Canadian Citizenship and Constitutional Challenge

constitutional challenge: New Citizenship Act allowing revocation of Canadian citizenship takes effect 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 CBC. 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. "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. "We were all equal under the law. Passport revocation The new law allows Ottawa to revoke citizenship for anyone convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage offences inside or outside of Canada. Now this new law has divided us into classes of citizens: those with more rights and those — overwhelmingly immigrants to Canada and their children and grandchildren —who have fewer rights." In rolling out the contentious bill, the federal government spoke openly about some of the new powers it would provide. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.