The Committee for the Defense of Democratic Rights

Publisher:  Committee for the Defence of Democratic Rights, Toronto, Canada
Year Published:  1978  
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX827

A Law Union pamphlet regarding the legality of national security measures.

Abstract:  This pamphlet was published and distributed by the Committee for the Defence of Democratic Rights. The Committee was initiated by members of the Law Union of Ontario. It felt that recent activities of the RCMP and other security forces were undermining basic rights and freedom of Canadians.
The Committee sets out its programme with six basic statements: "1) Termination of all government programmes involving disruption and neutralization of or interference with political groups; 2) The immediate criminal prosecution of all illegal acts committed by the RCMP, other police and security forces, civil servants or agents of the government, and the imposition of meaningful deterrent sentences; 3) Repudiation of Trudeau's attempt to subvert the historical constitutional doctrine of ministerial responsibility; 4) Enactment of legislation to protect democratic rights which are now in jeopardy; 5) Immediate enactment of a tough Freedom of Information Act; 6) Immediate enactment of legislation giving Canadians access to all files compiled on them or on organizations to which they belong.


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