The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council (UCC-APC) opposes the adoption of Bill C-18 in its current form. We are especially concerned with Sections 16-18, which grant extraordinary powers to the state to strip naturalized Canadians of citizenship. The revocation process as outlined in the proposed bill leads to and even requires the undermining and denial of civil rights of naturalized citizens, as it subjects naturalized citizens to legal procedures not allowed against citizens born in Canada. The proposed law in effect deprives naturalized citizens of Charter rights (sections 7 and 15) and undermines the fundamental democratic right of equal status before the law.

Provisions in Sections 16-18 also concentrate power in the hands of the executive and judges, without parliamentary or citizen oversight of proceedings by which persons could be stripped of citizenship. The bill thus ignores the fundamental principle that the state and its functions should be constructed and limited by checks and balances. As the maintenance of a system of checks and balances within government is an essential prerequisite to preventing the abuse of power and arbitrary behaviour on the part of state authorities, it is clear that the proposed bill contravenes this principle of sound constitutional government.

We are further concerned because the historical record shows that the government of Canada has abused its powers, sometimes with tragic consequences to individuals, minorities and ethnic communities. In light of the historical record, providing the state with extraordinary powers would effectively encourage abuses against individuals or groups, especially in politically charged or crisis situations.

Specifically, Section 16 gives the government the power to accuse a naturalized citizen of committing a crime constituting grounds for citizenship revocation, and then proceed to strip that person of citizenship in a judicial proceeding that does not offer the same safeguards and protections that a Canadian-born defendant would enjoy if faced with a criminal charge.

Section 17 sanctions the hearing of evidence (even information not admissible in courts) in secret in citizenship revocation proceedings, that is, without the presence of the accused and her/his counsel. Provisions in Section 17 allowing secret evidence constitute the withholding of evidence, thereby denying the right of an accused person to due process. Section 17 encourages practices one would expect in authoritarian or totalitarian states, not democratic ones. We oppose any secrecy provisions in the new law.

Section 18 allows the government to strip a person of citizenship by ministerial order with no judicial process within five years of naturalization. As stripping anyone of his citizenship is a radical measure, we oppose in principle the use of these purely administrative measures as a fundamental denial of due process.

The UCC-APC firmly believes that once immigrants have been granted Canadian citizenship, they should be accorded all the rights, freedoms and privileges of Canadian law, without exception. If revocation of citizenship is to be allowed, we recommend that it be conducted according to criminal, not civil standards, and that the amount of time a person could be subject to citizenship revocation be limited to a maximum of five years after naturalization. We call upon the parliament of Canada to rewrite this law on the basis of the declaratory statement found in Section 12 of the proposed act.

Catherine Chichak, President, UCC-APC
Bohdan Klid, Vice-President