Suspect Anything? Religious profiling by Canadians lands asylum-seeker in custody

By MIHAD FAHMY, GUEST COLUMNIST
Edmonton Sun
Thu, August 16, 2007

Benamar Benatta's story reads like a work of fiction conjured up in our post-9/11 world.

It's almost as if someone wondered what would happen if a Muslim man, who knew something about airplanes, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Benatta knows exactly what would happen, and it is with shame that we must admit it's no work of fiction.

At age 27, Benamer Benatta was a lieutenant in the Algerian military with training in aviation electronics.

In December 2000, he travelled to the U.S. to attend a training course along with fellow members of the military. At the end of the course, Benatta decided to desert the military and not return to Algeria.

ASYLUM

Having chosen to claim political asylum in Canada, Benatta was stopped at the border on Sept. 5, 2001, found to be travelling on a false document and held in isolation at the Canadian Niagara Detention Centre.

As a result, it was not until Sept. 12, 2001, that he learned of the terrorist attacks in New York City. This was the same day he was told he was being held as a suspect.

By this time, Benatta was in U.S. custody, thanks to the Canadian officials who had driven him across the border on Sept. 12 and handed him over to the American authorities.

Held in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, Benatta was denied access to a lawyer, and subjected to conditions that the United Nations found could be described as torture.

Even though the FBI cleared him of any terrorism suspicions in November 2001, he continued to be imprisoned for close to five years. In July 2006, Benatta was allowed to return to Canada and resumed his claim for refugee status.

Benatta is now calling on the Canadian government to conduct a review of the actions of Canadian officials in illegally transferring him to the U.S. His lawyer, Nicole Chrolavicius, says that to date, no such public review is forthcoming.

While some may balk at the idea of yet another public review of the actions of Canadian security and border officials, the issues that are raised in this case warrant nothing less than a comprehensive and independent review.

Without granting him access to a lawyer and without giving him a hearing of any sort, Benatta was transferred to the U.S., not as a refugee claimant, but as a suspect in the worst terrorist attacks in American history.

Canadians are entitled to know how such basic civil liberties were disregarded.

In addition, Canadian officials identified Benatta as a suspect, presumably because he was an Arab Muslim man who also was an aeronautical engineer.

No amount of post-tragedy panic and frenzy can justify such blatant racial and religious profiling, especially given the consequences.

NAIVE

What's more, it would be naive to assume that we have now moved past that initial period of heightened suspicion (a.k.a. discrimination). Ask any Muslim or Arab man who has crossed the border in the last six years and he will tell you that the ramifications of 9/11 continue to resonate.

Having failed to immediately implement the Arar Commission's recommendations on creating an oversight mechanism for security agencies, the government has left Benatta with no option other than a public review.

Its inaction, along with our own complacency, leaves the door wide open for further abuses.

City councillor to mediate in dispute over harassment

Complaints about police soared this summer among black residents of Côte des Neiges

KATHERINE WILTON, The Gazette

Allegations of police harassment and abuse of black residents in Côte des Neiges have become so numerous this summer that a city councillor will meet with both parties tomorrow to try to defuse the tension.

"I have had more complaints (about police harassment) over the past six weeks than I have had over the past 10 years," said Marvin Rotrand, councillor for Snowdon, which is part of Côte des Neiges/N.D.G. borough.

"We have made a lot of progress over the past several years. If there is a problem now, we need to fix it."

Rotrand said at least 10 or 12 people have stopped him on the street or at civic functions to complain about heavy-handed tactics by local police officers and members of Project Advance, a special unit set up to crack down on street gangs.

Simonetta Barth, commander of Station 25, will be at tomorrow's meeting.

Inspector Paul Chablo, head of public relations for the Montreal police department, welcomed the meeting. "It is always better to sit down and discuss things than go to the media," he said.

Black leaders say their community is outraged by two cases of alleged abuse this summer.

On June 13, a 26-year-old Châteauguay man and his mother were arrested for obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest after a confrontation with a police officer from Station 25.

