The Canadian Security Certificate Regime

The current Canadian system for naming and deporting non-citizens on grounds of national security reflects the influence of several salient trends in post- 9/11 policy making in Canada: judicial minimalism, the adoption of the most restrictive (as opposed to least restrictive) alternative that does not tip over into unconstitutionality, and the avoidance of political risk by following precedents already set by other jurisdictions. In this respect, the UK has been a clear source of inspiration for Canadian courts and parliamentarians regarding Special Advocates and control orders.

Although the proposals in this paper by Professor Audrey Macklin of Toronto University are specific to the Canadian regime, the larger questions of discrimination against non-citizens and the practical requirements imposed by the duty of fairness in the national security context hang over most states.