On February 2, 2017, the BCCLA was granted leave to intervene in Revell v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The case considers the scope of protections available under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to long-term permanent residents facing deportation.

The BCCLA intervened in Revell to argue against the long-standing legal precedent, established by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1992 in a case called Canada v. Chiarelli, that effectively bars permanent residents from having their Charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person considered when the government seeks their deportation due to criminality.  The BCCLA takes the position that all persons in Canada, whether citizens or not, are protected by the Charter of Rights and are entitled to due process when their status in Canada is being determined. In the Revell case, the tribunal making the deportation decision specifically found that it could not consider whether a permanent resident’s Charter rights were violated because of the Chiarelli decision.   

The BCCLA will argue against a “one size fits all” approach to the deportation of long-term permanent residents. Instead, the BCCLA will urge the Court to adopt a legal framework that allows a decision-maker to consider the individual circumstances of the person facing deportation, including the extent of the person’s ties to Canada, the seriousness of the crime, the degree to which the person has been rehabilitated and whether the deportation order would be grossly disproportionate in the circumstances. 

As with all of its interventions, the BCCLA takes no position on whether Mr. Revell should remain in Canada. The BCCLA does not represent Mr. Revell and is not providing him with legal services. Instead, the BCCLA is arguing for a deportation process that is fair and just for all permanent residents of Canada.

Read our submission here: 2017 04 03 Memorandum of Fact and Law_BCCLA