10 February -- The list of organizations applying to testify before the Senate committee reviewing the new 'security certificate' legislation continues to grow, throwing into question the Senate's plan to push the much-criticized bill through by the end of the week, when the Senate goes on a break.

Since the bill passed at second reading in the Senate late Thursday afternoon, over 90 witnesses have applied to be heard by the committee. Applicants include major unions such as the Canadian Labour Congress, migrant justice organizations and community associations. Dozens of individuals have also applied, including family members of the detainees such as Ahmad Jaballah, whose father has already fought three security certificates and would face going through the process for a fourth time if the bill passes. (Full list.)

"I have been personally affected by this bill and have been living under house arrest with my husband, Mohamed Harkat, since his release in June of 2006. I feel like a prisoner in my own home. I've become a guard/jailer to my husband," wrote Sophie Harkat in her application. "My family and I were devastated by the latest actions and ongoing harassment. My mother and I were forced to take the stand and put under unwanted scrutiny in the most humiliating fashion. ... I demand to be heard in the name of justice."

To date, twenty-one groups and individuals have been scheduled to testify on Monday, in a marathon of seven hours of hearings, with only one scheduled break. Of the scheduled witnesses, only Stockwell Day will be speaking in favour of the bill. Other applicants are being informed that no further hearings are envisaged.

"Adil Charkaoui and Mohamed Harkat are shoe-horned into a one-hour period with three other witnesses. With questions, they will have about five minutes each. How can they begin to convey anything substantial in that time to Senators who are, for the most part, so far from their lived reality of racial profiling?" asked Mela Sarkar, public relations secretary for the Montreal-based South Asian Women's Community Centre (SAWCC), one of the groups who applied.

"The pace of these hearings raises questions about their purpose. Are they really about meaningful deliberation and democratic input on an important public debate? It looks more like going through the motions in order to lend the trappings of legitimacy," continued Sarkar.

"The House of Commons committee heard from dozens of witnesses on Bill C-3; witness after witness had essentially the same message: unjust, unconstitutional, unacceptable," said Mubeenah Mughal, member of the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui. "But with the support of the Liberal party, the Bill nevertheless went ahead, with very minor changes. We fear a repeat scenario at the Senate."

The bill was introduced into Senate last Wednesday and sped through First and Second Readings in two days. The Senate is rushing to enact the bill before the end of a one-year grace period granted by the Supreme Court when it struck down the old security certificate legislation. On 23 February 2008, the old law will fall and the current detainees will be able to apply to quash the certificates against them. If the government has no basis to lay criminal charges, the men and their families - all of whom have been established in Canada for many years - could be freed after years of arbitrary, indefinite detention and house arrest.

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Media contacts:
Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada: 647 668 8445
Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui: 514 222 0205
Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee: 613-276-9102