A collaboration with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the one-day conference took place in Toronto on Friday October 19, 2012.
It featured a keynote address by Mr. Ben Emmerson, Q.C., the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
The conference was hosted by the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and supported by Lerners and the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations.
Following was the conference program.
8:30 – 9 am – Registration
9:00 – 9:15 am Welcome Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Canadian Arab Institute and International Human Rights Program at U of T
9:15 – 10:00 am Keynote Address by Mr. Ben Emmerson, QC, Matrix Chambers; UN Special Rapporteur on Protecting and Promoting Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Counter-Terrorism
10:00 – 11:00 am – Panel 1: Compromised Rights: Impact of the Last 10 Years on Security, Immigration and Privacy
Anil Kapoor, Criminal Lawyer, Special Advocate, Kapoor Barristers, Toronto
Nathalie Des Rosiers, Executive Director and General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Yavar Hameed, Lawyer and National Security Expert, Hameed Farrokhzad
Moderated by Audrey Macklin, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law
11:00 – 11:15 am – Break
11:15 – 12:15 pm – Panel 2: How Life Has Changed
Barbara Perry, Associate Dean of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Roch Tasse, National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
Balpreet Singh, Legal Counsel, World Sikh Organization of Canada
Moderated by Ihsaan Gardee, Executive Director of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN)
12:15 – 1:15 pm – Lunch
1:15 – 2:15 pm – Panel 3: Canada’s Human Rights Commissions and National Security
Charles Theroux, Director, Research and Statistical Analysis, Canadian Human Rights Commission
Pearl Eliadis, Human rights lawyer and lecturer in Civil Liberties, McGill University
Sukanya Pillay, Lawyer and Director, National Security Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Moderated by David Baker, partner, Bakerlaw
2:15 – 3:15 pm – Panel 4: Oversight and Accountability of Canada’s National Security Agencies
Craig Forcese, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Reem Bahdi, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
Carmen Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel and Acting Litigation Director, BCCLA
Moderated by Renu Mandhane, Director, International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto
3:15 – 3:30 pm – Break
3:30 – 4:30 pm – Panel 5: Perspectives from the Media
Tony Burman, Former Head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News, Velma Rogers Graham Research Chair in News Media and Technology at Ryerson’s School of Journalism
Naheed Mustafa, Freelance broadcaster and writer
Rick Salutin, Novelist, Playwright, and Columnist at the Toronto Star
Moderated by Raja Khouri, President, Canadian Arab Institute
4:30 – 5:00 pm – Closing Remarks
