1980s and is credited for helping to ensure the viability of the association and its institutional memory. Funding In the year ending December 31, 2016, the BCCLA had a combined revenue of $1.26 million, originating from membership and donations (68%), grants (20%), and other sources, including gaming revenue and litigation recovery (12%). In the year ending December 31, 2016, the expenses of the BCCLA were $1.22 million, attributed to staff salaries and benefits (59%), office operating (12%), litigation costs (9%), and other costs, including rent, professional fees, and travel (20%). Events The association organizes forums across British Columbia on a variety of topics, including national security, social justice law reform, HIV disclosure laws, and food rights. It also organizes speaking events, with past speakers including: Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union; The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada; Michael Ignatieff, Harvard professor and former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada; John Ralston Saul, philosopher, novelist, and essayist; and Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was tortured after being deported to Syria by U.S. authorities. Since 2005, the BCCLA has presented an annual Youth Rights Conference, a daylong seminar for high school students that is intended to promote student activism and civic engagement. Past topics have included gay/straight alliances, homelessness, protest rights, aboriginal justice, and immigrant rights. Awards The association presents an annual Reg Robson Award to honour people who have demonstrated a substantial and long-lasting contribution to civil liberties issues in British Columbia and Canada. Past recipients of the award have included: Janine Fuller (inaugural recipient) (1997; advocated against Canada Custom's censorship of LGBT books and magazines) Peter and Murray Corren (1998; advocated for LGBT inclusiveness in public schools) Joseph Arvay (2005; pro bono counsel for the association in numerous interventions before the Supreme Court of Canada) Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler (first non-Canadian recipient) (2009; U.S. Navy appointed counsel for Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay) Kent Roach and Craig Forcese (2016; raised public awareness of potential civil liberty infringements in bill C-51 [The Anti-terrorism Act, 2015]) In addition to the Reg Robson Award, the association has awarded Liberty Awards in several categories: excellence in legal advocacy (individual, group, and law firm); excellence in journalism; excellence in the arts; excellence in community activism; excellence in youth activism; and, unsung hero. History 1960s Background The events preceding the formation of the BCCLA involved a