For those living in Canada without immigration status, life can be difficult. There are many reasons why these individuals ended up here. A good portion would have left their country of origin with little financial resources, sometimes because it was no longer safe for them, or perhaps because they had no prospects for a good [...]

Whatever Your Politics… George Galloway is an alarming man. When he is interviewed on television, renowned and regularly resolute broadcasters succumb to trembling in trepidation. Although he possesses a cheeky grin and charming Scottish lilt, he is loud, blunt, and, on occasion, exceptionally rude. Although some find the former Member of the British Parliament to [...]

The Federal Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in Hinzman v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2010 FCA 177 is a decisive, if transitory, victory for American Iraq war resisters seeking refuge in Canada. Transcending the narrow theme of conscientious objection, the decision simultaneously provides authoritative guidance on the standards expected of administrative decision-makers, the [...]

A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal in Slahi v. Canada (Justice), 2009 FCA 259, first canvassed on TheCourt.ca by Padraic Ryan here. My post aims to briefly examine the international law aspects of the case and their relation to the Charter. Slahi affirms the recent line of jurisprudence (culminating in Canada [...]

If at first you do not succeed, try, try again. These words of wisdom convey the ethos of human rights advocacy: paucities of political power, limited financial resources, public indifference (if not outright hostility), and the slow pace of social change regularly conspire to cast those who persist in the fight for justice as idealistic [...]

On September 24, 2008, Judge Simon Noël of the Federal Court (FCC DES-5-08) the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Ministers of Public Safety and Citizenship and Immigration to “file all information and intelligence related to Mohamed Harkat including but not limited to drafts, diagrams, recordings and photographs in CSIS’s possession or holdings with [...]

Last Thursday the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its ruling in Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 SCC 38. The ruling has significant implications for the Canadian security certificate regime, and for the practices of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (“CSIS”). Before discussing these implications, a brief overview of the case is in [...]

The tide appears to be turning in Mr. Charles Roach’s fifteen year struggle to challenge the requirement that new Canadians pledge allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II. On May 17, 2007, Justice Belobaba from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave a green light to a class action suit that Roach is leading, which challenges the [...]

With recent cases having taken great prominence both here at TheCourt.ca and likewise in the wider media, Lake v. Canada (Minister of Justice) 2008 SCC 23 has gone somewhat overlooked. This is unfortunate, because the case creates firm precedent for the appropriate standard of care required of the Minister of Justice in an extradition case [...]

A central objective and guiding principle in Canadian immigration policy has been the management of migration flows. At the core is a balance between two broad interests; state sovereignty and security versus the basic human right to mobility and to shelter from persecution. While the first set of interests has historically dominated in Canadian immigration [...]