 
Security Certificates to Be Challenged in Supreme Court of Canada At long last, the Supreme Court of Canada will review the constitutionality of the controversial security certificates. The hearing will involve 3 Muslim residents of Canada - Hassan Almrei, Mohamed Harkat and Adil Charkaoui - two of whom have been jailed for more than three years without conviction or charge. A security certificate enables the deportation of a permanent resident or foreign national if the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration believe the individual to pose a security threat. Once issued, the certificate is reviewed by the Federal Court to determine if it is reasonable. If the certificate is found to be reasonable, the certificate becomes a removal order and there is no appeal allowed. All three individuals have been given leave to appeal their security certificates to the Supreme Court. One of CCLA's principal objections is that people held under certificates are not entitled to examine all the evidence against them. The civil liberties group has proposed that, at the very least, special security-cleared lawyers be appointed to represent the interests of certificate subjects at the closed court hearings. Such lawyers would have unfettered access to all the evidence, even classified materials, but they could not disclose certain matters to their "clients". CCLA, represented by Special Counsel Edward Greenspan, hopes to intervene at the Supreme Court. | CCLA In The Schools | Join Us | Feedback | Search | Other Interesting Sites | Home |
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