The Canadian Civil Liberties Association marked its 50th anniversary last year. Acting for Freedom: Fifty Years of Civil Liberties in Canada, with Marian Botsford Fraser as primary author, commemorates that anniversary by describing the controversies, court cases and campaigns in which the organization was involved over the first half century of its existence.
A 50th anniversary can be an arbitrary demarcation point. In this case however, the fact that last May saw the death of Alan Borovoy, who, as general counsel, led CCLA for 40 of its first 50 years and continued to put his stamp on the organization even after retirement as general counsel emeritus means the time frame make sense. Acting for Freedom is about CCLA, not about Borovoy, but in many ways his passing marks the end of a discrete chapter in the history of CCLA and of civil liberties in Canada.
Mark J. Freiman practises law at Lerners LLP in Toronto. He is a former deputy attorney general for Ontario. In his private practice he has appeared on a wide variety of human rights matters, including acting on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
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