Lynwald Cox claims an officer provoked a confrontation after ticketing him for making an illegal left turn.

Police contend Cox became agitated after receiving the ticket and pursued a police officer in his cruiser, leading to the clash.

About one week later, police arrested Charles Ross, a tourist from New York, after he asked why they were manhandling a woman who they believed was taking pictures of them with her cellphone camera.

Ross was slapped and roughed up by members of Project Advance, said Noel Alexander, the president of the Jamaica Association of Montreal, who witnessed the confrontation near Victoria Ave. and MacKenzie Sts. at 10:45 p.m. on June 21.

Alexander said two officers were manhandling Karla Kirkos, 32, when Ross yelled out: "Hey, fellas, what are you doing?"

According to Alexander, two or three other officers rushed toward Ross, slapped him, handcuffed him and dragged him across the street, forcing him to sit on the sidewalk.

Ross was arrested and charged with assault. Alexander said he asked the officer in charge what was going on and said he was told: "This is a police operation."

The Gazette was unable to contact Ross at his home in New York this week.

Kirkos told The Gazette she was standing outside a restaurant when the officers tried to take her cellphone from her, saying she wasn't allowed to take pictures of them. She said she had taken out her phone to call a friend who was supposed to pick her up after she had ordered food.

Chablo said officers involved in the incident have a completely different version of events.

According to the police report, Kirkos began taking pictures of the officers as they were questioning a man.

The report said she started yelling hysterically at police after they asked her to move on. Chablo said the officers didn't try to take her cellphone.

As for Ross, the report says it was he who grabbed a police officer and punched him in the face.

Chablo urged members of the public not to get involved in police interventions because "you are obstructing justice."

"If you aren't happy (with what you see), take down the car number or police officer's name and call the local commander."

He said he isn't surprised that versions of events differ greatly.

"Sometimes people come in the middle of a situation and they don't know what happened before," he said.

Michael Gittens, president of the Côte des Neiges Black Community Association, said he is concerned by the reports of harassment, particularly since relations with police had been good over the past few years.

For five or six years, the association has given one-day training sessions to new police officers assigned to Côte des Neiges to help them better understand the multicultural community.

Gittens said members of his association, who were running a leadership program for youths in Nelson Mandela Park, had to go to Station 25 recently to complain that a few officers were harassing teenagers in the park.

"Why is this happening now after all the work that we have done? We expect more understanding from the officers."

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=1794f830-86c9-45ff-80f0-9bc8312d5947

Le profilage ethnique sévirait aux frontières

Joël-Denis Bellavance

La Presse

Ottawa

Le profilage ethnique est monnaie courante aux différents points d'entrée du pays depuis les attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Et les autorités canadiennes essaient tant bien que mal de balayer ce problème sous le tapis.

Archives La Presse

C'est du moins ce qui ressort des consultations menées par le ministère de la Sécurité publique auprès de membres des communautés ethnoculturelles dans quatre villes canadiennes au cours des derniers mois.

Des représentants des agences responsables de la sécurité nationale ont participé à ces consultations, qui ont eu lieu à Montréal, Toronto, Calgary et Vancouver entre octobre et février derniers. Et ils se sont fait chauffer les oreilles par les membres des communautés ethniques.

La Presse a obtenu récemment un résumé d'une cinquantaine de pages de ces consultations grâce à la Loi sur l'accès à l'information. De toute évidence, les participants ne se sont pas gênés pour exprimer leur frustration à l'égard de la surveillance accrue dont ils font l'objet depuis septembre 2001.

Durant les consultations, menées par la firme de sondage EKOS au nom du ministère de la Sécurité publique pour la somme de 143 000$, des représentants de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC), du Service canadien de renseignements et de sécurité (SCRS), de l'Agence des services frontaliers du Canada et du ministère de la Justice ont fait des présentations. Ils ont notamment soutenu que les agences responsables de la sécurité ne ciblent aucun groupe racial en particulier aux points d'entrée du pays.

