• Website: bccla.org
• Location: Vancouver
• Founded: 1962
• Stated mission: The oldest civil liberties group in Canada, BCCLA’s mandate is to preserve, defend, maintain, and extend civil liberties and human rights in Canada.
• Activities: Advocacy in action, public policy, community education, and justice programs
• Website: fipa.bc.ca
• Location: Vancouver
• Founded: 1991
• Stated mission: FIPA’s goals are to promote and defend freedom of information and privacy rights in Canada and to empower citizens by increasing their right of access to government-held information, by promoting and defending the principle of universal and affordable access to the basic information channels of our time, by limiting the surveillance activities of the state, and by increasing our right of access to our own personal information and our ability to control the collection, use, and sharing of our personal information, wherever it is stored.
• Activities: Serves a wide variety of individuals and organizations through programs of public education, public assistance, research, and law reform
• Website: ccla.org
• Location: Toronto
• Founded: 1964
• Stated mission: To promote respect for and observance of fundamental human rights and civil liberties, and to defend and foster recognition of these rights and liberties
• Activities: CCLA’s work is focused on the following thematic areas: fundamental freedoms, public safety, national security, and equality. CCLA has developed a unique model of advocacy that supports five core activities: public education, citizens’ engagement, monitoring, research, and litigation.
• Website: cippic.ca
• Location: Ottawa
• Founded: 2003
• Stated mission: CIPPIC has a dual mission: (a) to fill voids in public policy debates on technology law issues, ensure balance in policy and law-making processes, and provide legal assistance to under-represented organizations and individuals on matters involving the intersection of law and technology, and (b) to provide a high quality and rewarding clinical legal education experience to students of law.
• Activities: Researching issues and drafting reports and submissions to government, commenting on proposed legislative reforms, providing legal advice to individuals and organizations, and developing online resources for the public on legal issues arising from new technologies
• Website: iclmg.ca
• Location: Ottawa
• Founded: 2001
• Stated mission: To defend the civil liberties and human rights set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, federal and provincial laws, and international human rights instruments
• Activities: Monitoring the evolution and application of Canada’s security and antiterrorist agenda, promoting public awareness of the implications of the laws and other anti-terrorist measures, lobbying and carrying out advocacy work, and supporting international efforts to address the impact of security laws in Canada and/or countries with which Canada harmonizes its security policies internationally
• Website: liguedesdroits.ca
• Location: Ottawa
• Founded: 1963
• Stated mission: To promote and defend the universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of rights recognized in the International Bill of Human Rights
• Activities: Working with government or other agencies, both nationally and internationally, to denounce situations of violations of human rights; conducting outreach and training to publicize as widely as possible the rights issues that may relate to all aspects of life in society
• Website: openmedia.ca
• Location: Vancouver
• Founded: 2008
• Stated mission: To empower people to participate in Internet governance through fresh and engaging citizens’ campaigns. OpenMedia.ca is a network of organizations that work together to promote the principles of access, choice, diversity, innovation, and openness.
• Activities: Works to engage, educate, and empower citizens to defend and advance their communication interests, values, and rights. OpenMedia.ca engages citizens through online campaigns and participatory events that resonate with everyday people and by encouraging civic involvement in media and communications policy in Canada; it educates through events and online resources; and it empowers with online tools and open processes that enable citizens to advance their vision for open media.
• Website: piac.ca
• Location: Ottawa
• Founded: 1976
• Stated Mission: PIAC is a nonprofit organization that provides legal and research services on behalf of consumers—and, in particular, vulnerable consumers—concerning the provision of important public services.
• Activities: Legal research, consumer advocacy, education, and lobbying
• Website: pacc-ccap.ca
• Location: Calgary
• Founded: 2002
• Stated mission: To advance and promote awareness of access to information, protection of privacy, and information governance
• Activities: Advocacy, outreach, education, training, and public engagement. PACC-CCAP administers a professional certification program pursuant to defined national standards of competence, professionalism, and proficiency.
• Website: rmcla.ca
• Location: Calgary
• Founded: 2009
• Stated mission: To promote respect for and observance of fundamental human rights and civil liberties, and to defend and ensure these protections
• Activities: Protection of freedom of expression (through changes to the Alberta Human Rights Act), advancement of education on human rights and pregnancy discrimination, and advancement of issues related to access to justice
• Website: vancouverpublicspace.wordpress.com
• Location: Vancouver
• Founded: 2006
• Stated mission: To champion the importance of public space to the overall livability of the city
• Activities: Advocacy, education, and outreach pertaining to Vancouver’s public realm. Vancouver Public Space Network seeks to provide a blend of focused research and design work, creative community engagement, and a celebratory, solutions-based approach.