Under the frequently criticized "security certificate" procedure, an immigrant can be detained and deported upon an order signed by 2 federal ministers stating that an individual is a threat to the security of Canada. A single judge of the Federal Court examines the order to determine if it is "reasonable." The government may introduce secret evidence and make arguments to the judge without the accused or their lawyers being present.

In his application to intervene in the hearing, CCLA Special Counsel Edward L. Greenspan argued that the government should provide for security-cleared lawyers who could see all the secret evidence and represent the impugned immigrants at the in camera hearings of the Court. In early 2003, CCLA General Counsel Alan Borovoy had made the same proposal in a presentation to a parliamentary committee. In November 2004, CCLA was denied leave to intervene in this case. But the civil liberties group expects to challenge the security certificate process in the near future.