Incrédulité et colère

Les membres des communautés ethniques ont accueilli ces propos avec incrédulité, selon le résumé. «Plusieurs participants ont décrit ces affirmations des autorités canadiennes comme étant «fausses». Ils se sont dits «insultés» et «enragés» de les entendre.»

«Avant le 11 septembre, je n'ai jamais été arrêté à la frontière. Maintenant, notre voiture se fait fouiller de fond en comble. On me dit de sortir de la voiture. Les soupçons envers nous ont tout simplement augmenté», a dit un participant.

«Je vis ici depuis 30 ans... 30 ans! Je suis enseignante, mère, bénévole, et je crois que je contribue énormément à la construction de ce pays. Peut-être devrais-je simplement hausser les épaules parce que c'est toujours moi qui fais l'objet d'une surveillance accrue aux aéroports, mais des fois, je ne peux pas», a lancé une femme.

Comme durant la Deuxième Guerre

Certains n'ont d'ailleurs pas hésité à comparer ce qu'ils vivent depuis six ans à d'autres épisodes peu glorieux de l'histoire du Canada, notamment l'internement des Canadiens d'origine japonaise durant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Selon eux, les autorités canadiennes tombent dans l'excès et foulent aux pieds des principes chers aux Canadiens, telles l'égalité et la tolérance, pour se défendre contre une menace terroriste souvent exagérée ou encore pour plaire aux Américains.

«Nous n'avons rien appris de l'histoire. Les Noirs ont été ciblés, ensuite les Chinois, les Juifs, et maintenant ce sont les musulmans», a notamment affirmé un participant.

Le Canada sera-t-il la cible d'un attentat terroriste un jour? À cette délicate question, certains participants n'ont pas hésité à répondre oui. Mais ils croient que ce sera imputable aux changements apportés par le gouvernement canadien à sa politique étrangère, plus proche de celle des États-Unis et d'Israël.

«Je crois que l'on se berce d'illusions si on croit qu'on est pas sur le radar (des terroristes)», a affirmé un participant. «Il y a plus de doutes aujourd'hui. Nous sommes passés de la politique du maintien de la paix à une politique de guerre», a soutenu un autre.

En réponse aux craintes de certaines communautés culturelles au sujet des mesures prises par le Canada pour assurer la sécurité nationale après les attentats aux États-Unis, le gouvernement Martin a créé en février 2005 la Table ronde transculturelle sur la sécurité. Cet organisme a pour mandat «de faire participer les Canadiens et Canadiennes et le gouvernement du Canada à un dialogue soutenu sur la sécurité nationale au sein d'une société pluraliste et diversifiée».

Il doit aussi conseiller les ministres de la Sécurité publique et de la Justice sur les questions de sécurité nationale. De toute évidence, la création de cet organisme n'a pas réussi à rassurer les communautés culturelles.

Selon le directeur général de la Fédération canado-arabe, Mohamed Boudjenane, qui a participé aux consultations à Toronto, beaucoup de Canadiens d'origine étrangère doivent composer avec une nouvelle sorte de discrimination: le profilage ethnique aux points d'entrée du pays. Il a d'ailleurs soutenu que les consultations étaient une véritable «perte de temps».

«C'était un exercice complètement futile dans le sens où on a tenté d'expliquer aux gens que les agences de sécurité canadiennes sont là pour aider les communautés, alors que, en pratique, la discrimination continue, le profilage racial continue, le SCRS continue à questionner des musulmans ou des gens d'origine arabe régulièrement», a affirmé M. Boudjenane.

Il a ajouté que les agences doivent de toute urgence offrir des cours à leurs employés afin qu'ils comprennent mieux les sensibilités culturelles et religieuses des personnes d'origine étrangère.

La faute au 11 sepembre

«Le profilage ethnique a augmenté depuis les attentats aux États-Unis. Le 11 septembre 2001 a été quasiment une carte blanche donnée aux agences de sécurité pour faire ce qu'elles veulent. Elles se sont un peu refroidies, notamment après le rapport sur Maher Arar, mais ça continue», a dit M. Boudjenane.

