[4] The BCCLA has been consulted by both the governments of Canada and British Columbia on proposed actions or policies that may give rise to civil liberties or human rights concerns.

[5] In the early 1980s, the association was invited to appear before the Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Constitution to participate in the public consultations on the proposed Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Honorary directors of the board include former prime minister of Canada Kim Campbell, founding president Reverend Phillip Hewett, and environmentalist David Suzuki.

[10] 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.

[11][12] 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.

[15][16] The events preceding the formation of the BCCLA involved a Kootenays, British Columbia, group known as the Fraternal Council of the Sons of Freedom.

On March 6, 1962, members of this branch of the Sons of Freedom sect used explosives to bring down a 100-metre tower supporting power transmission lines crossing Kootenay Lake to a lead and zinc mine in Kimberley, BC.

[17] Fearing vigilantism on the part of the miners or others affected by the sect's actions, the RCMP brought in one hundred officers from the Prairies to watch over the tensions.

[5] On December 9, 1962, a meeting of 80 people was held in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia in response to the ongoing detention of Sons of Freedom at the Mountain Institution.

[9] The BCCLA's other activities in the 1960s included[20] aiding in the defence of The Georgia Straight, a Vancouver-based publication, against criminal obscenity charges[9] On October 27, 1969, a small group of professional actors, directors, and designers known as the Gallimaufry Players began a two-week run of Michael McClure's The Beard at Davie Street's Riverqueen theatre.

The police officers who witnessed the performance testified that expletives were uttered on stage, and that it was impossible to know if the actress was wearing an undergarment during the simulated cunnilingus.

Chief Justice Nemetz ultimately concluded that Judge Ladner should have tested the play against "contemporary standards and to the time, place and circumstances of this performance.

The impetus for the program was a concern that hosting the Olympics would cause Vancouver's homeless citizens to be displaced and free speech and protest rights to be interfered with.

Initially, BCCLA took the position based on arguments of religious freedom that TWU's proposed law school should not be barred from accreditation.

On January 22, 2018, after full and vigorous debate of the issues and principles that extended over a period of months, the BCCLA Board of Directors voted, by a substantial margin, to adopt the position that "the Law Society should not accredit a prerequisite legal education program whose admission and conduct policies discriminate against people based on prohibited grounds, thereby creating a discriminatory barrier around part of the stream of access to the legal profession.

In response, Tsimshian entrepreneur and Indigenous relations consultant Chris Sankey called on her to resign while British Columbia's Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth described her post as "disgusting and reprehensible."

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) expressed support for Walia (without mentioning the controversial tweet), describing her as a "highly respected and valued ally.