OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will hear arguments starting today in a series of cases that question the depth and breadth of Canada’s human smuggling laws.
Four of the five cases the court will consider involve people connected to the arrival of ships filled with Sri Lankan migrants off the coast of B.C.
One of the cases involves four defendants who were charged with human smuggling on board the MV Ocean Lady, which was carrying 76 Sri Lankan Tamils when it was intercepted in 2009.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is an intervener in one of the cases that considers the constitutionality of section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The provision criminalizes any person who knowingly helps an undocumented individual enter Canada.
At trial, the accused argued section was overly broad, as it could criminalize humanitarian workers or family members of refugees.
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