Michael Byers on Politics

Court rulings blow to CSIS credibility, say experts

Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service, May 28, 2009

OTTAWA -- A court ruling lambasting CSIS for concealing vital information in a case against an Ottawa terror suspect is the latest sign that the spy agency's credibility is on the line and that greater oversight is needed to ensure better accountability, say national security experts.

The Federal Court ruling, which calls into question the security-certificate case against Mohamed Harkat, is one of three in the last year that have come down hard on the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for its actions in investigating terrorism allegations.

Mr. Harkat, an Algerian, is one of five non-Canadians whom the government has targeted with security certificates and seeks to deport on suspicion of having terrorist links.

Security analysts predicted that judges will more closely scrutinize CSIS following revelations that officials may have intentionally failed to disclose information about the reliability of an intelligence source against Mr. Harkat.

Michaëlle Jean and the Seal

Letter to the Editor, Globe and Mail, May 28, 2009

Having enjoyed a community feast at Rankin Inlet, I understand how easily one can be caught up in the occasion. Seal hunting is indeed essential to Inuit culture and sustenance. But by turning millions of European stomachs, Michaëlle Jean did not help the cause - and may have cost Canada's tourism and export industries. She should have left the matter with the World Trade Organization, and opted for the caribou stew.

Michael Byers, Vancouver

Dear Grads, Help Save Us!

Armed with an Arts degree, you can be a hero.

Michael Byers, May 27, 2009,TheTyee.ca

In medieval England, before the development of written land registries, local children were conscripted as witnesses to real estate transactions. At the exact moment that a piece of turf was symbolically handed from seller to buyer, the kids were whacked on the side of the head. By making the transfer of land memorable, the assault provided security of title for as long as the children lived. ...

For the full text, see: Grads Save Us

Man in terror trial sentenced to 2.5 years

Scarborough man to be released today based on credit for time served before trial

Isabel Teotonio, Toronto Star, May 22, 2009

A man sentenced to 2-1/2 years in a homegrown terror trial, will be released from custody today.

The 21-year-old Scarborough man will walk out of court later today a free man because of credit given for time served in pre-trial custody.

Superior Court Justice John Sproat said that in making his decision, he considered "the genuine remorse expressed by (the accused) and his stated commitment to leading a peaceful life." ...

For the full text, see: Man sentenced

Seabed claims mount, swamping U.N. commission

Nathanial Gronewold, New York Times, May 14, 2009

UNITED NATIONS -- The biggest land grab since colonial times is accelerating as nations scramble to claim writ over hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean floor, much of it believed to be rich in natural resources.

Yesterday marked the 10-year deadline for most countries filing claims over extended seabeds with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a panel created under the U.N. Law of the Sea treaty to review and certify the legitimacy of claims.

Thaw may be underway in Ottawa-Moscow Arctic issues

Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service, May 12, 2009

Ottawa's stated outrage over a Feb. 18 Arctic flight by two Russian bombers — a response dismissed by Moscow as "bizarre" given the "routine" nature of the training exercise — appears even more puzzling now that details have emerged about a friendly, Feb. 20 meeting in Moscow in which top Canadian and Russian officials contemplated unprecedented levels of co-operation between the two countries on key Arctic issues.

The two sides, according to a leaked summary of talks on the "legal status of the Arctic," noted "a high degree of similarity in their positions on the issue of international shipping in the Northwest Passage (Canada) and the Northern Sea Route (Russia)" — hinting at an allied Canadian-Russian stance against the U.S. on one of the thorniest issues in Canada-U.S. relations.

Hamas lawmaker, anti-gay activist make it on U.K.'s banned list

Giuseppe Valiante, National Post, May 6, 2009

Britain has blacklisted 22 people from entering the country, accusing them of fomenting hatred, glorifying terrorism or being capable of inciting ethnic violence in the country.

A list of 16 of the people was published yesterday to "name and shame" them, according to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

Show us what lies on the Arctic seabed

Michael Byers and Ron Macnab, Ottawa Citizen, May 1, 2009

The two big red ships sailed in tandem through the Arctic Ocean, the first breaking the ice so that the second could use its sensitive seismic equipment to map the sediments of the seabed.

The ships then switched position when the noise produced in particularly thick ice interfered with the seismic equipment. This allowed state-of-the-art sonar equipment on the first ship to be used to map the ridges and valleys of the ocean floor, while the second ship took over the still all-important task of breaking the ice.

Last summer’s partnership between Canada’s Louis S. St. Laurent and the United States’ Healy was a showcase for scientific co-operation — but only up to a point.

Rich nations helping former colonies with seabed claims

Nathanial Gronewold, New York Times, May 1, 2009

UNITED NATIONS -- Developing countries trying to claim new undersea territory via a U.N. commission are getting assistance from former colonial overlords or other wealthier nations.

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) -- 21 geographers and hydrographers drawn from governments and the petroleum industry -- has seen its workload double since late last year, with new seabed claims arriving almost every week -- with most applications coming from developing countries.

Ottawa's piracy policy flouts law, experts say

Government claims of a lack of jurisdiction called 'ludicrous' and 'quite wrong'

Paul Koring, Globe and Mail, May 1, 2009

WASHINGTON -- Canada's catch-and-release approach to countering piracy off Somalia is at odds with other Western navies and flouts Ottawa's obligations under international law, according to maritime and international law experts.

"Its ludicrous for the Harper government to claim that it can't arrest and prosecute pirates," said Michael Byers, who holds the Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics at the University of British Columbia. "Canada has a legal obligation under the United Nations and international law to bring pirates to justice."