A security certificate signed by the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration allows for the deportation of a foreign national or permanent resident deemed to be a security threat. If upon review by a Federal Court judge, the certificate is found to be reasonable, it becomes a removal order for which there is no right of appeal. To remedy concerns over due process, CCLA advocated a right of appeal and the appointment of special security-cleared advocates who would have access to all relevant material, including that which is withheld as too dangerous to show the impugned immigrant. In Greenspan’s words, “We must realize that the greatest danger to our institutions may rest not in the threat of subversion, but in our own weakness in yielding to wartime anxiety and our readiness to disregard the fundamental rights of the individual.”

The judgment of the Court is currently being considered.