Four out of the five cases that are going to presented will be in connection to the Sri Lankan migrants who landed illegally on the British Columbia coast.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association will be present in one of the cases that considers the constitutionality of section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The BCCLA will argue that a great deal of the smuggling laws that are currently present are widely unrepresentative to the legislative history of the court, which means that they may not coincide with the Charter.
The BCCLA released a statement that read: “At trial, the accused argued that s. 117 is overboard, as it criminalizes any person who knowingly assists any undocumented individual in coming to Canada,”
In 2010 the arrival of the MV Sun Sea, and the Ocean Lady with 492 migrants has sparked massive debate across Canada of the appropriate measures that the goverment should take to tackle human smuggling.
The ships’ employees that brought the people over were charged with human smuggling, even though the people they were transporting made refugee claims.
The arguments will be heard over the course of two days.
