Conflict, Crisis, and Accountability focuses on racial profiling in a law enforcement context, particularly as it relates to domestic policing and anti-terrorism initiatives, and issues concerning the reality and impact on peoples of African descent and those ensnared in post 9/11 security actions.
Law and legal issues
An Innovative Research Group poll taken after the early June bust of “the Toronto 17” is cause for deep concern. The poll found that 62% of Canadians agreed with the proposition that without national security all other rights of Canadians were simply theoretical.
This was the argument presented by federal lawyers before the Supreme Court in an effort to defend the constitutionality of the use of “security certificates”-- i.e., the right of the secret police to incarcerate suspected terrorists for an indefinite time without laying charges or proceeding to trial.
Inside this issue:
Women's Employment in BC: Effects of Government Downsizing and Policy Changes
Rolling Back Pay Equity Gains: The Case of Health Support Privatization
Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal Services in BC
Reality Check: The BC Economy in 2004
“After being denied Legal Aid in 2002, I represented myself twice in court. My ex-partner’s lawyer was brutal towards me. I had practiced going to court and representing myself, but this did not matter because I cannot argue with a lawyer. I am not a lawyer. I am just a mother.”
The idea that everyone is equal under the law is a fundamental principle that most Canadians take for granted. Our constitution guarantees equal access to justice for men and women. But when it comes to legal services in BC, it seems the constitution doesn’t hold much weight.