It is recognized that the constitutional rights of Canadians are not “unlimited”—that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it “subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.
When I was placed in charge of Emergency Management Alberta to write and implement the Alberta Crisis Management Counter-Terrorism Plan following September 11, 2001, the phrase “subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society” was the acid test. It was the measure used to demonstrate the application of “Due Diligence” before new legislation, legislation changes, policy, plans, and procedures could be implemented. Everything had to be written and justified.
The process we followed, while intense, was necessary to protect Charter Rights and Freedoms while stopping those who wished to deny them. Conversely, I was horrified by the Patriot Act in the USA that did not recognize the need for “demonstrably justified”.
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David Redman was an officer in the Canadian Army for 27 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was posted 19 times to operations in Germany, Egypt, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, the USA, and across Canada. In 2000 he became a part of what is now called the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. Following September 11, 2001, he led the development and implementation of the Alberta Crisis Management Counter-Terrorism Plan. He became the Head of MA in 2004 and led the Provincial response to the devastating floods of June 2005. He also led the development of the 2005 Provincial Pandemic Influenza Plan. He retired from EMA in December 2005, continuing to work as an expert in Emergency Management provincially, nationally and internationally until 2013 when he fully retired.
David Redman has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the United States Naval Postgraduate School. He is a graduate of both the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, in Kingston, Ontario and the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, in Toronto, Ontario.
