OTTAWA: Lawyers who believe Canada’s human smuggling laws are unfair and unconstitutional will be presenting their arguments before the Supreme Court of Canada.
They believe the current definition of human smuggling casts a net that is far too wide.
Carmen Cheung with the BC Civil Liberties Association, one of the groups that want the law struck down, says the problem is anyone who helps an undocumented person get into Canada can get charged with human smuggling.
She says relatives and humanitarian groups have been caught up in the law.
“There was a case of a man in Calgary who claimed he was helping his sister escape persecution in Sri Lanka. She was travelling on a false passport. He had his Canadian passport revoked.”
Cheung points out international law is pretty clear that holding a false passport is not in itself a crime, if one is running from danger. She argues the legislation is out of step with international laws.
“In international law, human smuggling requires some sort of profit element to it. Right now, Canadian law does not include that provision,” she tells us.
