Rights groups to announce legal challenge of proposed immigration bill

VANCOUVER – Three human rights groups plan to announce a legal challenge of the federal government’s proposed immigration overhaul, which they say would be unconstitutional.

Amnesty International, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association plan to announce their plans on Thursday, though the actual lawsuit will have to wait until Bill C-24 becomes law.

The proposed bill would impose new requirements to obtain citizenship and make it easier for the government to revoke it, including when dual citizens are convicted of a list of offences including terrorism.

The groups say giving the government the power to revoke people’s citizenship is the same as banishing them into exile.

They argue the current bill does not include enough safeguards because it relies on convictions in foreign countries and can apply to people who were born in Canada.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has fiercely defended the bill, insisting Canadians believe it “absolutely legitimate” to strip citizenship from people convicted of war crimes or terrorism.