Canada is taking part in international negotiations in the Council of Europe for a treaty on artificial intelligence, human rights and the rule of law. The Canadian Bar Association’s Privacy and Access Law Section, the Immigration Law Section and the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Subcommittee, in a comprehensive submission, express support for the proposed approach and offer a useful perspective on the survey questions contained in the government’s consultation document.

The Canadian Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section and its Committee on Imprisonment and Release wrote to warn that Correctional Service Canada’s proposed policy does not meet international standards surrounding solitary confinement and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authority, or CAPSA, released a draft guideline for risk management earlier this year that reviews and updates several key risk concepts, as well as third-party risks such as cyber risks and risks related to environmental, social and governance risks, or ESG. The latter is the subject of a letter from the CBA’s Pensions and Benefits Law Section.

The Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller, proposes permanent solutions to fraudulent immigration consultant practices targeting international students.

Following an earlier submission on proposed amendments to section 245 of the Income Tax Act, the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada sent further comments about the General Anti-Avoidance Rule, or GAAR, and self-help transactions.

Everyone in Canada is presumed innocent until proven guilty, including individuals with prior criminal records, writes the Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Bar Association in a letter to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs about Bill C-48, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail reform). “This presumption applies at every stage of the criminal justice process, including and especially the bail stage.”

Incarcerated persons in Canada have rights, including the right to counsel. But as the Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Bar Association and its Committee on Imprisonment and Release explain in a letter to Correctional Service Canada (CSC) and the Parole Board of Canada (PBC), there are too many significant barriers to that right in the country’s federal prisons.

The federal government is consulting on the best ways to improve the country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime.

The Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, outlines ways to improve the new H-1B visa holder work permit program.

The Commodity Tax, Customs and Trade Section of the Canadian Bar Association, in a letter to the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, offers comments on proposed regulations amending the Valuation for Duty Regulations.