Dans un sondage réalisé par son organisation auprès de 467 personnes de foi musulmane, 8% d'entre elles ont dit avoir été interrogées par les agences de sécurité et 43% d'entre elles ont dit connaître quelqu'un qui a été interrogé.

Toutefois, M. Boudjenane a expliqué qu'il s'agit d'un problème dont l'ampleur réelle est difficile à quantifier. «Il est difficile de compiler les plaintes. Les gens ont peur, surtout quand ils se font interroger par la GRC ou le SCRS et qu'ils se font dire qu'ils n'obtiendront pas leur citoyenneté s'ils ne collaborent pas, par exemple», a-t-il dit.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070611/CPACTUALITES/706110495/5358/CPPRESSE

Family demands answers in 2005 slaying

Officer shot man while investigating someone else
PAUL CHERRY, Thursday, April 12, 2007

The family of a man killed by a Montreal police officer
16 months ago is calling on the public security minister
to lift the veil of secrecy that still surrounds his death.

Mohammed-Anas Bennis, 25, was fatally shot by a Montreal
police officer on Dec. 1, 2005, in Cote des Neiges. The
officer was on Kent Ave., assisting Surete du Quebec
investigators while they carried out a search warrant in a
fraud investigation.

Bennis, who had no ties to the fraud investigation,
had just left a nearby mosque when he was shot.

ormation made public so far is contained in a coroner's
report released last year on Bennis's death. It cites a
Montreal police report on the incident that states Bennis
stabbed the officer in the neck and right leg "for no
known motive."

Quebec City police investigated the shooting. They
submitted a report to crown prosecutor James Rondeau,
who informed the victim's father, Mohammed Bennis, no charges
would be laid.

But Rondeau and the provincial government have refused to
let Bennis read the police report. Yesterday, during a
small protest in front of the Montreal courthouse, Bennis
called on the provincial government to shed light on why
his son was killed.

"It has been very frustrating," Bennis said of the
bureaucratic runaround he has been put through.

Johanne Pelletier, a spokesperson for Public Security
Minister Jacques Dupuis, confirmed a request for access
to the report was denied.

"Access to the police report was refused because we
applied the law" that covers research on the cause and
circumstances of a death, she said.

"A police report contains lots of personal information on
people who are not directly involved in an event," Pelletier
said, adding the government's decision was based on
protecting such personal information.

She also said the same legislation does not allow the
government to release edited documents.

That interpretation of the law makes it impossible for the public
to know the circumstances behind any police shooting in Quebec,
Bennis said. A letter he and two of his daughters delivered to
Dupuis's office yesterday criticizes the government's explanation
as "patently unreasonable."

Other people involved in the protest, like activist Jaggi Singh
and Dan Philip, of the Black Coalition of Quebec, called for an
independent inquiry into Bennis's death.

Also in attendance at the protest was Projet Montreal leader
and city councillor Richard Bergeron. He criticized city councillor
Claude Dauphin, the executive committee member responsible f
or public safety, for passing the buck.

"I've asked him questions twice (at council meetings) and he
said that the answer has to come from the public security
minister," Bergeron said.

"I'm not happy because that's too easy. The police officer
who killed Mr. Bennis is (a member of) the Montreal police.
We can't be satisfied with such an answer."

Homme abattu par la police: la famille réclame une enquête

Le jeudi 12 avril 2007
Hugo Meunier

La Presse

*Plus de 16 mois après l'opération policière qui s'est soldée par la mort
d'Anas Mohammed Bennis, sa famille et ses proches réclament une enquête
publique et indépendante pour en éclaircir les circonstances.*

«Fatigués! Fatigués! On veut la vérité», scandait une quarantaine de
personnes réunie hier devant le palais de justice de Montréal.

Depuis des semaines, les membres de la coalition Justice pour Anas exhortent
le ministère de la Sécurité publique à rendre public le rapport d'enquête
sur la mort de Bennis, 25 ans, abattu le 1er décembre 2005, dans le quartier
Côte-des-Neiges, par un policier de Montréal. Encore aujourd'hui, un épais
brouillard enveloppe ces événements.

