British Columbia: Refugee Lawyers and Canadian Association

british columbia: The two advocacy groups had sought a stay of a section of the Citizenship Act which allows the government to revoke the citizenship of anyone deemed to have misrepresented themselves — a provision which they argued could potentially ensnare Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, according to Brandon Sun. Monsef last month discovered that she was born in Iran, not Afghanistan as she'd always believed. Federal Court Justice Russell Zinn has dismissed a case brought by the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The law is being challenged as unconstitutional but until that case is settled, the Federal Court has since January been systematically granting stays to individuals who apply for them. But Zinn ruled Monday that a blanket stay can only be ordered if the harm caused by the law is unavoidable. The advocacy groups had argued that not everyone is aware or can afford a lawyer to seek a court-ordered stay of proceedings; they asked Zinn to impose a blanket stay for everyone who receives a notice of citizenship revocation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.