Canadian Association Refugee Lawyers and Constitutional Challenge

organizations: This is a catch-all ASF view; only displays when an unsupported article type is put in an ASF drop zone The two organizations are launching a formal constitutional challenge of the law on the grounds that it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to Globe and Mail. The organizations take exception to the government much-publicized position that the bill is necessary to protect Canada from terrorism, but have focused the charter challenge on many of the law lesser-known clauses. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers said the rules that went into effect when Bill C-24 became law in May create a two-tiered system in which naturalized Canadians are treated as second-class. Vague stipulations about a new Canadian intention to live here, plus changes to the procedure by which people can contest challenges to their citizenship, mean the bill could have an impact on millions more than Ottawa intended target, they said. We were all equal under the law. All Canadian citizens used to have the same citizenship rights no matter what their origin, B.C. Civil Liberties Association Executive Director Josh Paterson said at a news conference. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.