Selon la version policière, Anas Bennis se serait rué sans raison sur un
agent posté rue Kent, dans le but de le poignarder. Le policier participait
à une rafle contre des Montréalais accusés d'avoir détourné des cartes de
crédit, mais d'abord soupçonnés de fabriquer de faux passeports à la solde
du terrorisme international. Le jeune Anas sortait d'une mosquée située au
bout de la rue. Après avoir été poignardé, le policier aurait répliqué de
deux coups de feu.

Comme des agents de la Sûreté du Québec étaient aussi sur les lieux,
l'enquête avait été transférée, par souci de transparence, à la police de
Québec.


Après vérification, il n'est pas possible de mettre la main sur le rapport
produit par les policiers de la Vieille Capitale et ensuite remis au
ministère de la Sécurité publique.

Au Ministère comme à la police de Québec, le dossier est clos depuis
novembre. «Il n'y a aucune matière à porter une accusation criminelle à la
suite du décès de M. Bennis», a conclu à l'époque le substitut du Procureur
général responsable du dossier.

Une porte-parole du Ministère a confirmé hier que la famille s'est vu
refuser l'accès au rapport policier en novembre.

En vertu de la Loi sur la recherche des causes et des circonstances des
décès, le Ministère peut refuser de remettre un rapport s'il juge qu'il
renferme des informations personnelles sur une personne qui n'a pas à
être mêlée au dossier. Et il ne n'a pas le droit de remettre une partie
d'un rapport : c'est le document complet ou rien.

Les proches d'Anas Bennis veulent comprendre ce qui s'est passé ce
jour-là, peu importent les raisons. «Depuis le début, on a été patients,
mais on ne nous explique rien. Je ne peux pas croire que mon frère a
attaqué un policier avec un couteau de cuisine», a soutenu Khadija
Bennis, soeur jumelle du défunt.

La douleur est toujours vive chez les proches, qui disent n'avoir
aujourd'hui qu'un laconique rapport de coroner à se mettre sous la dent.
Pourtant, selon Me Marie-Claude Gilbert, du bureau des poursuites
criminelles et pénales, qui relève depuis peu du ministère de la Justice,
la famille Bennis a pu rencontrer le substitut du Procureur général
chargé du dossier afin de discuter de la preuve.

Khadija Bennis, qui qualifie néanmoins l'affaire de «camouflage», songe
maintenant à porter plainte contre les policiers impliqués dans cette
histoire. «Bavure policière ou non, il y a injustice», a-t-elle résumé.

Le chef de Projet Montréal et conseiller municipal Richard Bergeron a aussi
plaidé auprès du comité exécutif de la Ville pour rendre le rapport public.
«Je pense qu'il y a forcément anguille sous roche. Je vais faire en sorte
que l'administration municipale ne s'en lave pas les mains», a promis M.
Bergeron.

Comme plusieurs, il croit possible qu'Anas Bennis, vêtu de vêtements
traditionnels religieux le jour de l'incident, ait pu être victime de son
aspect.

Piquet de solidarité: JUSTICE POUR ANAS!

POUR L'ACCÈS À TOUTE L'INFORMATION SUR LA MORT DE
MOHAMED ANAS BENNIS, UNE ENQUÊTE PUBLIQUE, ET LA
FIN DE LA BRUTALITÉ ET DE L'IMPUNITÉ POLICIÈRE!

PLUS D'UN AN DE SILENCE ET DE SECRET, ÇA SUFFIT!

**************************************************************
Mercredi 11 Avril, de 10 h à 13h
Ministère de la Sécurité Publique du Québec,
10, rue Saint-Antoine Est, Montréal
(Métro: Champ-de-Mars)
*Conférence de presse à 10h30: soyez présentEs en grand
nombre pour témoigner votre solidarité!
***************************************************************

-- Venez soutenir la famille Bennis dans leur lutte pour la
justice dans la mort d'Anas.
-- Venez dénoncer le secret et le mépris enveloppant
l'affaire et protester contre l'impunité policière!
-- Bienvenue aux enfants!

