Re: Bill C-41, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

Background: Crises in Afghanistan and Legal Barriers to Delivery of Humanitarian Aid Following the Taliban’s August 2021 return to power, the country, according to the UN Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, “remains the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in 2023.”2 Unfortunately, Canadian humanitarian organizations cannot operate 1 See, e.g., www.aidforafgh. [...] The CBA Section recommends that the Authorization grant an exception to all legislation that imposes a penalty on organizations offering humanitarian aid or other related services, or at the very least, to the entirety of Part II.1 of the Criminal Code. [...] The section states that a judge must hear submissions on evidence or other information “in the absence of public and of the applicant and their counsel” when both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the Public Safety Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs or Minister of Citizenship and Immigration request the judge to do so, and (2) the judge is of the opinion that “the disclosure of the. [...] Security Review Process Must Not Perpetuate Bias The CBA Section has strong reservations about subsection 83.032(10)(b) which states that the Minister may consider “the likelihood that the applicant or any person who is to be involved in carrying out that activity will be acting for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group in carrying out the activity.” Any deci. [...] In the alternative, the Authorization should grant an exception to the entirety of Part II.1 of the Criminal Code.