The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

and

constitutional rights A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...

.Dominique Clement
Case Study: Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Page accessed Feb 13, 2016

History

The CCLA was founded in 1964 in Toronto, prompted by the Ontario government's proposal of a bill that would have granted special powers to the police in the face of a rise in

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. Its predecessor was the Association for Civil Liberties (ACL), which at its foundation had been intended to address national issues, but had become focused primarily on issues in Ontario. The ACL was led by Irving Himel, and in response to the bill, he gathered human rights leaders in Toronto, including

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, CC, O.Ont. (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a Canadian writer, journalist and broadcaster. Berton wrote 50 best-selling books, mainly about Canadiana, Canadian history and popular culture. He also wr ...

June Callwood June Rose Callwood, (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was known as "Canada's Conscience". Callwood achieved acclaim and a loyal following for her articles and columns written for na ...

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984. Laskin was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court in 1970, and served on the Ontario Court of A ...

Mark MacGuigan Mark Rudolph MacGuigan, (February 17, 1931 – January 12, 1998) was a Canadian academic and politician. Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the son of Mark Rudolph MacGuigan and Agnes Violet Trainor, he was educated at Saint D ...

Harry Arthurs Harry William Arthurs (born May 9, 1935) is a Canadian lawyer, academic, and academic administrator. He is one of Canada's leading labour law scholars. Early life and education Born in Toronto, Ontario, he attended the Oakwood Collegiate Ins ...

, and

John Keiller MacKay Lieutenant-colonel (Canada), Lieutenant-Colonel John Keiller MacKay (July 11, 1888 – June 12, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian soldier, lawyer and jurist. MacKay served as the List of lieutenant governors of Ontario#Lieutenant Governors ...

, and they formed the CCLA with Mackay as its honorary president. In 1968, the CCLA won a grant from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

to study

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

in Canadian lower courts and used the findings as a guide for its advocacy in the ensuing years. The CCLA was one of the few groups in Canada that protested the 1970 invocation of the ''

War Measures Act The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...

'' by then

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

in response to the

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. In the opinion of

Dominique Clément Dominique Clément is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta and a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. He is a Canadian historical sociologist who specializes in human rights and ...

, its most enduring contribution was its influence on the drafting of the ''

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

'', which was enacted in 1982.

Leadership

Alan Borovoy Alfred Alan Borovoy, (March 17, 1932 – May 11, 2015) was a Canadian lawyer and human rights activist best known as the longtime general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the organization from 1968 to 2009 and under his leadership, he and the CCLA became famous throughout Canada as defenders of free speech and civil liberties. He continued as general counsel

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

from 2009 until his death in 2015.

Nathalie Des Rosiers Nathalie Des Rosiers (born 1959) is a lawyer, academic and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She is the 6th and current Principal of Massey College at the University of Toronto. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontar ...

was CCLA's general counsel from 2009 to 2013. Sukanya Pillay was executive director and general counsel from 2014 until 2017, and had been acting general counsel from 2013 to 2014. Former

Attorney-General of Ontario The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

Michael Bryant was appointed executive director and

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

in 2018 and served until January 1, 2022 when he left to become executive director of

Legal Aid BC Legal Aid BC (formerly the Legal Services Society) is the legal aid provider in British Columbia, Canada. Services are available for family, immigration, and criminal law matters and include legal information, advice, or representation, depending ...

. Noa Mendelsohn-Aviv was appointed executive director and general counsel on February 9, 2022. She had previously been acting executive director and general counsel from 2017 to 2018.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Legal organizations based in Ontario Government watchdog groups in Canada Civil liberties advocacy groups Legal advocacy organizations based in Canada Organizations established in 1964 Political advocacy groups in Canada Human rights organizations based in Canada Civil rights organizations in Canada

History

Leadership

Further reading

Archival holdings

See also

References

External links