Le 1er Décembre 2005, au coin des rues Kent et Côte
des Neiges, Mohamed Anas Bennis, un jeune Canadien
de 25 ans d'origine marocaine est abattu par l'agent Bernier
du poste 25  et ceci en presence de trois autres policiers du
meme poste.

Depuis plus d'un an, la famille Bennis multiplie les démarches
pour tenter de comprendre ce qui est arrivé à Anas ce matin là.
Mais en guise de  réponses, ils n'obtiennent que du secret, des
communiqués vides, des délais incompréhensibles et du mépris
manifeste. La police et le  procureur de la Couronne continuent de
leur refuser l'accès à tout élément de preuve relié aux évènements
ayant menés au meurtre d'Anas. «Nous avons le sentiment qu'on
nous ment et qu'on nous cache quelque  chose», a affirmé Khadija
Bennis, soeur jumelle d'Anas et membre de la coalition Justice
pour Anas.

Le Ministre de la sécurité publique du Québec Jacques Dupuis a
cautionné  l'attitude méprisante des policiers en intervenant pour
empêcher la divulgation du rapport des policiers ainsi que celui
du Procureur de la  Couronne.

Joignez-vous à nous pour lui rappeler que malgré les silences et
le camouflage, nous demandons toujours la JUSTICE!

***********************************************************
NOUS EXIGEONS...

* l'accès immédiat à tous les rapports, preuves et informations concernant
la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis pour la famille Bennis et le public;

* une enquête publique et indépendante complète sur la mort de Mohamed
Anas Bennis;

* la fin de l'impunité et de la brutalité policière.

---------------------------------
La Coalition Justice pour Anas
tél: 514-342-2111
courriel: justicepouranas@gmail.com
web: http://www.justicepouranas.ca 

PART 2 & 3: What does security and policing mean to you?

MP3 and OGG audio: http://ckutnews.wordpress.com/

A four-part radio series on racial profiling and police brutality.
Stay tuned for Part 4, Wednesday, April 18th between 5-6pm
 on CKUT 90.3fm -  we'll feature a workshop on Youth Rights.

PART 3: A public panel on Racial Profiling and Police Brutality
- Standing Up and Speaking Out held at McGill University in
Montreal on  the 29th of March, 2007.

Fimo R. Mitchell hosts with Khadija Bennis,  Rodney Patricio,
and Francois Vanvilet.

http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20070404.17.00-18.00.mp3

PART 2 features Fancois from the COBP (Collective Opposed to
Police  Brutality) on the history of Police Brutality in Montreal &
recordings from Montreal’s DemonstrationAgainst Police Brutality.
French and English.

http://secure.ckut.ca/64/20070328.17.00-18.00.mp3

This series includes discussions, interviews, a workshop for youth
on what are your rights,and a public event at McGill University. 
For more  information emailnews [AT] ckut [dot] ca or call
514.448.4041 x6788.

Le profilage racial des réfugiés et des immigrants au Canada: Recommandations du Comité des Nations Unies

Le Comité pour l’élimination de la discrimination raciale de l’ONU a rendu publiques ses conclusions suite à l’examen du Canada. Le Comité a fait plusieurs commentaires liés directement aux réfugiés et aux immigrants, dont des préoccupations concernant le profilage racial dans le contexte des mesures de sécurité et des certificats de sécurité, la détention pour motifs d’identité, le traitement des apatrides et l’accès à l’aide sociale pour les migrants sans papiers. Il demande également la réinstauration du Programme de contestation judiciaire.

Le rapport du Comité des Nations Unies est disponible en anglais àhttp://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/CERD.C.CAN.CO.18.pdf>http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/CERD.C.CAN.CO.18.pdf

Un reportage de CBC (en anglais), “Term 'visible minorities' may be discriminatory, UN body warns Canada” est disponible à :<http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/08/canada-minorities.html>http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/08/canada-minorities.html

UN Grills Canada

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=6c67c617-8870-4b0d-bf96-4a72d58fa8b5&k=2594

Lisa Schlein

Canadian Press

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

GENEVA (CP) - Canada has vigorously denied engaging in racial profiling in its fight against terrorism.

