CCF staff write on a variety of policy areas from a mostly legal viewpoint. Our staff often focus on policy issues related to the legal cases we support.
Learn more about ArticlesThis month, Alberta’s privacy commissioner began investigating the Edmonton Police Service’s practice of “carding” — also known as conducting “street checks” — which can result in the collection and storage of information about people not suspected of any crimes. As someone who deals with constitutional issues, I get asked about
It’s been 10 years since the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published the now notorious cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons were republished by newspapers around the world and more than 200 people died as protests and riots erupted in response. Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded, saying he regretted that Canadian newspapers
Famous Canadians who won’t be voting in the federal election next month include Neil Young, Wayne Gretzky, William Shatner, Bruce Greenwood, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Donald Sutherland, Pamela Anderson, Shania Twain, Sidney Crosby and James Cameron. I make that prediction with a high degree of confidence, not because I know
I’ve always marvelled at the way legal restrictions on alcohol stemming from a prohibition mindset have hung on so tenaciously, even as the rest of society has long since recognized their counterproductive nature and moved on. Government probably would have moved on too if this were really a story about
The recent trial of New Brunswick resident Gerard Comeau over his unsuccessful attempt to bring 14 cases of Quebec beer into his home province has generated a secondary news wave. Federal politicians on the campaign trail are scurrying to align themselves with beer drinkers, and to place the blame on
When taxi drivers in Ottawa started secretly filming Uber drivers and posting the videos online, they said they were helping gather evidence against lawbreakers. After all, the Uber drivers were ferrying passengers from place to place without a taxi license. In response, Ottawa officials said thanks but no thanks: gathering
On Wednesday, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled against a Calgary-area dentist who had been challenging the constitutionality of his province’s ban on accessing health care outside the public system. The most unfortunate thing about the decision, and the lower court decision on which it was based, was that we
Pity the poor beer drinkers of New Brunswick. Except for a very small amount of beer – 12 bottles – that they’re allowed to bring into the province from elsewhere, they have to buy their beer from the ANBL (Alcool New Brunswick Liquor), the provincially owned distributor. ANBL slaps a
Every call from Canadian police for more power to examine our private stuff probably stems from a desire to stop crime. For example, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police recently passed a resolution asking the government to grant police the authority to start seizing mail while it is in
