supporters in a letter to the editor of The Globe and Mail,"On the urging of my lawyers...I had earned the money by reciting alms. I had not wanted to invite scrutiny of those who paid me, knowing where guilt by association can lead".[9]
In 2000, Abdelrazik voluntarily testified via videolink at the trial of Ahmed Ressam, the "millennium bomber".[1] He testified he knew Ahmed Ressam when he met him at the Montreal's Assuna Annabawiah mosque, but had no knowledge of his plans to attack targets in the USA and knew nothing about his whereabouts since he had last seen him in Vancouver.[10] In 2002, his first wife died of cancer.[11]
Imprisoned and then stranded in Sudan
In the spring of 2003, Abdelrazik went back to Sudan. According to Abdelrazik, he returned in order to visit his sick mother, but according to the affidavit of an Abdelrazik associate, he left Canada because of harassment by agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).[12] In Sudan he was arrested but never charged.[13] According to the Lawyers Weekly, "documents reveal that Sudanese officials arrested him at Canada's request".[14] In a December 2003 affidavit, Abdelrazik admitted to telling his interrogators "what they wanted to hear", whether or not it was true.[15] He was released in July 2004, having been detained since the previous September.[16]
Abdelrazik family bought him an airline ticket to Montreal, but the airlines refused to transport him because his name had been place on the US no-fly list. Sudan then forced him to live in a police–owned and –monitored house. In September 2004, his wife in Montreal divorced him, and the following month Abdelrazik married a Sudanese woman, with whom he had a child the following year.[11]
On October 10, 2004, Sudan offered to fly him to Canada on a private aircraft if the countries would share the cost, but Canada rejected this offer. On July 26, 2005, Sudan's Minister of Justice issued Mr. Abdelrazik a formal document saying Sudan had not found any evidence linking him to terrorism or al-Qaeda.[15] Abousfian was re-arrested in November 2005, and finally released again in July 2006,[10] Shortly after Abdelrazik's second release, the UN's 1267 Committee added him to its list of individuals and entities suspected of belonging to or associated with the Taliban or al-Qaida;[17][18] Canada refused to renew his passport or provide him with a travel document, leaving him unable to travel on commercial airlines. Canada went so far as to refuse to allow Sudan to transport him to Canada at Sudan's expense on a Sudanese government aircraft (which, as a non-commercial flight, would have been exempt from the flight ban list).[1]
Involvement of Canadian and American intelligence agencies
CSIS had been interested in Mr. Abdelrazik since 1999 – and perhaps earlier – due to his association with several other Muslim men whose profiles had come under suspicion.[19] The Globe and Mail reported that it had acquired documents contradicting previous Canadian government statements that it had not requested Abdelrazik's detention. Their report stated the documents they obtained showed Canada had requested his detention, in 2003, and had participated in his interrogation in October 2003. In June 2009, the Federal Court agreed, ruling that, based on the internal government documents it had reviewed, it was probable that Abdelrazik had been detained at the request of CSIS. While Abdelrazik was stuck in Sudan, Canadian diplomat Sean Robertson secretly cabled the Canadian embassy personal stating, "Mission staff should not accompany Abdelrazik to his interview with the FBI" and Sudanese intelligence agents.[20] According to Canadian government submissions in a Federal Court case, Abdelrazik was interrogated by two CSIS agents while in Sudanese detention, under threat of torture and without charge.[10] Canadian official Sean Robertson ordered Canadian ambassadorial staff not to attempt to monitor the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) interrogation, after Abdelrazik had requested that they accompany him to the interrogation. At the interrogation, the FBI threatened that he would "never return to Canada" if he did not agree to work with them.[13] Embassy staff compromised with Abdelrazik and told him they would phone him immediately after the scheduled interrogation was over, but when they called, there was no answer. Meanwhile, however, assurances were being given to Canadian Parliament that he was receiving full consular protection.[13]
During a news conference upon his return to Canada, Abdelrazik summarized his story of six years of exile. According to his account, CSIS stated that "Sudan will be your Guantanamo". He also described how a CSIS agent interviewed him before he left for the Sudan and was also his interrogator in the Sudan—a fact that was subsequently admitted by CSIS in court documents. During that interview in 2003, Abdelrazik said that the CSIS agent told him he would "never see Canada again". He also repudiated every allegation that the US government had made against him, including accusations that he knew Osama bin Laden, had fought in Chechnya and trained in Afghanistan, and was a key al-Qaeda operative.[21] In May 2009, The Globe and Mail published new reports on the role Canadian authorities had played in Abdelrazik's apprehension.[22][23][24][25]
