How Secret Evidence is Used in Canadian Courts (Recording of our in-person event)

Vue d'ensemble de la session

Recording of our in-person workshop in Toronto

Speakers

The Honourable Justice Yves de Montigny – Federal Court of Canada

John Norris – Special Advocate, counsel in Jaballah and  Khadr

Lorne Waldman – Special Advocate, counsel in Harkat, Charkaoui & Arar

Sukanya Pillay – Executive Director, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Marianne Zoric – General Counsel, Department of Justice

Iona Jaffe – Senior Counsel, Public Prosecution Service of Canada

Michael Doucet – Executive Director, Security Intelligence Review Committee

Moderated by: Graham Hudson – Professor of Criminalogy & Criminal Justice, Ryerson University

How do Canadian courts balance the need to conduct certain proceedings in private with the need for transparency and protections under an adversarial system? This CPD series addresses the relationship between intelligence and evidence, the disclosure of sensitive information, the special advocate system, and the ever-evolving professional and ethical obligations for public law lawyers. Secret evidence is increasingly used in a range of legal proceedings in Canada. While secrecy serves to protect human sources and methods of intelligence collection, it runs counter to traditional evidentiary rules. The introduction of intelligence in judicial proceedings creates considerable tension between the competing demands of disclosure and secrecy. Participants will gain a range of timely and practical information that can be put to immediate use in their practice.

This series includes a recording of our 3-hour in-person event in Toronto: The first webinar, Overview of the Special Advocate System, led by the Hon. Justice Yves de Montigny, one of the designated judges of the Federal Court of Canada charged with specific responsibilities in national security matters, can be found through this link. The second webinar in our series, Disclosing Sensitive Information in Courts and Tribunals – Section 38 CEA, led by John Norris can be found here. The 3-hour in-person workshop dove deeper into the issues explored in the webinars and offered participants the opportunity to discuss case studies with the lecturers.