24 December 2010 By Stephen
Lendman In place since 1978, it lets
authorities detain and/or deport foreign nationals and
other non-citizens suspected of human rights
violations, alleged threats to national security, or
claimed affiliation with organized crime, using
(usually bogus) secret evidence withheld from defense
counsel. Since 1991, 27 residents have
been affected. In February 2007, Canada's Supreme
Court ruled it unconstitutional in Charkaoui v.
Canada. However, eight months later in October, the
Canadian House of Commons passed Bill C-3 (a so-called
anti-terror measure), amending the 2001 Immigration
and Refugee Protection Act by introducing a special
advocate into the certificate process on the pretext
of protecting subjects during secret proceedings. That and other provisions are
troubling, including indefinite detentions, with or
without charges, draconian house arrest with
continuous monitoring and surveillance, and
deportations to despotic states unjustly. Doing so
assures torture, imprisonment or death. It's why
subjects fled to Canada, believing they'd be safe. The special advocate provision is
reprehensible, providing legal cover for a
fundamentally unjust process designed to stigmatize,
vilify, convict, imprison, or deport mostly innocent
victims to oblivion, pretending national and public
security were protected. As a result, human and civil
rights advocates, anti-war activists, opponents of
extremist government policies, and targets of
convenience for political advantage (especially
Muslims) are unjustly charged, arrested, and
persecuted. Their constitutional right of assured
innocence unless proved guilty in a fair and open
process beyond a reasonable doubt is denied,
subjecting them to police state injustice, common in
third world dictatorships. Once Security Certificates are
issued, Federal Courts conduct secret proceedings,
delivering summary draconian injustice. The entire
process is engineered to convict, much like corrupted
US courts against anyone charged with terrorism,
conspiracy to commit it, accused environmental and
animal rights activists called "ecoterrorists," vocal
critics of US injustice, and advocates for human and
civil rights. Statement Against Security
Certificates Canadian and other justice
defenders demand Security Certificates be abolished.
Access the link below to endorse its revocation: http://www.harkatstatement.com/ It states: "We, the undersigned, have grave
concerns regarding the continued use of sections 9,
76-87 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,
which allow for the imprisonment in Canada of refugees
and permanent residents under the authority of a
"Security Certificate." The new version of this measure -
which included only cosmetic changes in the form of a
very limited appeal provision and of the introduction
of "special advocates" - still maintains a veil of
secrecy over any information that may be used against
the detained. Therefore, we are concerned that
those detained under Security Certificates are: -- Imprisoned indefinitely on
secret evidence, though no charges have been laid
against them; -- Tried in unfair judicial
proceedings where information is not disclosed to....detainee(s)
or their lawyer; -- Denied the full right to
appeal when the Certificate is upheld in a process
that uses the lowest standard of proof of any court in
Canada; -- Under threat of deportation
even when they face unfair imprisonment, torture or
death. We believe that the existing
Security Certificate process is undemocratic; violates
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canada's
constitutional bill of rights); and violates
fundamental human rights, to which the government of
Canada has committed itself through the UN Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on
Refugees, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICEPR) and the UN Convention on
Torture. Accordingly, we demand that the
Security Certificate process be abolished. For those currently detained
under Security Certificates, we demand: -- That their certificates be
removed, and, if any case against them actually
exists, that they be allowed to defend themselves in
open, fair, and independent trials with full
disclosure of the case against them. -- That they not be deported." Real democracies assure
fundamental human rights, civil liberties, due
process, judicial fairness, and equitable treatment
for everyone at all times with no allowed exceptions.
Anything less is police state justice. Guilt by
accusation is unacceptable. It's how Canadian and
American courts operate in violation of fundamental
legal standards. This injustice must end. Sign the
above statement and demand it. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
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