On October 29, 2009, Richard Fadden, the head of CSIS, stated that civil rights advocates and media were presenting a distorted picture of suspected terrorists, in which Abdelrazik and others were "too often portrayed as romantic revolutionaries". Fadden went on to state, "So why then, I ask, are those accused of terrorist offences often portrayed in media as quasi-folk heroes despite the harsh statements of numerous judges. Why are they always photographed with their children, giving tender-hearted profiles and more or less taken at their word when they accuse CSIS or other government agencies of abusing them?...A more balanced presentation is what I'm hoping for."[citation needed]
CSIS wiretap and vehicle search
On August 5, 2011, a La Presse story said that the Montreal newspaper had seen a 4-page document sent by CSIS to Transport Canada in July 2004, in which CSIS claimed to have intercepted a Summer 2000 conversation between Abdelrazik and Adil Charkaoui in which the two men discussed blowing up an airliner flying from Montreal to France. According to La Presse, the CSIS authors also stated that traces of RDX had been found during a search of Abdelrazik's vehicle in October 2001. [26]
US Pressure on Canada to help arrange Abdelrazik's transfer to Guantanamo
In September 2011, The Globe and Mail summarized additional documents that had been leaked to them that showed that Canadian authorities had barred his return to Canada because he was listed on a US no fly list.[27] According to The Globe and Mail a listing on a US list should have been insufficient to bar him from returning to Canada, and yet due to this listing, he was stuck in Sudan for a further five years. The Globe and Mail also reported that Canada was under pressure to help the USA get Abdelrazik sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention camps.[27]
Formal designation as a terrorist and addition to UN Security council blacklist
On 23 July 2006, the United States Department of the Treasury designated Abdelrazik as a supporter of al-Qaeda and a terrorist, "for his high-level ties to and support for al-Qaeda." According to The Globe and Mail, the U.S. State Department believed that "Mr. Abdelrazik was "closely associated with Abu Zubaydah, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant responsible for recruiting and for al-Qaeda's network of training camps in Afghanistan." The United States also alleged Mr. Abdelrazik had recruited and accompanied a Tunisian extremist named Raouf Hannachi for paramilitary training at a camp in Afghanistan in 1996, "where al-Qaeda and other UN-sanctioned terrorist groups were known to train," and became personally acquainted with bin Laden.[28][16]
In April 2011, WikiLeaks revealed that a November 2008 U.S. Department of Defense document claimed that Abdelrazik had admitted receiving $10,000 from alleged al-Qaeda financier Hassan Zemiri, who was captured in late 2001 in Tora Bora, Afghanistan.[29] However, none of these allegations have been proven in a court of law, and Abdelrazik has never been charged with any crime, in Canada or anywhere else in the world.
Eight days after he was designated a terrorist by the US, Abdelrazik was added to the UN Security Council terrorist blacklist, and he is now the only living Canadian on that list.[citation needed] According to The Globe and Mail, "any country can nominate anyone they consider to be an Islamic extremist." All his personal assets were frozen once he was put on that list.[15] Individuals on the list are subject to a sanctions regime which include an asset freeze and a ban on international travel (but not flight per se). According to a letter sent on April 18, 2008, by the Department of Foreign Affairs to Abousfian Abdelrazik's lawyer, the Canadian government had requested the UN's 1267 Committee to remove Abdelrazik from its list,[30] but the request had been vetoed with no explanation eleven days later (meaning that at least one of the 15 members of the Security Council had raised an objection). Canada repeatedly stated that it continued to support removing Abdelrazik from the list, but did not clarify whether it was the country which had originally asked for his inclusion.[31] Critics of the blacklist have commented that Abdelrazik's status is typical, since it is far easier to be added to the list than removed.[31]
Further attempts to return and judicial order
On April 28, 2008, out of fears for his safety due to growing media attention, Abdelrazik took refuge in the Canadian embassy in Sudan, a situation the Canadian government described as "temporary". Abdelrazik also filed suit against the Canadian government, seeking the ability to return.[32] On April 18, 2008, the director of consular affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Mr. Abdelrazik, like all Canadian citizens, was entitled to emergency travel documents to return to Canada. Accordingly, on August 26, 2008, Abdelrazik booked a flight to Canada on Etihad Airways, which was willing to fly him despite the fact that his presence on the US no-fly list meant that any airline which transported him would no longer be able to enter US airspace.[2] His flight was due to leave on September 15, 2008, but Abdelrazik was not able to leave Sudan because Ottawa refused to issue him travel documents. (He had previously been issued a special one-use emergency passport valid for only two weeks after his 2004 release, but at the time he could not find any airline willing to transport him.)
