immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Liberties Groups: Supreme Court and Stephen Harper

liberties groups: Canadians lose the right to vote after living abroad for more than five years under rules on the books since 1993, according to CTV. However, it was only under the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper that Elections Canada began enforcing the laws. Civil liberties groups, which argue current rules barring the expats from voting are unconstitutional, and Quebec, which supports the federal government's defence of the restrictions, are among interveners in the closely watched case the Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to hear on Wednesday. Two Canadians living and working in the United States launched the case after being denied the right to vote in the 2011 election. One way or the other, this is going to get decided and either Canadians will be enfranchised or Canadians will be disenfranchised, Jamie Duong, one of the appellants, said from Ithaca, N.Y. Duong and Gill Frank, an academic in Princeton, N.J., initially won their case before Ontario Superior Court in 2014 but the government appealed. They argue that citizenship, not residency, is the key requisite for voting. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.