supreme court of british columbia, canada, finds "human smuggling" section of canadian...
DESCRIPTION
The government of Canada has been prosecuting in criminal court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, individuals who allegedly were engaged in "human smuggling" contrary to section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Lawyers for the accused had argued that section 117 of IRPA was contrary to the Canada' s Charter of Rights and Freedoms for being "overbroad" and contrary to Section 7 of the Charter "right to life, liberty and security of the person and not be to deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice". Counsel for the accused were successful in their arguments. This is a major blow to the government of Canada's desire to take a hard line towards human smuggling and, in my view, will inevitably lead to an appeal to the higher courts.TRANSCRIPT