On March 12, 2009, 115 supporters of Abdelrazik presented a ticket for his flight to the Canadian government. The donors included former solicitor-general Warren Allmand, political science professor at the University of Toronto Joseph Carens, and Canadian peace activist and former Iraq hostage James Loney. Canada's position was that Abdelrazik needed to have a pre-paid flight ticket, but that any Canadian who donated money to purchase such a ticket could be charged under Canadian anti-terrorism legislation implementing the Security Council's sanctions against people on their blacklist.[33][34] On April 3, 2009, a letter was received by Abousfian Abdelrazik's lawyer in Ottawa, Canada, stating that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had refused to grant an emergency passport, pursuant to regulations allowing such action if judged necessary for national security.[35] According to the Lawyer's Weekly, "the government argued that the Charter only guarantees the rights of citizens to enter Canada once they present themselves at the border, and since Abdelrazik is not at the Canadian border, he has no rights."[14]
The House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee passed a motion requesting Abdelrazik testify before it.[22][36] Member of Parliament Paul Dewar stated this request should require the Government to drop its efforts to block Abdelrazik's return. On May 7 and 8, 2009, the Federal Court heard arguments from Abdelrazik's lawyers, who asked the court to order the federal government to facilitate Abdelrazik's return to Canada. His legal argument was rooted in Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states in part that "Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada."
On June 4, Federal Judge Russel Zinn ruled the government had violated his constitutional rights and must fly him to Canada before July 7.[37] Justice Zinn stated that Mr. Abdelrazik, "is as much a victim of international terrorism as the innocent persons whose lives have been taken by recent barbaric acts of terrorists". The Globe and Mail stated, "In a toughly worded 107-page ruling, Justice Zinn pilloried the government's claims of trying to help Mr. Abdelrazik, concluded that Canadian anti-terrorism agents were implicated in his imprisonment in Sudan, denounced the UN terrorist blacklist as an affront to justice and basic human rights and slammed Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon for high-handedly ignoring due process of law".[38] In response to public demands by opposition parties that Ottawa should stop fighting the case, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said government lawyers would need time to review the 107-page decision before deciding on a course of action.
Return and lawsuits against the federal government
On June 18, 2009, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced that the government of Canada would abide by the court's ruling. Nine days later Abdelrazik flew to Canada.
In the fall of 2009, he sued the Canadian government for C$24 million, and C$3 million more for Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon's "misfeasance in public office." The Hamilton Spectator stated that according to Justice Minister Robert Nicholson, "the Harper government spent more than C$800,000 in legal fees fighting a losing battle to keep Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik from coming home".[39] Department of Justice lawyers claimed Abousfian's lawsuit was meritless because Canadian laws do not apply overseas. The government characterized the lawsuit as mostly frivolous and vexatious, and claimed that "no such tort has been recognized in Canadian law" for failing to prevent torture at the hands of others. Abousfian's lawyer stated in response, "I expected the government would approach us about an apology and a settlement, instead they have been entirely unrepentant." The outcome of the case will most likely set several new legal precedents with regards to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[40] In August 2010, the Federal Court granted Abdelrazik the right to sue the federal government. His lawyer, Paul Camp stated, "The federal government had sought to block the lawsuit. The government was arguing that individuals could not sue for torture and they were also arguing that there was no legal duty on the Government of Canada to protect Canadians detained abroad." A government spokesman stated that "the government is reviewing the decision and reserves comment because of ongoing litigation".[41]
Removal from UNSC blacklist
Abdelrazik was removed from the UNSC blacklist on November 30, 2011. His lawyer, Paul Champ, indicated that he would submit an official notice to the federal government of the decision and expected that all sanctions against Abdelrazik would be lifted immediately.Feds spent over $2M in last year to fight Abdelrazik torture lawsuit
Toronto,
ON - June 27, 2009: Abousfian Abdelrazik at Pearson International
Airport, in Toronto, Saturday, June 27th, 2009. Abdelrazik was in exile
in Sudan for almost six years.
