Immigration and Refugee Protection Act - Constitutionality

Constitutionality

In the case of Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) (2007), Chief Justice McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada held that certain aspects of the scheme contained within the IRPA for the detention of permanent residents and foreign nationals on the grounds of national security violate s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by "allowing the issuance of a certificate of inadmissibility based on secret material without providing for an independent agent at the stage of judicial review to better protect the named person’s interests." She also concluded that "some of the time limits in the provisions for continuing detention of a foreign national violate ss. 9 and 10(c) because they are arbitrary." The Government of Canada responded by introducing a revised security certificate regime in the IRPA that includes the use of special advocates to review a summary of the evidence without being able to share this information with the accused. The bill to amend the IRPA was passed by Parliament with support from the Conservative and Liberal caucuses and received royal assent in 2008.