THIS MESSAGE is intended to illuminate the record of the present Liberal government in the area of justice.  Of particular concern is the erosion and debasement of civil liberties, of due process, of fundamental Canadian citizenship and of basic fairness.

THIS EROSION AND THIS DEBASEMENT have crept into our justice system over a number of years. Following the Deschenes Commission Report on War Criminals in Canada, the Mulroney government passed Bill C-71 in August 1987 allowing criminal prosecution of people suspected of killing Jews during WWII. Having failed to convict a single victim under the rigorous rules of evidence required by criminal law, the Liberal government in 1995 switched its strategy to the civil procedure of denaturalization and deportation with its lax rules of evidence.

Denaturalization and Deportation process:
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Under civil rules of evidence, "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" is replaced by "on the balance of probabilities". A jury of 12 peers is replaced by a single solitary judge. The issue is not whether the accused committed any atrocities, but whether the accused lied to immigration authorities when he immigrated to Canada. There is no appeal. Every safeguard inherent in the criminal trial process is removed.

In practise, there are virtually no records, no witnesses directly involved and no reliable corroborative evidence presented to the courts. The prosecution abandons the pretence of war criminality, and tries to convince the judge that "on the balance of probabilities" the accused must have committed an immigration infraction when coming to Canada, even though there is no direct evidence of this either.

In all seven cases completed thus far, the judge ruled that there was no evidence that the accused participated in the commission of war crimes. Nevertheless, in four of the cases, the judge ruled that "on the balance of probabilities" a hypothetical visa control officer held a hypothetical interview during which he asked hypothetical questions to which the accused did not answer truthfully.

THIS is what experts say about such laws and processes:
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Ian Hunter, professor emeritus, law faculty of Univ. of Western Ontario (Report, July 24, 2000):  "Is it fair for the government to have alleged war crimes against [an accused] and then, having failed to prove its case, to obtain the same result (denaturalization & deportation) through the much less serious allegation of failing to disclose information on a citizenship application?  Is this not tantamount to guilt by association?"

Roger Salhany (retired) Justice of Ontario Superior Court (opinion on a d/d case decided in Feb., 2000):  "…a judge who admits and relies upon evidence which is not admissible in law makes an error in law.  A judge who makes an erroneous finding of fact from the evidence presented and relies upon that fact to reach a conclusion errs in law.  A judge who draws an unreasonable inference from the testimony of a witness and relies upon it in reaching his decision errs in law.  A judge who fails to apply the correct onus of proof or incorrectly applies it errs in law.  In my view such errors in law were made in this case by the learned judge."

In the past year, the Liberal government has accelerated its attack on Canada’s justice system by introducing three major bills, which are astounding in their blatant hypocrisy:

Bill C-19 (Crimes Against Humanity Act)
* on the one hand, Canada joins the international community in insisting that the motivational element ("crimes against a civilian population or any identifiable group") be part of major offences -- yet, in relation to alleged World War II offences tried in Canada, the federal government insists this element be removed
* on the one hand, Canada joins the international community in insisting there be no retroactively created crimes brought before the International Criminal Court -- yet, in relation to alleged World War II offences tried in Canada, the federal government insists on retroactive application.

Bill C-16 (Citizenship of Canada Act)
* refugee claimants (no matter what crimes they may have committed in their country of origin or how they managed to gain entry into Canada), along with visitors (no matter what crimes they commit while in Canada) are afforded the following civil rights benefits:
o Charter protection
o Right to a hearing before Immigration & Refugee Board
o An appeal to the Federal Court or to the Supreme Court of Canada
o Right of trial by jury
o Case decided on proof beyond a reasonable doubt
* However, for persons forced to endure the denaturalization & deportation process, every one of the foregoing benefits has been removed.

Bill C-31 (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act)
* creates two-tiered citizenship and two-tiered justice; because
* when someone born in Canada is accused of a serious crime, that person is entitled to a fair trial, is presumed innocent until found guilty, and the prosecution is required to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that such a crime was committed by the accused;
* but when an immigrant is accused of having been involved in serious crimes that allegedly occurred over a half century ago, even though there is no evidence directly linking that person to any atrocity, that person is required to prove themselves innocent!

Justice Minister, Anne McLellan has been at the forefront in promoting these bills and the denaturalization and deportation process.

VOTE on Election Day, as you please, but in casting your ballot, recognise that Anne McLellan has succeeded in bringing the justice system in this country into total disrepute!

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