(Ian Willms/Toronto Star) Ottawa has spent more than $2 million in the last year to fight a lawsuit from a Canadian man who says Canadian authorities were complicit in his arrest and alleged subsequent torture in Sudan.
According to recently-tabled documents in Parliament, taxpayers are on the hook for $2,025,946.31 since June 2018 so Ottawa can litigate in the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik.
The Sudanese-Canadian man is suing the federal government for $27 million, claiming CSIS officials were complicit in his 2003 arrest in Sudan, where he spent six years in detention or forced exile and alleges he had been tortured by the country’s intelligence officials.
The figure may be a fraction of what has been spent in total on fighting the lawsuit, which was launched in September 2009 and faced years of wrangling over evidence.
The long-standing and complex case was pushed back further in September 2018, when a Federal Court judge agreed with a plea from federal lawyers to indefinitely delay hearings on the case.
BACKGROUND: Judge agrees to delay hearing Abdelrazik lawsuit due to federal plea
The decision to adjourn was done to make time for a review of evidence given the passage of time. Federal lawyers had argued that heavily-redacted documents given to Abdelrazik’s lawyers previously should be given another look to ensure the most complete record possible is available for the trial.
Last year, the Canadian government also withdrew from agreed mediation talks on a settlement, without explanation, one day before they were scheduled to begin.
Abdelrazik, who is a Canadian citizen, said CSIS officials had been dispatched to interview him in jail and had sent questions to his Sudanese jailers.
The government has since acknowledged CSIS officials questioned him while he was in jail, but denies any knowledge of abuse. The Canadian government had suspected he had terrorist connections in the early 2000s.
He was arrested during a family visit to Sudan in 2003 and held in custody for much of six years. He had also lived in Canada’s embassy in Khartoum for a year after he was released by Sudanese authorities, but denied a Canadian passport based on national security concerns.
After the Federal Court ruled his Charter right to enter Canada had been violated and that he should be given a passport, he returned in June 2009.
Paul Champ, Abdelrazik’s lawyer, said the figure shows the level of resources Ottawa is willing to throw at the case.
“It’s real sad commentary when the government of Canada is willing to fight so hard against someone who is indisputably a victim of torture,” he said.
Champ said he anticipates the total amount Ottawa has spent on the Abdelrazik file over 10 years to be somewhere around $10 million to $20 million.
He added that there is no timetable for when hearings will resume and that reviewing documents already presented years ago is effectively a “delay tactic” by the government.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the government is “committed to a fair justice system that protects national security and holds offenders to account.”
“Because of the complexity of national security cases, considerable legal work is sometimes required,” said spokesperson Scott Bardsley. “However, we cannot comment on matters before the courts.”
Bardsley also noted that the Liberal government has strengthened accountability of Canada’s national security agencies through actions such as the creation of a committee of parliamentarians to review its practices.
The tabled document does not detail exactly what the money was used for, citing solicitor-client privilege, but does say that no external legal costs were incurred. The amount was found in a government response to an order paper question from NDP MP Murray Rankin.
READ MORE: Feds move to shield identities of spies set to testify in Abdelrazik case
The Federal Court was to hold 10 weeks worth of hearings before Justice Martine St-Louis agreed to the late request from federal lawyers to postpone the trial. Abdelrazik had told the Toronto Star then he believes the federal government was “continuing to play a game with me” by trying to delay the hearings.
Champ said the fact Ottawa is fighting the case has had a damaging effect on Abdelrazik, who also faces the scars of his experience in Sudan.
“I think a lesser person would have been destroyed long ago,” he said.