A Canadian delegation appearing this week before a UN anti-racism committee has also given assurances that there won't be a repeat of the Maher Arar case.

The Syrian-born Canadian software engineer was detained by U.S. authorities in 2002 during a stopver in New York and sent to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured on unsubstantiated allegations of terrorist ties. Arar was released without charge after almost a year and sent back to Canada.

A Canadian inquiry has since exonerated him and found that U.S. authorities acted on faulty information from Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has apologized and announced a C$10.5 million compensation package for Arar.

The 18-member UN panel of independent experts brought up the Arar case as it looked over a 79-page report submitted by Canada in a periodic review of whether the country is complying with the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial discrimination.

During its session on Canada Tuesday and Wednesday, the committee asked whether Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act could negatively affect ethnic groups and minorities, particularly with racial profiling.

"It is true that various members of Arab communities and Muslims have complained that the Anti-Terrorism Act has given operational agencies such as police licence to engage in racial profiling," said Glenn Gilmour of the Criminal Law Policy Division of the Department of Justice.

But nothing in the legislation "targets any specific ethno-target or religious group," Gilmour said.

The Anti-Terrorism Act is "a balanced package of measures carefully targeting people and activities that pose a threat to the security of Canadians while fully respecting the diversity that is essential to Canadian society."

"This is a struggle against terrorism and not against any community, group or faith."

The committee brought up the example of Arar and asked what steps have been taken to ensure that similar cases of "extraordinary rendition" would not occur again.

Gilmour assured the committee that nothing like this could happen again.

The Canadian delegation noted that Justice Dennis OConnor, who headed the two-year Canadian public inquiry into the Arar case, pointed out that "racial profiling had not been present" although Canada was "not immune from acts of racial discrimination."

But in a brief submitted to the committee, the Canadian branch of Amnesty International said that profiling is not an issue related only to Arar. It noted that the cases of three other Muslim men of Arab origin are under inquiry.

Amnesty International is urging the Canadian government "to rapidly implement the Arar Inquiry recommendations."

Turning to Aboriginal issues, Canada came under fire from the committee for the low quality of life among indigenous communities. Discrimination, poverty, poor health and inadequate education are common problems.

The committee was particularly critical of the discrimination and violence faced by indigenous women.

The Canadian delegation acknowledged the challenges but said the government was taking concrete action to make things better.

But, the most spirited debate was over Canada's decision not to vote for the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the UN Human Right Council.

British expert Patrick Thornberry noted that "Canada was only one of two countries that voted against" the declaration in the 47-member council.

Daniel Watson, a senior assistant deputy minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, retorted that the declaration contains flaws on provisions "dealing with issues such as land, territories and resources and self-government."

"Canada cannot support the declaration in its current form - It should be noted that no Canadian government ever accepted the text in its current form."

He said the draft declaration is now before the UN General Assembly where an African group's proposal to defer consideration passed with Canadian support in late 2006.

"Canada now has the opportunity to associate itself with other states and especially with other indigenous peoples in renegotiating this text," he said.

But Linos Alexander Sicilianos, the Greek committee member, didn't see it that way.

"This draft declaration has been before the sub-commission since 1994 - that's 13 years already."

"My personal view," he said, "is that perhaps your government can be a little bit more flexible in these negotiations so as not to block the adoption of the text which affects some 300 million people in the world."

Everyday Police Intimidation Caught on Film

by Cop Watch Long Beach (CWLB)

Over 10 Long Beach Police Department Officers harass one man who was threatened by another man. Officers search the victim and confiscate his four-inch (legal) knife. This footage documents officers intimidating members of CWLB as they drive slowly in their patrol car and speak through
their megaphone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1RxHZ1CUQ