Clarification: A sentence regarding the Canadian government refusing mediation talks has since been revised to reflect that they had agreed to scheduled negotiations but that Ottawa had withdrew before they were to begin.
Ottawa has spent $9.3-million fighting legal claims over Canadian’s alleged torture in Sudan
Ottawa ditches mediation talks in $27M Abdelrazik lawsuit
Lawsuit personally names former foreign minister Lawrence Cannon, who blocked Abdelrazik's return from Sudan
The Justice Department had been involved in settlement talks with Abousfian Abdelrazik but abruptly walked away from a recently scheduled mediation session, said Abdelrazik's lawyer.
"They said they could not provide us with any reasons," said Paul Champ. "They were looking more at the polls than at their principles, and, unfortunately, I think that's probably why they withdrew."
Contacted by CBC News Monday, CSIS did not respond and a spokesperson for the justice minister referred questions to Public Safety.
"The government does not comment on settlement negotiations or ongoing court matters," Scott Bardsley, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, said Monday night.
Opening arguments in the lawsuit, which personally names former Conservative foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon, will now take place in Federal Court on Sept. 14.
Former Conservative foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon is named in Abdelrazik's lawsuit. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
Torture claims
Abdelrazik spent nearly six years in prison or forced exile and only managed to return to Canada in 2009 after the Federal Court ordered the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper to bring him home.
Abdelrazik alleges he was tortured in Sudanese custody and the federal government violated his constitutional right to come home.
Cannon is personally named because he refused to issue an emergency passport to Abdelrazik, contrary to the advice of Canadian government officials.
The former minister declined comment on the lawsuit and directed CBC News to government lawyers.
CSIS claimed Abdelrazik was an al-Qaeda operative and a danger to national security.
In 2011, Abdelrazik was removed from a UN watch list of suspected al-Qaeda or Taliban associates.
Last summer, the Trudeau government paid a $10.5 million breach-of-rights settlement in the case involving Omar Khadr, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Not long after that deal became public, Abdelrazik was approached by federal lawyers who asked if there was interest in resolving his case.
The two sides formally agreed to take the mediation route in September 2017 and met throughout the fall to hammer out the terms.
At the same time last fall, Ottawa agreed to settle lawsuits involving Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin, all of whom were wrongfully accused of links to terrorism and tortured in Syria. They were collectively paid $31.25 million.
Settlement discussions with Abdelrazik progressed to a full-fledged mediation conference, which was scheduled for between Feb. 28 and March 2.
Lawsuit settlements went over like 'a lead balloon'
"[The government] withdrew the day before it was to start," said Champ.
An Angus Reid poll, conducted in the aftermath of the Khadr settlement, found an overwhelming majority of Canadians opposed the Khadr deal and thought it would have been better for the federal government to fight it out in court.
Lawyer Paul Champ says he detects political calculation in the Trudeau government's decision to abandon mediation talks. (CBC)
Champ said he believes there's a whiff of politics in the decision to pull the plug on mediation a day before it was set to begin.
"I think there's no doubt the political calculus is there would be some blowback, as they experienced with the Khadr settlement," he said.
A former CSIS analyst who worked counter-terrorism cases at CSIS and Public Safety said previous lawsuit settlements in cases where links to terror groups were alleged went over like a "lead balloon" with the public.
"It was terrible PR for the government," said Phil Gurski, now retired and the author of The Threat From Within: Recognizing Al Qaeda-Inspired Radicalization and Terrorism in the West.
"The government looked like it was kowtowing to terrorists, and I think the government took a lesson on that."
Abdelrazik never charged with a crime
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended the Khadr settlement by pointing to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"We have to stand up for everyone's rights, whether you agree with them or not," he said at a town hall in January. "When a government violates a Canadian, any Canadian's fundamental rights, and allows them to be tortured, there are consequences and we all must pay."
Champ argued the facts of the Abdelrazik case are even worse for the government than those of Khadr's case.
Khadr was held by U.S. authorities and charged with a crime, but Abdelrazik was initially detained by Sudanese authorities and eventually prevented from coming home by the Canadian government.
He was never charged with a crime.
"It's unfortunate this case wasn't settled because — for the taxpayer — I think this is going to cost a lot more," said Champ.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
No comments:
Post a Comment